If that person has not read a minimum of three books a week since he or she was ten years old, or 2,340 books—comic books not counted—and if he or she is not still reading at that pace or preferably, at a greater pace, then forget it.

JDM used variants of the setting in a few McGee adventures and in many of his one-off crime novels. And there the book sat, ripe for the taking.

Donald E. Westlake said of him: “Travis McGee is the last of the great knights-errant: honorable, sensual, skillful, and tough. Martin of, “The most instructive thing you can do is to go back over past work, published or unpublished, and find the places where you described something at length, in an effort to make it unique and special, but somehow you did not bring it off. Fortunately, Bert has a soft spot for comedians and is the savviest if not the most grammatical guy in town…. But in the next couple of weeks, a print edition and an audiobook (performed by the superb Jem Matzan) will also become available.

, edited by Ed Gorman, Lee Server, and Martin H. Greenberg, Carroll & Graf, 1998. By the age of thirty, MacDonald had attended college, worked in New York City, earned an MBA from Harvard, seen action in the China Burma India Theater during WWII, joined the OSS (the CIA’s predecessor), risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel, received his discharge from the military, moved to Florida, and launched into his writing career. For example, I did not label the air conditioner as old, or noisy, or battered, or cheap. D. R.’s note: Walter Abbott recently wrote up a review of JDM’s Deadly Welcome.

20. He has spent the past 15 years trying to forget Ramona and his early years there. But after Robert Parker died in 2010, I simply finished reading the last few Spensers that he wrote and figured that was that. There’s all this, plus a double twist ending that will leave you open-mouthed. Of course, you can go home again, but it’s not always fun—especially since you left it 14 years earlier in utter disgrace.

“Most beginners think that writing is a quick ticket to some kind of celebrity status, to broads and talk shows. Still, why not give it a shot?

The guy in the slammer, she insists, didn’t do it.

He clearly has some deeply held belief that McGee should never again be heard from, absent his dad. The pill-popping star of his last best chance at a hit show is under a death threat from a very sore loser in a love triangle. One of the blog’s readers was in touch with me recently with a fascinating query. The sandy hair had been cropped short and the gray at the temples was now practically invisible. He had a family to care for so he avoided trouble like the plague. Noah, when it comes down to it, is kind of a superficial dude.

Here’s how it goes. Add to the mix Betty Larkin, the younger sister of Jenna. There are no dirty secrets. No less a reviewer than Stephen King credited Lippman with surpassing classic forbears like Agatha Christie and Rex Stout, and he just might be right. You could reasonably argue that our man Travis came out of a lineage of fictional tough guys that got its start in southern California. Because, let’s face it, some authors-for-hire who tackle famous sleuths don’t get it right. Ace Atkins’ first Spenser, Lullaby, crossed my path a few weeks ago purely by accident. Bright Orange for the Shroud Absolutely not, I thought. Describe a cracked lens on his glasses, a bow fixed with stained tape, tufts of hair growing out of his nostrils, an odor of old laundry.”, —John D. MacDonald, The Writer (1974), reprinted in The Writer’s Handbook (1984), “Integrity is not a conditional word. 15. Author: Patrick Modiano Here’s what she had to say about the delicate job she’s undertaken three times so far: There’s a name for novels like my Poirots and others of their kind: continuation novels.

Although it ended after a few books, Vincent Lardo did a solid job of helping Archy McNally tool around Palm Beach in his little red Miata.

To read Gopnick’s essay, just click here.

Remember, the story is set in 1959, the hottest part of the Cold War, and during the Space Race with the USSR. Just a kid when Doyle left, she had had a huge crush on him.

So bunker down in your comfiest chair with a warm blanket, a tasty cocktail, and let yourself relax and unravel some of the best mystery books out there. 3. A word of discouragement to young writers: “Most beginners think that writing is a quick ticket to some kind of celebrity status, to broads and talk shows. She had a crush on Doyle, back when Doyle and Jenna were briefly seeing each other. It’s too far gone already. In his line of work, it would have been a professional necessity. Here’s how it goes. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather.

The story is set on the Florida Gulf Coast town of Ramona, south of Sarasota. My task – should I choose to accept it, which I soon did, because concocting a baffling mystery for the brilliant Belgian sleuth to solve was the most exciting creative challenge I had ever faced – was to bring the Poirot we all know and love a new case that would frustrate and puzzle him right up until he worked out the solution.

“The reader always wants to know what happens next, whether he’s reading The Brothers Karamazov, David Copperfield or Hemingway.

And someone in the Pentagon needs him to return home for a vital confidential mission: Luring an ailing military scientist living in Ramona Beach out of retirement.

The most recent book was published just a year ago. It’s called One Strange Date and it’s available for presale on Amazon right now. Fans of Travis McGee may be a little disappointed in the slightly treacley, sentimental final pages. One Fearful Yellow Eye

I’m writing to let you know that my new Key West Caper—somehow or other I’ve made it to number 12!–has just become available for pre-order as an e-book.

I know I’m pretty late to the game on this, and you’re all probably way ahead of me. The sleuth uncovers these webs, usually with some shameful sexual element, and shines the light on them.

That would be very much appreciated…, https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Date-West-Capers-Book-ebook/dp/B01N9O0RAA. Astrology, health food, flag waving, bible thumping, Zen, nudism, nihilism—all of these are grotesque simplifications which small dreary people adopt in the hope of thereby finding The Answer, because the very concept that maybe there is no answer, never has been, never will be, terrifies them.”, —via Travis McGee, A Deadly Shade of Gold (1965), “Friendships, like marriages, are dependent on avoiding the unforgivable.”, “I got a call not long ago from the New York Times asking me to review the new Cain novel…My first reaction was, is he still alive? I promise you I won’t be shy about sending reminders.

(I do this with my own work oftener than you might suppose.

Her big sister Jenna—a “goer,” to use Monty Python parlance—had once done the dirty with Doyle, as well as with most every other young buck in town. He falls into the sack with Kate’s big sister, complicating his investigation.

If that person has not read a minimum of three books a week since he or she was ten years old, or 2,340 books—comic books not counted—and if he or she is not still reading at that pace or preferably, at a greater pace, then forget it. Do not say a man looks seedy. (That’s right, Ely the ex-Tarzan actor. What was I gonna do? To quote myself in a wishful mood (from my piece on Cinnamon), if he had lived: “Think! I just sort of automatically assumed the new guy—handpicked by the Parker estate—wouldn’t quite nail it. What a shame. The other four in the series are Wicked Break, Liquid Smoke, Drift Away, and Locked In. The reason I bring the subject up again is that I finally got around to reading the first of the new Spenser books by Ace Atkins. 1. A Deadly Shade of Gold