Book Review Review by Jonathan Herbert
Travis McGee is at it again, and this time
he’s featured in a uniquely odd John
MacDonald work called “Nightmare
in Pink.” It is the second of 21 novels in what
may very well be the greatest Florida mystery
series ever written.
Travis McGee spends most of his time
onboard his houseboat, Busted Flush, in Fort
Lauderdale. Many of these stories begin
when a friend or acquaintance visits him with
an unusually complex problem. The book
begins on Park Avenue in New York City,
where Travis McGee is far from home but
continues his fi ght for any damsel in distress
looking for a hero.
The satin house was jammed with glossy
people in that kind of lighting which makes
women look mysterious and men look
stalwart. Smiles and glassware sparkled.
Some huge suction yanked the smoke up and
out. Soft acoustics blurred and merged all the
shoulder-to-shoulder yakking. I got a stool
at the very end of the bar near the door, my
right shoulder against the wall, and a huge
tailored back at my left blocking all vision in
that direction. The bartenders made their deft
moves between the gleaming bottle rack and
the dark wood and red leather of the bar.
I kept a full drink in front of me, and I kept
craning my head around to watch the door.
She came in precisely on time, looking for
no one, knowing in perfect confi dence she
would be looked for…
Nightmare
in Pink
By John D. MacDonald