FORGOTTEN BOOKS #215: By John D. MacDonald


Ed Gorman, wonderful writer and fellow FFBer, is presently being treated at the Mayo Clinic. You can leave your well-wishes for Ed by going here and following the instructions. The March 2013 issue of Mystery Scene magazine has Ed Gorman’s “My 10 Favorite John D. MacDonald Standalone Novels.” I thought I might honor Ed by reviewing Ed’s JDM picks for the next ten FFBs. Here is Ed’s list:
1. Dead Low Tide
2. Soft Touch
3. Deadly Welcome
4. Murder in the Wind
5. The Executioners
6. Slam the Big Door
7. The End of the Night
8. A Key to the Suite
9. A Flash of Green
10. The Drowner

As I’m sure you figured out, I’ll be reviewing these novels in countdown order. So, let’s start with Number 10: The Drowner from 1963. Lucille Hanson, separated from an unfaithful husband, has a $106,000 secret. When Lucille’s body shows up floating off the Florida coast, her death attracts private investigator Paul Stanial. Stanial suspects Lucille’s drowning wasn’t an accident but murder. John D. MacDonald presents a satisfying story of double-dealing and deception.

33 thoughts on “FORGOTTEN BOOKS #215: By John D. MacDonald

  1. Dan

    I read mucho MacDonald stand-alones (never cared for Travis) back in high school/college. Gotta get back that way sometime….

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Dan, I used to find JDM books everywhere. Now, I seldom find them. Like you, I tired of Travis toward the end of the series.

      Reply
  2. Todd Mason

    I’d say Patricia Highsmith and Robert Bloch could match MacDonald in writing about psychopaths, but they flank him…Bloch at times, at least, would hold them at arm’s length, so to speak (Joyce Carol Oates goes this way, too), while Highsmith was perhaps identifying with them rather a bit gleefully…

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Todd, I think there’s a fine line between Bloch’s and Highsmith’s psychopaths and JDM’s sociopaths. JDM’s sociopaths blend in and do their dirty work behind the scenes.

      Reply
  3. John

    I’ve read this one and I think it’s superb on so many levels. I reviewed it last year when we had our JDM tribute. The mystery is fascinating, but all the social commentary on the swinging 60s lifestyle still has some resonance. And the killer is quite a surprise! BTW, I’m trying to get this one reprinted.

    Interestingly, though I have few JDM books I have six of the titles on Ed’s list. We apparently have similar tastes.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      If you have 6 of the 10 books on Ed’s list, your tastes are right on the money. Now, you need to locate the four books you’re missing! I remember your fine review during the FFB JDM Tribute.

      Reply
  4. Jeff Meyerson

    Good idea. I’ve been catching up on the JDM standalones but haven’t read this one. The last was BORDER TOWN GIRL/LINDA (the latter with a Florida Gulf Coast setting). I also read hsi early sf stories in OTHER TIMES, OTHER WORLDS. I’d put THE END OF THE NIGHT higher than #7.

    Good luck to Ed with his stem cell treatment.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      I might be quibbling with Ed’s rankings as I work my way through his list, Jeff. I have fond memories of THE END OF THE NIGHT, too.

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      James, I binged on JDM in the Seventies. I’m sure I read many of the books on Ed’s list, but that was decades ago. It will be fun to refresh my memory of these wonderful books!

      Reply
  5. Todd Mason

    Some of Bloch’s and Oates’s psychopaths are apparently Functional, as well…and Highsmith loves her chameleons…

    See Jerry House’s vignette from the other day, just before his FFB today…

    Reply
  6. Kent Morgan

    I’ve got all JDM’s fiction except for Weep For Me, which I don’t think I will ever find. While in Florida recently I passed on one of his non-fiction books in a book club edition and when I got home I discovered I didn’t have it. Oh well, we all make mistakes.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      YOU ALWAYS REGRET THE BOOKS YOU DIDN’T BUY, Kent. I put that sign over the books I took to BOUCHERCON in Toronto to sell. Several customers returned to buy books claiming my sign tormented them.

      Reply
  7. Bob Randisi

    This was filmed for Impact! (or was it Thriller!) with Clu Gulagher, Aldo Ray, Tina Louise and Ellen Donohue (Burstyn). Nice job.

    RJR

    Reply
  8. Jerry House

    George, I love the idea of your sign. It certainly hits close to home. 🙂

    Todd, Bloch’s THE DEAD BEAT was his take on sociopaths; different from JDM’s but still unsettling. My own feeling is that Highsmith used sociopaths quite well, but that they were used a vehicle for her main theme of moral ambiguity. (And thanks for the nod.)

    Reply
  9. Todd Mason

    Bloch wasn’t as dispassionate as JDM could be; Bloch couldn’t shake his loathing of certain characters (nor wanted to, I strongly suspect). While I do think Highsmith, more than either of the men (and for good reason, up to a point) wanted more revenge on the world. Oates, i think, like Bloch, can’t leave her own anger at such beasts out of her fiction, either, even if she works even more deadpan.

    Reply

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