by John D. MacDonald
Someday a graduate student is going to write a thesis on Travis McGee's philosophy of life. MacDonald has given McGee, the hero of 19 of his novels, romantic, 19th-century sensibilities as he tries to cope with the cynical, computerized 20th century. The latest MacDonald mystery, Free Fall in Crimson, has a tricky plot that begins when a millionaire, dying of cancer, is found beaten to death in his car at a highway rest stop. There are motorcycle gangs, a hopped-up filmmaker and a wild movie location where McGee takes his first ride in a hot-air balloon. MacDonald is a master of the quick description that can nail a character in a single sentence; of an underworld boss, he writes, "Except for the little gold wire glasses he was wearing, he looked like folk art depicting Jesus." As often happens toward the end of a MacDonald novel, the killings get brutal, and some innocent characters die along with the villains. The good news is that McGee has recovered from the death of his beloved Gretel (in 1979's The Green Ripper) and takes up with a pretty, bright hotel manager. Florida, of course, returns as a major character—as indolent and potentially ominous as the bad guys. (Harper & Row, $10.95)
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