In A Bright Orange for the Shroud, Travis McGee helps out an old friend, Arthur Wilkinson, who's lost not only a lot of money, but his self-respect as well.

McGee teams up with an unlikely brace of assistants in Wilkinson himself, plus Chook McCall, a professional dancer who may just have a soft spot for old Arthur. They track down the grifters who took Arthur's money, and broke his heart.

This is an excellent entry in MacDonald's 'colors' series; possibly the best of the ones I've read. Its standout elements include a clear-eyed depiction of small-time crooks, especially the most villainous of the bunch, a backcountry thug who's truly a piece of work.

One note: there's a rape scene in this one that is brutal; readers who can't stomach such things beware. ( )

Boone Maxwell just may be the consummate sociopath villain of all of JDM's books. The way he "goes under" in the end sent chills down my spine. Maybe the fact that Boone is of and talks like a true southener is what makes me fear him most. I have known a Boone once or twice in my life. ( )