A Purple Place for Dying (Travis McGee, No. 3)

by John D. MacDonald

Book Overview

From a beloved master of crime fiction, A Purple Place for Dying is one of many classic novels featuring Travis McGee, the hard-boiled detective who lives on a houseboat. Travis McGee's taking his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449224384
• Release Date: May 1995
• Publisher: Fawcett
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.8" x 4.5"

Customer Reviews

A purple place for dying

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Excellent Detective Story

A Purple Place of Dying is the second novel by John D. MacDonald featuring Travis McGee. McGee has been summoned to the country by Mona Yeoman to try and force a divorce and financial settlement from her tycoon husband. McGee is not inclined to go for it but before the meeting ends, Yeoman takes a bullet to the spine and falls to the ground dead. Before long, the body has disappeared and Travis learns that everyone assumes the woman has run off with a college professor she's been having an affair with. Away from his home turf and not sure who he can trust, McGee digs in to try and find out who killed Mona Yeoman. John MacDonald knew how to tell a story and tell it well. His use of language is clear and concise. The dialogue is crisp and intelligent and includes the snappy patter that any self-respecting detective series must have. At just under 300 pages, A Purple Place for Dying is certainly not padded, the story moves along well and keeps the reader guessing at a solution to the mystery until the reveal. The characters were well developed and interesting. Mona's husband was particularly enjoyable and Travis McGee manages to be both tough without becoming a caricature of a hard-boiled detective. He's decent, honest for the most part, and the kind of guy you'd want on your side when in trouble. In any review, I try to point out the good along with the bad. In this case, I can't really find any flaws or weaknesses in the book. It's well written, the story is interesting, and the characters were strong. This was the first novel of MacDonald's that I have read but I can see why he was recognized as a master of the craft of writing. If you're looking for a good detective novel, this one is an excellent choice.

The Color of Truth

When a friend recommends Travis McGee as the perfect man to solve a problem, Travis McGee finds himself employed by Mono Yeoman - a woman who is as tough, and as hard, as nails. McGee leaves his Florida houseboat for the Nevada desert, where he expects to to help Mono untangle her estate from the greedy fingers of her estranged husband. But he barly gets his bags unpacked when a sniper does away with his employer.Any fan knows that nothing is more calculated to upset McGee than murdering someone right under his nose. The detective/troubleshooter has very little patience under the best of circumstances and he takes that kind of interference very personally. So client or no, McGee dives in to find the killer. And uncover a complex land and money scheme at the same time. In short order it becomes obvious that nothing is ever as obvious as it first seems and McGee is on his way to a showdown that might bring an unexpectedly swift end to John MacDonald's series.McGee is the classic not-quite-noir hero, mad of the same cloth as Nero Wolfe's Archie. Tough, a dash sarcastic, but basically a defender of the underdog, his solutions to problems combines subtlety and violence in just the right mix. By now generations of mystery lovers have come to see McGee as their man in Lauderdale. A solution up to the toughest challenge. This is one of the earliest McGee's (The Deep Blue Good-by was first) and remains one of the best after nearly 40 years .

McGee in a wild Southwestern adventure

I've read that John D. MacDonald had 4 or 5 of the first McGee's written before he decided to publish them. As a result, these 1st novels in the series can be seen as experiments in developing a series character. In this, the 3rd or 4th published in the series, we see McGee in a situation as close as he will ever get to a classic mystery novel. Before he can be hired by Mona Fox Yeoman to free her and her money from the clutches of her husband Jass Yeoman, she's shot dead right in front of him by a desert sniper. -And the police won't start searching for a killer until McGee can prove she's dead. Seems her body disappeared while McGee was calling the police and she was always threatening to one away with her lover and weren't they spotted on a commercial flight getting away, and-. Eventually, Trav is looking for the killer for Jass, who may not be the tyrant that Mona described to McGee. McGee tracks down the true story, ending up unarmed against a pair of killers in the desert. Classic McGee with a "Ross Macdonald-ish" twist at the end as the solution becomes mired in the Yeoman past.AS always MacDonald spins an enthralling tale.

The Best Travis McGee

I have read all the T McGee books except one, and for some reason this one sticks out as my favorite. John D MacDonald is a superb wordsmith. Just ask Sue Grafton! MacDonald used colors, Grafton uses alphabet. It is tight, well-written, as descriptive as it needs to be and I didn't want to put it down! MacDonald is masterful in so many ways. He never resorts to profanity and he gets away with it. Unheard of, by today's standards! For those of you who've not read about Travis, I surely do envy you! Some great reading awaits you! Larry 'Possum' Ronnow