This week we are coming closer and closer to the end of the Crime Fiction Alphabet meme. Kerrie's
Mysteries in Paradise is the place to see what other bloggers are posting and check out the rules. This week we will be featuring the Letter T.
Crime Fiction Alphabet: Letter T
T is for Travis McGee
Travis McGee is a fictional character created by mystery
writer John D. MacDonald (July 24, 1916 – December 28, 1986). Unlike most
detectives in crime fiction, McGee is a self-described salvage consultant who
recovers others' property for a fee. McGee appeared in 21 novels, from the
first book in 1964, The Deep Blue Good-by to the last book in 1984,
The Lonely Silver Rain. Travis McGee
lives on a custom-made 52-foot barge-type houseboat dubbed The Busted Flush docked
at Bahia Mar Marina, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His clients are usually the people
who have been deprived of something important and/or valuable (typically by
unscrupulous or illegal means) and have no way to regain it lawfully. McGee's
usual fee is half the value of the item if recovered. Travis McGee does have a
sidekick of sorts. His best friend Meyer, an internationally known and
respected economist who lives on a cabin cruiser of his own near McGee's at
Bahia Mar.
When MacDonald created the character, he wanted the
character to be called Dallas McGee, after the city.
After the Kennedy assassination, John
MacDonald decided that name had too many negative connotations. He was searching
for a first name for McGee when a friend suggested that he look at the names of
the many Air Force bases in California. MacDonald's attention was caught by Travis
Air Force Base, he named his character Travis. Beginning with
The Deep Blue
Good-By, released in March 1964, each of the twenty-one novels featuring
Travis McGee has a title that incorporates a color.
The Books
The Deep Blue Good-by
(1964)
Nightmare in Pink
(1964)
A Purple Place for Dying
(1964)
The Quick Red Fox
(1964)
A Deadly Shade of Gold
(1965)
Bright Orange for the Shroud (1965)
Darker than Amber
(1966)
One Fearful Yellow Eye
(1966)
Pale Gray for Guilt
(1968)
The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper (1968)
Dress Her in Indigo
(1969)
The Long Lavender Look
(1970)
A Tan and Sandy Silence
(1971)
The Scarlet Ruse
(1972)
The Turquoise Lament
(1973)
The Dreadful Lemon Sky
(1974)
The Empty Copper Sea
(1978)
The Green Ripper
(1979)
Free Fall in Crimson
(1981)
Cinnamon Skin
(1982)
The Lonely Silver Rain
(1984)
