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Title: The Long Lavender Look (Travis McGee Mysteries)
ISBN: 0449224740
Author:
John D. Macdonald
Publicate Date: 1996-03-09
Publish: 1996-03-09
List Price: $7.99
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $3.85
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.74
Amazon Merchant Price: $7.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Travis hits the swamps
Travis McGee and his friend Meyer are driving home on an abandoned road when a nude young woman races in front of their car. McGee and Meyer end up going off the road and rolling the car, but that's just the beginning of their troubles. Before long, they're shot at by someone in a beat-up pickup truck. As a final welcome to the area, they're arrested for murder and accused of being involved in a robbery some years earlier. Needless to say, McGee digs in and tries to get to the bottom of things.
Travis is loved by a legion of fans and he's at his best here. The supporting cast is interesting as we meet characters like Betsy Kapp, a waitress turned part-time call girl. King Sturnevan is a former boxing contender who is now a sheriff's deputy and befriends Travis. And Lilo Perris is a psycho who mixes freakish strength, extreme sadism, and raw sexuality to keep McGee on his toes. These few and more form a rich stew for Travis to work with as he tries to unravel the mystery of robbery and murder.
The mystery is interesting, and certainly had me guessing for a good while. My only complaint is that it dragged on for a bit too long. There is a climactic scene 50 pages before the book ends where MacDonald could have easily wrapped up the story. Instead, he went for another twist and the actual ending felt a bit anti-climactic and stretched out. It's not like it completely ruined the book, but it does keep it from being as tight as it might have been.
The Long Lavender Look is a solid entry in the Travis McGee series. Long time fans will probably appreciate that the story is a bit of a change of pace from the norm since it doesn't involve McGee performing one of his standard "salvage" operations for a reward. It's not a bad choice for first time readers either. While I did think the ending was a bit sub par, the book is certainly an entertaining read overall.
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2: "Often when you are the most hopeful, nothing works."
Before reading The Long Lavender Look, I would have argued that Bright Orange for the Shroud was the best Travis McGee book. After careful consideration, I have to admit that The Long Lavender Look steals the crown, even though they both remain extremely entertaining. Since MacDonald sets a high standard for hard-boiled detection, this should tell you that I liked this book very much indeed.
McGee swerves to avoid a nearly naked girl running across the road, and ends up in a swamp of more than one kind. In order to clear his name, he has to find his way to the center of a secret at the heart of a small town Florida police department.
Smart. Fair. Entertaining. Easy to find at used book stores for a small bit of change. What's not to like?
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3: The Long Lavender Look
Master "helper" Travis keeps coming up with frightened damsels. And thankfully, Meyer is frequently there to offer advice and consent.
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4: A long, lovely read for McGee
While I still find "Flash of Green" to be my favorite John D. MacDonald book, there's something so appealing about the Travis McGee series that it keeps me coming back to them. And "The Long Lavender Look" is just another addition to the spectrum of colors that his novels get their titles from. Also "The Long Lavender Look" has such a gripping opening sequence of events, and such an array of fascinating characters, that you cannot put this mystery down.
And while I know that MacDonald enjoyed popularity in his time, it seems that his popularity is running out of gas. I hope I am wrong because he is horribly overlooked.
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5: Cool mystery
John D. MacDonald's mysteries are as tasty as the hamburgers of the same name! I love all the Magee books!
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