3 jul 15#54 from macdonald for me and the last travis mcgee story, #21if you have only read macdonald's travis mcgee stories you have missed out on some great stories, a pile of them, they all rock & roll, they are as real as it gets and they are a joy to read. only the last 3-4 mcgee stories have anything in the way of "spoilers" in them, and that is the so-called liberal definition of spoiler (billy had a cow. it was purple)...for what it is worth...so i imagine it'd be best to read the last 3-4 in order, but other than that, not so much.onward, ever onward. i'd just finished Cinnamon Skin before starting this one.5 jul 15finished. good story. i really liked it. last one but travis indicates to uncle meyer there in the broad bay north of fort laurderdale that with the trust he set up, he put everything into it, so he'll need to scramble, to find some salvage work. and so it goes. an enjoyable series. i've honestly no clue what a few reviewers mean when they indicate mcgee was misogynist or sexist and he is no longer. would be nice if the reviewer were subject to the same rule, show us, don't tell us. meh. mcgee has his flaws but he is trying and that is more than we can ever expect from too many. alas and high-karrrrrooomba. mcgee revists a few characters from the past herein...willy, owner of the hotel, on his last legs. puss killian, in the form of a daughter. the alabama tiger is gone...i don't think we ever got more than a glimpse of the actual tiger in the series, he of the perpetual houseboat party...that has now ended. macdonald recorded a changing florida, too, in this series. i think that change is as pertinent or more so than any change in mcgee. anyway, good read, good series. the last four or five should be read as they were written, not so much the earlier ones. mcgee tells, often, about previous events, and rarely do those past events bear any similarity to any story...he helped someone out, that person referred another. so... this story beginsonce upon a time i was very lucky and located a sixty-five-foot hijacked motor sailer in a matter of days, after the authorities had been looking for months. when i heard through the grapevine that billy ingraham wanted to see me, it was easy to guess he hoped i could work the same miracle with his stolen sundowner, a custom cruiser he'd had built in a jacksonville yard. it had been missing for three months.and the above has what i've seen often in mcgee stories, reference to what could possibly be another mcgee story, "once upon a time..." but that line doesn't ring any bells for me...and...there are many instances like that. nothing wrong with it, it is simply a fact of the mcgee stories.time place scene setting* the busted flush, mcgee's 52' barge-like houseboat, slip f-18, bahia mar marina, fort lauderdale, florida* time is recorded in lineal fashion...the last couple stories have been like this..."on wednesday afternoon"..."tuesday, october 9th"...."one week later on the 22nd"..."three days before christmas"...to the end of the story..."early may"* faulkner's fish camp on ramrod key* airport at southdale, where mick flies out of* tower alpha at dias del sol, billy's place, 20-story towers, alpha one of them, 8 miles north of fort lauderdale* cancun, mexico...chetumal, capital city of quintana roo...tulum* citrina, name of town near where billy's boat was stolen* benjamin's, a restaurant, where travis and meyer dine, near bahia mar* miss agnes, travis's 30s model rolls royce, converted to a pickup truck during the depression by another, painted blue* a battered old white chevy pickup that travis borrows, miss agnes too conspicuous * 10 miles north northwest of big pine key, where the sundowner was found, three bodies aboard, flies* a shopping mall...a marine supply & hardware store...and the bomb wrapped as a package is stolen from miss agnes* annabelle everett's run-down 6th floor...of ten, condo apartment, the plaza del rio* frank payne's offices* miami international airport, aeromexico counter, january 7th* sheraton, mexico...cancun, where travis, browder stay* seat 31-c, an aisle seat, travis's place on the return flight from mexico* #4 at 33 northeast 7th street miami, willy nucci's place* a house on a canal off the beaten track, where ruffino holes up* shopping plaza, kmartcharacters major* travis mcgee, our hero, 1st-person eye-narrator, beach bum, salvage consultant, bachelor, aging super-hero. he is no longer drinking plymouth gin, as he was in the early stories, having stock-piled some as it was disappearing, now gone, as he drinks boodles gin. hi karooombaH!* meyer, travis economist friend...plays a part not as much as in some of the mcgee stories* billy ingraham, developer, speculator, married twenty-eight years to * sadie ingraham...who really is more of a minor character as she dies before story opener and it is* millis hoover, who is with billy now* howard cannon & karen mcbride...play the part of dead bodies, boat-snatchers, drug-runners. howard cannon became "john rogers"* mr scott ellis browder, dea agent, has his own agenda, does help mcgee try to get the fleas off his back* rufino marino, jr. or possibly the third...there is one line in the story that suggests the father of rufino senior was also a rufino, and he is but one of the 'bad' in this story.* mick...man who owns, runs several planes/pilots, known by travis, is instrumental in recovering the sundowner...renamed the lazidays, biloxi homeport* gigliermina reyes y fonseca of lima, peru, 3rd victim on the boat, connected, and her death and manner of death is reason why travis has attempts on his life. daughter of a peruvian diplomat, she'd been traveling w/a companion in mexico, connected with howard & karen* arturo jornalero, mob guy, believes he is distanced from them, cleans their money, acts as a kind of go-between travis/mob guys* jean killian, 17, puss's daughter, travis's daughterminor characters, with names, without, scene-setting characters* insurance son-of-a-bitch* security staff, concierge* hubie harris...who has a sloop and travis brought it back from marigot bay at st lucia* two kids of hubue, 12 & 13, wanted to bring the sloop back after hubie broke his knee* authorities* people were picnicking...near where billy & millis swam ashore after their boat was stolen* resident manager at the dias del sol condo* some young punk...who is revealed to be howard cannnon* one of the cuban buddies of batista...for whom travis recovered the boat, the aliciente renamed the temptation, and the man's name was calderon* police chief, citrina* karen mcbride is a dentist's daughter, aunt in wisconsin, howard cannon is trash but the politically correct have not as yet recognized that word as one to be banned from proper and righteous usage* denise and frieda, meyer's friends visiting from england* lois...a lonely woman travis knows...and probably a reference to another story* carleen hooper, a thin woman in a red & white jogging suit, pilot for mick, his best pilot* a little old gal (computer, show how...to mick i think it was)* two different sets of people* carleen has three kids, husband passed, plane accident* sam dandie, from whom travis borrows the pickup, also bahia mar resident, the merla s w/1 or 2 nieces, invented the dandie flotation guage at 38 and hasn't worked since* a heavy man in a stained canvas apron* "al"...one of mcgee's fictions, a friend in a boat..."adam smith" calling from "delancy's grill in homestead" more fiction from mcgee* idiot in ultralight as 12,000 feet* petersens aboard the rubiyacht where meyer delivers some dolphin* the yard (billy's boat repair or not) sent a couple men* three dapper little guys in 3-piece suits* a friend of millis has paintings in new york* emiliano lopez, 14 and horatio sanchez, 13, killed presumably by the package bomb intended for travis* john tinker meadows, see link below* annabelle everett, was annabelle harris, married stu everett, tv weatherman and he started bebopping with the girl who does the 11 o'clock report and so it goes. she and travis get it on* men stopped in the office to see her, millis...info relayed to travis from annabelle* annabelle's old granddad called these types city slickers* frank payne, billy's and travis's lawyer, in new firm, marhead, carp, payne & guyler* a receptionist at frank's offices, then frank's secretary* deckers & sons...funeral home, to do with billy's body* roger carp, associate of frank payne, does the courtroom scene, frank does not* the man driving the continental...seemed to be wearing the uniform of the security troops at dias del sol* one of deck's pale young men* reverend dr barnell innerlake...billy's funeral* enelio fortez, killed years ago miami, pieces of him left all over* arturo jornalero has a wife and kids* gigi, the 3rd victim, was engaged to a lawyer...but there is also this bit about her family sending her away from home to get her away from a boy...the two facts don't make sense.* a receptionist at jornalero's business* a lady who owns vineyards in california...meyer...since meyer is not a central role in this story, others are introduced to give meyer an out-ting* the people where annabelle now works, travel agency, one of the girls is mentioned* three guys in a parking lot...who make an attempt on travis...sully, one of them, rick sullivan (knees)...louis lalieu (dental)...and dean matan* the cappy, the capataz: the foreman, mob guy* the man in marseilles...who did billy* old-timers, new guys...mob conflict...and new guys are a variety of people including red necks and a pile of others but not italians, all getting in on the action...too, there is the canadian mob, who stands back and watches* "bucky"...a half-true fictional name for travis, via browder, real person, dead, was called estanciero, "the rancher"...drugs* over-worked flight attendants...and here is one change of note...they are no longer referred to as "stewardesses" that awful hateful word the righteous do not use in their daily shenanigans * several attentive men (mexico airport)* a whole pack of chubby people* the drivers sat high behind the wheel (buses/mexico)* pool attendant & towel boy, ricky, at the sheraton, cancun* a woman on a sun cot, nancy sheppard, writes copy for pub house new york, vacation in mexico, makes light of travis's eye-patch disguise approved by browder* a heavy woman behind the counter, restaurante tia juanita* two mexican kids drinking coco-cola out of oversized bottles* a man, an aging hippy, martin...plays a key role in mexico, delivers browder & travis to:* the brujo (wizard/magician)...where drugs were bought...where howard aka john rogers bought drugs with bad money...and this is a flaw in the story as the origin of the bad money is never really explained. even macdonald can make mistakes, but we go with it, sing hallelujah* a man appeared in a doorway...a hut in tulm* a young man in black shorts & a white shirt (holding an automatic weapon on browder & travis) as they met with the brujo* browder has a wife, 15-year-old daughter now a vegetable because of drugs...ex-wife now, not wife* a very happy 12-yr-old mexican who travis gave his ten-gallon hat to when they left mexico...part of the rancher disguise* beyond him were a man & woman, short & smiling* security guards came on the run* two official-looking men/mexican airport, return trip* rufino is the eldest of two sons and two daughters of rufino senior* bald priest and a fat brassy blonde, seat-mates of mcgee on the flight back from mexico* two men in their 30s, wisner & torbell, dea, visit mcgee for the scoop on mexico, browder's fate* the alabama tiger meets the green ripper, no more perpetual houseboat party* irv deibert, bahia mar regular, also departed* story about mcgee's grandpa, past, about 'care'* wendy sold her part in a marina, not owned by sea & marine ventures* walter hanrahan, developer, land speculator in boca raton blown up with son in golf cart...first listed casualty of the drug gang wars* francisco puchero, 2nd, grenade* firemen put out a lincoln fire...inside, victims 3-4, manuel samuro and guillero "pappy" labrador in the trunk* two masked gunmen killed 5 of 6 players, poker; collins, silvestre, zabala, shorter and cawley* survivor, brett slusarski, but he dies later, too* 3 cubans broke down the gate, killed 3 men working* the owner of a fleet of shrimp boats was killed* a man came screaming...a commodities broker was found hanging, his daughter found him, she is five years old* ruffino marino, senior, killed...somebody broke into the condo apartment above him, gagged the occupants, went down a rope to his place, sliced his throat while the mrs slept, rose ellen marino* fellows operating all that great equipment* 17 violent deaths, 18 when slusarki died* actual count up to 24, a federal employee, two street urchins, two boat thieves, a peruvian debutante, and an old man in cannes* guest column in new york times by a ex-employee of the dea* willy nucci...in previous story(ies) too, now at #4 at 33 northeast 7th street miami...previously, he owned a hotel he sold, he is dying* mark hardin...the screen name of ruffino marino junior...star of fate'sholiday* a friend of a friend of an independent motion picture distributor in miami...gets mcgee a glossy of marino as mark hardin* a lot of cops, a lot of burly men in civilian clothes, a lot of women in veils, a lot of important-looking couples* a young woman with a limited power of attorny* briney...brenda...brenny, briney cause she likes to surf, willy nucci's nurse, help-mate, so forth so on* stuff greenberg sent briney to nucci as a free gift, though she tells travis she's been paid ten grand* bobby dermon, ruffino marino junior's pal...and ruffi junior blamed the 3 deaths on him* gretel howard/ puss killian, previous mcgee woman characters from other stories, gretel about 3-4 stores back, puss, see link below* jornalero has 2 girls who do nothing but sort money, count it, band it* tom beccali...another casualty of the drug war* a haitian drowned his crippled sister in a bathtub...ordinary murders now* a drunk passed out in his driveway and hiw wife ran over him with the ford wagon 7 or 8 times* a naked secretarial trainee shoved an icepick into her supervisor...ordinary murders, back to normal now, drug wars over* a crazy burst into a bus terminal at full gallop, firing at random blacks...killed one, slightly wounded four* a 13-year-old girl shot a 14-year-old boy, dispute over a bicycle* the foreman, the capataz on mcgee's sun deck* the bone guy...setting the broke legs of one of the three jumped mcgee* cappy uses the name "ben smith" and mcgee uses it, too* the girl (branch bank) helped mcgee unlock the little door* a contact on route 19 little north of clearwater* irma casak, wife of the deceased hugo casak...who got out of raiford and was put down by the cappy...and their daughter, angie, now 11* captain wesley davenport, sheriff's office, has twins, 11* motorcycle queens down from houston...in lockup* ass't state attorney* a new customer who'd come in* alice...the name and person cappy gave mcgee to contact to pass the word on ruffino junior* lopez...who he was to ask alice for* the pool people were warm and happy, thepool cubans...executive types* hillary muldoon of muldoon and grimes, specialits in labor law...third party in mcgee's and mob's deal, 57 grand, net* tipsy boatmen, marie....charlie, somebody using a bullhorn* aunt velma, puss's sister, with whom jean killian was raised* tush bannon, janine bannon, see link below* tall black attendant* travis shows jeans photos of her paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, and an uncle who died...suicide, according to a previous story* paul...in puss's letter* kids were out there...g-string joggers* girlfriend in santa barbara, where jean told aunt velma she'd be* frank...payne...for the trust* list of names at the party in the broad bay north of fort lauderdale...20? 30? jim ames and betsy. the thorners, teneros, arthur and chook wilkinson(previous story, too), the mick and carlie hooper, junebug, lew, roxy, sue sampson, sandy, johnny dow, briney, frank and gretch payne, miguel, the marchmans, marilee, sam dandie with two nieces, a levening of beach folks, two dogs and a catreal people, famous, wealthy, fictionally famous* eric hoffer...a quote before story begins* andre maurois...a 2nd quote before story* castro* batista* syd solomon (painting)* adam smith* jesus christ* good god* darwin/darwinian* phyllis schlafly* carter...who had all those pills* countess moralogo tie* lewis thomas...mcgee is reading him* john wayne* kafka, the trial, the prisoner* shah of iran* edye, tres panchos...music* moritmer snerd* jesus h christ* rocky* stallone* old abe (lincoln)* archimedes* buddha* jack benny...your money or your life...long pause* cbs release, suite for flute and jazz piano: jean-pierre rampal on flute, claude bolling on piano, marcel sabiani on drums, max hediguer on string bass* thorstein veblen, economist, and the name of meyer's recently acquired boat that replaced the john meynard keynes* sherlock holmesa quote or twothe most deadly commitment of all is to be committed only to one's self.self delusion is one of the essentials of life.a word or twopundonor: point of honorsome folklore included hereina cramp began to knot my right calf and so with thumb and forefinger i pinched my nose shut with considerable force and held the pressure until the cramp faded away. a chinese solution. acupressure, just as steady pressure at the right point on the inside of the wrist, three finger widths from the heel of the hand, will inhibit nausea.stories this one recallsPale Gray for Guilt, tush bannon & puss killianOne More Sunday, john tinker meadows, not so much of a recall as a minor reference to the man/preacher
Travis McGee is hired by a self-made millionaire to find his boat which was stolen from under him while he was on his honeymoon. The boat is found, with the bodies of the thieves on board and Travis is again plunged into murder, Shortly afterward, the millionaire is killed and attempts are made on Travis' life. One of the victims was the niece of a Peruvian drug kingpin and her uncle wants revenge. Travis puts the word out that he and his late friend weren't involved in the deaths and is assured he's safe but it appears those on his trail prefer to see him as a convenient kill rather than hunt the real killers.From there the story spins into drug trafficking, drawing in markers from old friends, meeting questionable new ones, until erupting into a wholesale war among the criminals themselves.Through it all, Travis spins his philosophy of life and the dissolution of his own and others. He's older now, more jaded than ever. Most of the people he knows are either dead or dying or have moved away. Even his best friend Meyer is estranged. The women in his life are still mostly single encounters because he's still withholding himself from that final, intimate commitment which would embrace a life other than his own. He now also has a new mystery to solve while trying to extricate himself from the current one: Someone keeps leaving cats fashioned out of pipe cleaners on the Busted Flush.There's a long trail to the discovery of the killer, and the usual very violent and vicious fistfight between Travis and the antagonist but the real resolution of the story comes when Travis discovers the creator of the pipe cleaner cats, and a glimpse into his own future.It's always interesting to find the one sentence in which the author uses the title of the novel but I have to admit I didn't find the phrase for this one.This is the last in the Travis McGee series and it's more or less evident from the way the novel ends. It's melancholy, as usual, and still bittersweet, but with more of a note of hope than the rest of the novels. Mr. MacDonald died the year after this novel was written but it seemed he'd already decided this was the last story for his hero, even though there were rumors of an unfinished McGee manuscript, which the family continued to deny. I offer this as a spoiler: Travis is literally back where he started, but with someone else on the periphery of his life now. All in all, it's a fitting way to end Travis McGee's story, with that little bit of sunshine breaking through the lonely silver rain.This novel is owned by the author and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.
Do You like book The Lonely Silver Rain (1996)?
SPOILERS AHEAD!In the beginning of the book, a friend comes to Travis with a problem: his boat has been stolen and he'd like McGee to recover it. It's a high-value job, one I thought would be complicated. I was expecting a long tale of island-hopping, following clue after clue to find the missing boat. But surprisingly, the boat was found early on in the book, with three bodies inside. The real story starts here. Drugs, organized crime, intrigue, near misses, and nail-biting suspense follow. But through it all, you can feel Travis growing tired of his lifestyle. He worries that he's getting old and that his slowed reflexes are going to get him killed, and you can tell he's thinking about using this big payoff as a retirement fund. The book has the feeling of The End about it.Especially once the pipe-cleaner cats started turning up all over Travis' boat and car. I thought it was just a cheap vehicle for building suspense - or the method by which MacDonald was going to kill off his salvage consultant - but it turned out to be the best part of the story. One of my favorite McGee women makes a sort-of reappearance - Puss Killian (hence the cats, naturally). But not Puss herself. Her daughter. To be more precise, her love child with McGee. Her anger at McGee, or rather his absence from her life, is tangible. He has to go to extreme lengths to prove to her that he didn't know of her existence, or even that her mother was pregnant when she ran off. But once Travis shows Jean, his daughter, the truth, their relationship becomes warm. Travis seems settled in a way he never was before. Clearly, Travis is retired. It was an incredibly satisfying read, and a fitting end to the TMcG saga.The author died about a year after this was published, so I was expecting to feel short-changed. I thought the book would have too many loose ends and that I'd be looking for another edition that doesn't exist. Especially since I've read quite a bit about the rumored existence of an unpublished 22nd TMcG novel supposedly entitled "A Black Border for McGee." But in all honesty, this book feels complete. The series feels over. What little bit has been left open isn't going to cause me undue worry, but rather gives me the impression that Travis is still out there aboard the Busted Flush, slip F-18 Bahia Mar, enjoying another installment of his retirement, and waiting for the next big adventure to present itself.
—Andrea
Lonely Silver Rain - John D MacDonaldA good read, a couple of mysteries solved, and an upbeat ending. As usual, McGee's take on the events of the times is at least as interesting as the actual story (And, it's a pretty good story) The characters are always nuanced, nobody is completely good, and almost nobody is beyond redemption. The tie in to "Pale Gray for Guilt" was unexpected, and very well done. You just want to sit on the bridge of the Busted Flush and share a Gin with Meyer and Mcgee.By all indications, this was not meant as the finale it turned out to be. But, as a final act, it worked out very well indeed.The Lonely Silver RainJohn D. MacDonald
—Chuck Fannin
What I like about John D. is that the writing in the Travis McGee series is consistently excellent from first to last. Donald Hamilton’s Matt Helm Series became disappointingly bloated mid-way through the series. Robert B. Parker’s Spenser and Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall novels became abbreviated toward the end: Robert B. would write a few words, and expect his readers to know him well enough to fill in the blanks.Travis McGee novels are not the best or easiest “first read forget me” books but in my opinion they hold up better over time, and have a high re-readable factor. In SILVER, the last one, Trav goes hunting for a boat stolen from a rich friend. Trav finds the 54-foot cruiser, but there are three murdered bodies on board. Trav doesn’t know whether it’s drugs or counterfeiting or something else, but he suddenly doesn’t want any part of any recovery; he doesn’t want anyone to know that he was even looking for the boat. Too late, Trav.And then someone mails Trav a bomb as a gift to kill him.And then things get really interesting, with Trav caught between two fighting syndicate families, who maybe both want him dead.Oh. Should I mention that Travis has a kid?“Stop calling me kid!”@hg47
—Harv Griffin
