Book log 2018 #11 - THE DEEP BLUE GOODBYE by John D MacDonald

[lonemagpie]

The first of the Travis McGee books. A bit of a curate's egg. A straightforward plot and thorough loathesome villain, and a good thrilling finale. Some of McGee's situation and thoughts as he tries to help a couple of victims of that villain remind me of situations familiar to me. Writer and character are actually trying to be more progressive in the dealings with vulnerable women, and – at first – in the descriptions, which is good... except that because it was written in 1964 it has an air of being, as Arthur Dent might say, almost but not quite entirely unlike being sensible as I'd see it, and so, when it slips, the dissonance seems more creepy than if it was just written as regular 1960s blokiness... But kudos for trying.