Nathan Cain:
> I just returned from my local used book
store
> where someone had dumped
> off a huge number of John D. MacDonald
> paperbacks, most of them non- McGee
novels.
> There were even a couple of Sci-fi ones.
> I picked up six books, including some I
had
> never heard of before, including April
Evil,
> The Crossroads and The Last One Left (which
the
> author dedicated to Travis McGee). Anyone
> on the list read any of these? Are they any
good?
Since I'm still a crime novel novice, I tend mostly to lurk
(and listen and learn) on this List, but here's a rare post I
can respond to . . .
I recently read APRIL EVIL and really liked it. It's a
competent thriller that, interestingly, feels to me like it
has almost the exact same structure as an Elmore Leonard
book: various groups of characters, "good" and "bad," are
circling around an old man with a safe full of money is a
sleepy Florida town. I wonder if Leonard was indeed
influenced by this novel or by MacDonald generally--I'm sure
he read his fair share of Dell shorties and Gold
Medals.
However, unlike Leonard, this book is flavored with
MacDonald's particular interests in fate, psychology, and
morality--and, of course, fans of Leonard's
super-stripped-down style will likely find this one at times
"over-written" and too indulgent in interior monologue.
I myself really liked it, and if there are other JDM fans on
this list, I'd like to hear specific title recommendations on
his non-McGee books. I'm also reading (slowly) the McGees in
order of publication, and enjoying them.
I once saw (I think) a monograph on JDM--since then I've not
been able to remember the title or track it down. Does anyone
have any pointers?
Best, Mark Nevins
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