Nightmare in Pink: A Travis McGee Novel, Book 2

I am so grateful. I stumbled upon John MacDonald accidentally. Thank you serendipity. He's delicious, delightful, de-lovely. His prescience and very human philosophy are rough diamonds. I'm like a pirate who has discovered buried treasure. So many novels of his to discover! Even though he wrote "long ago" (the 60-70s) his insights presage today and are so very relevant.I looked up a joke he mentions in this book. Here it is, related by an insightful author, herself, mary-lou stephens (maryloustephens.com.au):So, there’s this lion walking through the jungle, actually strutting more like. He sees a monkey and he roars, “I’m the King of the Jungle! I’m big and strong and brave. You’re just a silly, banana-eating primate.”The monkey, scared out of his wits, or what little wits he has, nods his head and scuttles off.The lion struts along some more and he sees a warthog. “I’m the King of the Jungle! I’m big and strong and brave. You’re just a pig with big teeth.”The warthog isn’t all that happy with this turn of events but knows better than to take on a lion, so he snorts and trots off.The lion, feeling very pleased with himself, continues to strut through the jungle and spies a mouse. “Ha!” he roars. “I’m the King of the Jungle! I’m big and strong and brave. You’re just a puny, scrawny, pathetic little rodent.”The mouse looks up at the lion through squinty little eyes, wrinkles his little pink nose and says in a very squeaky little voice. “I know, but I’ve been sick.”and then, mary-lou goes on to say:And the reason for telling you that joke. “I’ve been sick!” Still am. I’m feeling very small, squinty and mouse-like. And when you’re sick the world feels like a roaring lion, big, strutting and noisy. It’s all a bit too much. Best to concede to the puny, pathetic mouse-like state and find a dark corner to hide in. Tomorrow I might be a lion but today I’m a scrawny squeaker. And as long as the dog doesn’t consider me a snack, I should survive.You're not alone mary-lou. And thank you John MacDonald for becoming an author and not the sterile corporate executive your father envisioned. I'm a corporate headhunter - so i know more than most.(See Lee Childs introduction to this 1st book in the Travis McGee series. Speaking of whom: why are all the really great men out there fictional characters?)Thank you John MacDonald. You've got a fan for eternity.

Nightmare in Pink is the second Travis McGee novel, and though John D. MacDonald has settled into his character, he’s not yet settled into his world. McGee’s best stories are those that are set in Florida. This jaunt to Manhattan is interesting, though, and it definitely allows the author and character to flex their strengths.McGee is in New York at the request of an old friend. Not many of those are alluded to in the series, so this one is important and reveals a little more of McGee’s backstory than we usually get. Such as the fact that McGee was a sergeant in the army.Nina is the sister of McGee’s friend, and he’s loath to involve himself in her life romantically, especially on the heels of her fiance’s murder, but that’s just one of the hurdles the Florida knight errant has to clear in this one. The plot is really simple in some ways: someone is robbing someone else. However, proving that and finding out how it is done is wrapped in layers of lies and secrets.McGee keeps poking and pushing until he finds out what he needs to know, but his arrogance at being able to ferret out all the answers almost proves his undoing. In the later books of the series, McGee is more of an action hero than he is here. Nightmare in Pink serves him up more as a cerebral private investigator. I enjoyed following along in McGee’s shoes as he makes his rounds and uncovers more of the plot and the players, but I missed the brawls and the near-escapes of the later books.MacDonald waxes eloquent on metropolitan areas in quite a few places. In a couple I thought perhaps he was over the top, but it shows how well-read the author was. Especially for his time when such information had to be sought out instead of just pulled up on the internet.The most important pieces are MacDonald’s observations on humanity and the relationship between men and women, and a healthy attitude about sex. Although the book was written fifty years ago and addresses the emotional maelstrom of relationships between men and women, it’s amazing to see that so much of that baggage still persists and strains relationships.The ending got a little twisted and weird to me, but again it has to do more with where the field of psychology was at that time. There are several full-blown and twisted characters that step onto the stage in this book.I read this book probably forty years ago the first time, when I was younger than John D. MacDonald, and it’s interesting to read it again now when I’m older than the author was. The series is rich and robust, and it was a pleasure to cruise back through these pages to watch a hero we seldom see.

Great McGee book. Before some of the regulars in subsequent books. He matures a bit in the end, still hard to put down while reading. Enjoy

I've only just discovered John D Macdonald, courtesy of Amazon sending me recommendations, and have now read all the available novels featuring Travis McGee. They are very easy to read and, depending on your favoured style of novel, quite thought provoking too. I like his style. Very much.

Another fun story to give us a glimpse in Macdonald's world and Travis McGee.

I really enjoyed this book and love the easy way it is written. Now and then the author goes off at a small tangent to have a rant against some aspect of the society in America in the sixties - a lot of fun! His riveting description of being overcome by hallucinatory drugs was very believable. An easy enjoyable and entertaining read.

If you've never read any of John D.McDonald's 'Travis McGee' books, you're missing out on a good thing !the review writers with names like, Stephen King, & Ed McBain, speak for themselves.Well Written & well Crafted.A Joy to read.

As the second book in what was to become a lengthy series featuring the character of Travis McGee, this falls short of the levels achieved in the first book, and fortunately the levels mantained in the following novels. For me, the whole business of the research facility slowed the story down, and took up far too much of it.