28 jun 15#53 from macdonald for me and #20 travis mcgee...one left after this one but the man wrote something like 70 novels so all is well and all manner of things are well. onward, ever onward. just finished Free Fall in Crimson if it matters...does one read influence the next. oh you betcha.3 jul 15finished. great story. travis and or mcgee move around in this one, toronto, houston texas, a number of places in new york, of course florida both fort lauderdale and naples...and a variety of places in texas trying to track down evan's past. and finally they make their way to mexico and the end. good story. give it a go.a quote\an ideastart with the assumption that there is such a thing as evil which can exist without causation.reminds me of a line from East of Eden i believe there are monsters born in the world to human parents. or as i've heard expressed, as the twig is bent, so shall it grow. evan is bent in this telling and so he grew. but at the same time i've also heard expressed the idea that so-and-so experienced much of the same and so-and-so didn't do this, didn't do that, so-and-so turned out alright. a number of characters in this one have settled on a theory of evan, a fiction they can live with, one that remembers him as an innocent and perhaps he had been at one time.story does raise another question for me...why are we easy to dismiss the evil in some? 'cause once upon a time they smiled at us during fourth period? one sees that most with political convictions. we love our team. we are the champions. is it a case then, as in politics, that one simply doesn't know the answer and holds fast to the narrative that provides a nice and easy relief? who knows why. this story beginsthere are no hundred percent heroes.every man can be broken when things happen to him in a certain order, with a momentum and an intensity that awaken ancient fears in the back of his mind. he knows what he must do, but suddenly the body will not obey the mind. panic becomes like an unbearably shrill sound.time place scene setting* bahia mar marina, fort lauderdale, florida* late june, story opens, and the location of story opener is actually eden beach resort, over on the other coast of florida, naples* mcgee's busted flush, 52' barge-like houseboat, slip f-18, bahia mar, fort lauderdale* 5th of july, date of explosion* a toronto hotel room/ meyer* john meynard keynes, cruiser owned and lived in by meyer* time's passage is noted with phrases, like those noted above and "nine o'clock tuesday night"..."the next morning"..."on saturday morning"..."houston monday afternoon the 12th"..."when i got the mail on wednesday"..."on thursday morning"..."on friday the 16th"..."monday afternoon in dallas"..."wed. july 21st naples"..."four o'clock saturday afternoon"..late on monday the 26th...early the next day..."norma has been dead 23 days"* toronto, canada, where meyer is at a seminar, giving speeches, this, that, the other* fort lauderdale airport and a mercedes station wagon that mcgee borrows to fetch meyer* hack's and gloria's place, a 2br frame bungalow on a county road a long way west of the city* miss agnes, travis's 30s model rolls, converted to a pickup truck during the depression by another, painted blue* 848 sunrise road, venice, florida, home of the davises* houston, texas, norma's apartment in piney village, d-3* charterboat row, the key kitty* some places are only mentioned...dalton & forbes boatyard, where hack's boat is being revamped...a 31' rawson, that travis learns about, possible replacement for the john meynard keynes, at slip b-80* norma & evan were married saturday, april 17th* pier 66...which is also a refueling place for boats* the nancy mae iii on charterboat row* construction shack behind the sign that says shoreview towers, a building site that went belly-up* eastern airlines miami to houston* piney village, houston, norma's apartment, a two-level town-house, d-3* the shopping mall nearby the apartment* a narrow fast-food place with a german name* houston trust bldg\r. windham\ 27th floor, sessions, harkavy & windham* amdex petroleum exploration* eagle realty* several airports...florida, syracuse, new york, houston, texas* houston bank & trust* an underground garage in houston* meyer & travis spend a lot of time in texas & travel for miles and miles tracking down "evan" and his past* a city steak house...possibly was robstown\ valley of the rio grande\ harlingen\ raymondwille, state road 186, town or rios, county road 1329\ place north of freer off state road 16* arturo's restaurant\ motel in alice\ gas station\ the old garvey place* a drive-in called pancho's...with sergeant paul* cold brook, new york, syracuse, new york...avis...howard johnsons...grimaldi's restaurant...utica, new york* a mcdonald's at sequin* a travel agency in the shopping mall near piney village* a french restaurant in sarasota square mall cafe la chaumiere...travis and honnker* cancun airport, cancun, dos playas hotel where travis/meyer stay, carlos 'n' charli's restaurant* la vista de caribe...where barbara castillo lives* azteca royale...time share event* coba....maya ruins, pyramid* cenote...cave...in the jungle, underground rivers, * story approaches end, august 14th a saturday...and end of story is september 19th, a sunday* the thorstein veblen, meyer's newly-acquired rawson boat to replace the john meynard keynescharacters major* our hero, travis mcgee, salvage consultant, works when he wants to, plays when he has the money to be able to do so, 1st-person eye-narrator* meyer, friend and neighbor of mcgee, economist* annie renzatti, manager at the eden beach resort in naples, florida...and travis and she have been trying to work it out* evan and norma lawrence, newlyweds, and norma is meyer's niece...she is a geologist, evan is...a curiosity. norma is the previous norma greene. evan lawrence is described as about 40, about 10-12 years older than his bride* dennis hackney jenkins, a.k.a. hacksaw jenkins, charter boat captain, but his boat (the hooboy) is in repairs so he is captaining for meyer while meyer is away in canada. hack is about 50 years old* the three sons of the jenkins, the youngest is 15, the two older are back in town. one, dave jenkins, 22, is a guide down in the keys* bud jenkins, 20-year-old, attending duke on scholarship* andy jenkins, the youngest* pogo, "a local retard"...and yet another phrase that is no longer correct usagecharacters minor, with names, without names, scene-setting characters* company commander in a war we didn't win...ummm...korea? where travis served. why doesn't macdonald just come out and say it? he is too coy at times...substituting a like-kind exchange of word for a foreign country in one mcgee story, valencia...or some thing for venezuela...grumble grumble.* grizzel...the bad man in the previous story see link above* aggie sloane, also a figure in the last story, she visits florida from time to time, hits the water with meyer, she helped getting meyer's speaking engagement in toronto through another mutual friend,* pricewater, who'd been scheduled to speak, faked the flu, meyer filled in...'cause they are concerned about his welfare...after grizzel in the last story* ellis (esterland, murdered millionaire in previous story see link above)* an old man in a condominium...who saw the explosion, noted the time, 10:41 eastern daylight time* a slender dark-haired girl in an orange string bikini (norma?)* bulky man at the wheel (hacksaw?)* a blonde man in the cockpit coiling line (evan?)* coast guard* the liberation army of the chilean peoples* captain johnny dow...bahia mar regular, mentioned in many stories* hack's wife, gloria* a reporter from the miami herald...who tracked meyer down in canada* walter, handles the insurance* hatcher, thatcher, fletcher...meyer, trying to recall the name of norma's boss* mr batcher, norma's boss in houston at amdex petroleum exploration and he is away* a switchboard person at amdex petroleum* mr d amsbary dexter, with whom mcgee speaks about the explosion that killed norma, their employee* the alabama tiger, bahia mar regular...though he is in mexico for plastic surgery* the highest ranking girlfriend of the alabama tiger, wendy...her name is provided pages later* a child on the airplane directly across the aisle/ meyer* the child's mother, the child a girl* willy, a friend of evan lawrence* norma...had a friend at cal tech, manny mateo* meyer's sister...who passed...funeral he missed* the sister's friends in santa barbara* big old boy, evan...football story* rancher north of harlingen, old mr guffy, evan, another story* a bible salesman...who took even for some loot* two men from washington:* warner housell, staff person on senator derregrand's anti-terrorist committee* rowland service, asshat, specialist in treasury...i'd like to take this time to say what wonderful people they are at the i.r.s. greetings from the authoritarian-ship* dr isling, invited meyer to santiago, chile...isling, from the london school of economics* academic members who attended the same meeting in chile with meyer* two organizations in washington* underground groups in chile* reverend sam john hallenbee, first seaside baptist church, who will say a few words on the water when they lay a wreath* a gabble of small children* narcotics guy* a couple of her (gloria's) women friends* glenna, meyer's sister in santa barbara...i think this is the one who had passed, meyer was elsewhere and got the news late* divers...who retrieve what is left of the john meynard keynes* the royal viking sea full of holiday people on their way to the islands and the tour buses* the woman from venice...who's taken a photo of the keynes twenty seconds before the explosion: mrs simmons davis, brandy* abe palinka, at the city room of the paper, travis calls for information...brandy davis/photos...this is yet another story in which photos play a key role...i think the 3rd such story* roger windham, norma's lawyer...which is a hoot, all these people who have lawyers...estoy perdido...a phrase i picked up reading this one* irv, a man travis knows, in boat sales* old lady from south dakota who owns the 31' rawson, her husband died last week, george* captain ned rhine on charterboat row watching* an electrician* roy...stub...couple names thrown out there* two attendants on duty, at pier 66, a redheaded man and a young cuban* dan list, skipper of the nancy mae iii* an old man in a blue uniform, filling in since pogo is not around* his wife, whom he mentions...or, he says old lady* vagrants and haitians, also mentioned by the old man* the owner of the nancy mae, three seasons ago played defensive lineman for the dolphins...and travis can no longer recall his name* 53 specialists arriving at the eden beach resort for a convention* and their wives or husbands or special close friends, proctologists* some computerized little snit from company headquarters (eden beach resort)* jerry forbes, of dalton & forbes boatyard* fellow dave jenkins knew down in marathon, a coke runner* a friend of daves saw it happen...the one above blow up in a fast boat* a thousand shuffled through the mall in coolness* children racing back & forth* uniformed officers answering questions\mall* uniformed guards stood in boredom* young mothers with tired and ugly expressions whopped their young* packed with teenagers\the clerks were indulgent\a different kind of teenager\mall* the bosses of the microcomputer revolution* roger windham's secretary, a rangy, graying redhead* phyllis demar, trust officer, houston bank & trust* the guard on the big gate* two men & several women worked at the key boards* mr d. amsbary dexter* an old friend bird-dogged herorma* a good programer* a plump woman she remembered, one of the women in the office, marlene hoffer* a friend in the post oak area* a big man with long hairy legs* ranch woman* car rental woman at the airport* a man was watering them\a man in khakis\a big nervous woman* martin "marty" eagle"...knew norma, was too slow to move* two sisters* his name is jerry tobin...our bad man in this story, a man of many names, evan* doris...kid sister, fell head over heels\ poppa's will\ dorie dead in a car\ private investigators* contractor and some decorators* saleswomean\ jerry\ wife of contractor\ a second wife...our man, dong the deed with all* the bartender at eden beach* (past) a man like that used to come to house, bring wife* a friend of annie's in chicago\ mr luddwick, previous story, too\ annie was secretary to him became manager\ luddwick's replacement car accident* executive vice president mr minter, heart attack* one of annie's security guards* meyer's friend on sabbatical\ graduate student who works for him* meyer looks at old yearbooks and more, comes up with four possibles for evan:* warren w. wyatt, lubbock* cody t.w. pittler, eagle pass...this one leads to "evan"* cory lee rodefer, corpus christi* b.j. broome, waco* 9 rodefers\ a female voice answered\ coy lee husband's 1st cousin\ his daddy my ben's father's brother\ his momma married a man w/7 grown children* a little round woman w/a lot of gold in her smile* a man who had bought one\ she\ allie, died* dirty bob...bad guy from previous story* two men leaning against a monstrous piece of yellow equipment, bunky & miguel* old lopez\ bunky's mabel\ three sons\ county agent\ called a woman\ a couple named larker* betsy ann & hume larker...more victims of our bad man, evan* betsy ann's mother\ hume's sister* taken walker garvey's youngest daughter w/him...more victims* walker garvey, 7 daughters, just izzy/isobel was left* "larry joe harris"...another name used by our "evan"* mrs larker sold place to echeverria family* the attendant was a fat bald man in high-heeled boots* a tall woman in a waitress uniform\ betsy ann larker\ at arturo's restaurant* arturo, a man in white chef's hat* a young man w/a beard was leaning out of booth* izzy's grandmother on her mother's side* statzer\the old garvey place\ name on mailbox i think it was* dogs looked big & dangerous, but the little kids whapped them across the side of the nose* a chubby blonde woman\christine statzer...izzy's sister, one of the seven daughters of walker garvey, not guffy...as evan called him in the story he told meyer, travis, norma, christine & izzy were the two youngest* burt...christine left home to move in with* christine's oldest sister named youngest daughter isobel, 13 now* sergeant paul sigiera...travis and meyer spend some time with paul, as they did with christine* he caught me a guide last year, led 3 groups of braceros...eleven bodies, had eyelashes, cried on demand, a real sweetheart, aren't they all* cody tom walker pittler, 42-year-old, 24th this month...july i think, or maybe august, our bad man, "evan" now* father was bryce pittler, contractor, trucks, cement* cody ws 13, sister helen june 18, mother died sudden...two years later bp married a 25-year-old who worked for him* coralita cardamone..."gang-bang cardamone" as the high school boys called her, said helen june, when bp was away, coralita threw the make on cody and they did it repeatedly until two are dead, coralita and bp and cody gone and still running* coralita's best friend, leona puckett* a neighbor walking his dog\ heard the gun shots* a story\ joke\ a doctor george, wife mary, a friend, the pta, a talk on sexuality, or sailing* helen june is now mrs kermit "sonny" fox, separated* jesse...some nut case that helen june is now living with* story...about a very classy thief...from paul the sergeant* wife and kids in cinncinnati...thief* old boomer...information...lead from sergeant paul* a waitress...at panchos* sonny/june had a child that died* willy in cancun...see above...evan's stories* a small elderly woman...at the mcdonald's* a slender, grave, dark-haried woman\ a small bald elderly waiter\ patrons of the restaurant\grimaldi's* the man at the desk had suggested (this one seemed out-of-place)* past...a woman persuaded me to go w/her to an exhibition at the museum of modern art* aunti mima...asks helen june...how they found her* she wonders who gave boomer her address* a spectator who had been headed north\ the pickup driver said to the bread-truck driver\ there were seven of us standing there by now* jamison kid...assaulted by jesse, who dies rolling his scout chasing travis and meyer* two attendants ran to the body\jesse* phone...cussed the people who were talking when he wanted to use it...a party line...disconnected when they complained* two little farm kids were watching* jesse...folks in gloversville* a friend in the hospital* a batch of very old citizens* her correspondent in eagle pass, her/helen june, and the person in eagle pass is clara chappel, previous clara pitts, the best friend helen june had as young* married sid chappel* two other officers on duty* a leggy 16-year-old girl with blonde hair black at the roots* the comptroller down from chicago/annie* howard pine, is the new manager to replace annie who goes to hawaii* dr laura honneker...11 years ago travis helped her out in a situation with an unsteady patient:* mr finch* a mutual friend directed honneker to travis* hunter...name of people who put on party* a woman honneker thought she was helping shot herself* and woke her husband* rob robinette, targeted honniker at the party, she was drunk* honnker's secretary* alain, who owns operates the cafe la chaumiere* the waiters there* margaret howey, the woman selling the rawson that meyer does buy* brown girls lay stunned on open decks* sigiera knows some good old texas boys, politics, puts the lean on clara chappel* maid...of the chappels* senor roberto hoffman...the final name of evan* fran at triple a travel* pedro castillo...barb's father...maya* jorge, juan, miguel...help barb/travis/meyer in the jungle* bill mabry/montana, carl keith/pasadena, max triplett/shreveport...evan volunteers/brags of other aliases* toltecs...maya* eliza mckenzie...best friends with barb, both in canada* ramon, maya, servant/employee of roberto hoffmanreal people, famous, wealthy, powerful, fictionally famous* marcus aurelius * jesus* jerry falwell* john chancellor in drag* allende/ chile* shah of iran (paradox)* khomeini* batista/ castro* m*a*s*h characters: trapper, hawkeye, radar, hot lips* woman in opening scene from m*a*s*h, running, dogtags, 4-strides* franklin (benjamin)* jesus h jumping christ* cinderella* stephen king (cujo)* popeye's words i yam what i yam* marshall dillon\gunsmoke* god* john nance garner (vice president, '33-'41)* blackbeard, jack the ripper, agent of the lord* mcdonald's, avis, howard johnson* lawrence welk* thorstein veblen, died 1929, 72-yr-old, wrote the theory of the leisure class...meyer names his new boat this* adam smith* raymond lyttleton* frank buck (model .22 mont. wards)a word, a phrase, a cloud* estoy perdido, i am lost* square groupers...bales of marijuana floating
I'm in devouring mode again, and found a paperback of this 20th Travis McGee novel in a store yesterday, and read it in virtually one fell swoop (took time to eat some dinner). I want Travis McGee to be my friend: smart without being intellectual, moral without being moralistic, confident without being arrogant--perfectly imperfect (and he would not hesitate to use the word "imperfect").This novel has a fantastic premise (a twist on a standard JDM plot line): a con man gets away with the mark's money, though this mark is his wife, but the mark also ends up dead. In fact, the con man is allegedly dead as well since both were aboard Meyer's boat, the John Maynard Keynes, when it was blown to bits by a Chilean terrorist group.Three quotes I singled out, one for its truth, one for its prescience, the other for its lyricism:"There are no hundred percent heroes." "Soon the bosses of the microcomputer revolution will sell us preprogrammed units for each household which will provide entertainment, print out news, purvey mail order good, pay bills, balance accounts, keep track of expenses, and compute taxes. But by then the future managers will be over on the far side of the thickets, dealing with bubble memories, machines that design machines, projects so esoteric our pedestrian minds cannot comprehend them. It will be the biggest revolution of all, bigger than the wheel, bigger than Franklin's kite, bitter than paper towels."Notice how he undercuts the pontification with that last clause.And finally:"I could hear a meadowlark in the distance, an improbable sweetness."JDM is a master.
Do You like book Cinnamon Skin (1996)?
✭✭✭
—Canavan
Not the best of the Travis McGee tales by John D. MacDonald, but reasonably satisfying nevertheless. Someone has blown up the boat owned by McGee's economist friend, Meyer. Meyer was not aboard, but his niece was -- on her honeymoon -- and Meyer is determined to find out who is responsible, in part to recover the sense of self he lost in Free Fall in Crimson.MacDonald was one of the best of the post-World War II pulp fictioneers. He introduced Travis McGee in 1964, nearly two decades after establishing himself as a writer, and carried McGee through 21 novels before his death in 1986. MacDonald used McGee to voice some pungent social commentary, much of which remains strikingly relevant today. Few pulp writers have stood the test of time so well.
—Kevin Downey
Picking up a thirty-five year-old mystery/crime novel with a dead damsel on the front usually leads mind down a road of expectation that's completely met. I expected some low-brow crime action with a saucy touch now and then.It got saucy, there was action, but it was surprisingly insightful, compelling and thrilling. John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee appears a character worth revisiting. I am impressed and intrigued the long road ahead I have finding these gems at used shops and book sales.The human hero, the hero that has to recuperate, the hero living on a houseboat... good stuff in my eye.Cinnamon Skin is the kind of pocket mystery/crime little pocket mystery/crime novels the world over aspire to become when they grow up.
—S.L. Dixon
