The Lonely Silver Rain

I will admit that I would not have heard of Travis McGee were it not for Jimmy Buffett. I haven't been much of a mystery reader since I was in junior high, when I would consume Agatha Christie books, especially the Poirot ones. But I figured if Buffett was such a big fan of this character--and his author--I should at least check it out.

The Lonely Silver Rain is the 21st and, as it turns out, the last in the McGee series (MacDonald died shortly after this one was published). I have read several of the books now, although not in sequence, as they are increasingly hard to find on library bookshelves. McGee is an interesting character--he is thoughtful, contemplative, self-deprecating, intelligent without being overly intellectual, and show more philosophical without being pedantic.

Most of the McGee stories I have read are somewhat insular in that the plot revolves around McGee and the narrow group of people involved in his quest to recover whatever he has been hired to find. This final chapter of his saga, however, goes beyond his limited scope and into the hemispherical world of international drug dealing. In fact, the actual recovery takes place early in the book--the aftermath of that recovery comprises the bulk of the story.

This volume finds McGee quite a bit older and perhaps a little wiser--make that more world-weary. He sees his beloved Florida changing, and, while all of the books have remarked on these changes, this one offers much more pointed commentary, very little of it positive. I have no idea if MacDonald knew this would be the last McGee book, but he does use it to shed a little more light on the mysterious life of his hero and offer a brief glimpse into his future. I am thankful MacDonald did not kill off McGee here--perhaps he had planned more adventures to come--but The Lonely Silver Rain provides a satisfying coda to the life and times of Travis McGee. Let's hope, as Buffett wrote in "Incommunicado," "Travis McGee's still in Cedar Key..." show less

(Just ressurected this review from the dusty depths of Facebook.)

Perennial philosophical loner Travis McGee is asked to trace a missing yacht, which he does with a delightful bit of lateral investigating. Unfortunately the thieves are still on board, horribly murdered. Despite his best efforts at discretion, word gets back to certain people of his involvement, and he's soon dodging bombs and bad guys. Finding the man responsible becomes a matter of life and death, but it's thoughts of old age and loneliness that are bothering McGee the most, while the mystery of who is leaving pipe cleaner cats on his boat seems like only a trivial annoyance.

I'm beginning to get an idea of why MacDonald's McGee series is so popular. I enjoyed The Deep show more Blue Goodbye, but it was a bit of a drag compared to this fast, slick read with a well crafted plot and well-drawn characters. show less

Did MacDonald know he was going to die and that this would be the last Travis McGee book? Certainly not, but when you are finished you may still shake your head and wonder. As in the previous book, it starts with a boat. In this case it's a stolen one, not a blown up one. And it's not one pyschopath, but the whole Southern Florida/Latin American criminal enterprise that McGee finds himself up against. As usual, there are lots of details--MacDonald much have been a hell of a researcher--and some gruesome bits. And then, out of the blue, there is an ending unlike any other McGee book. The signs have been there, of course. Travis, like his author, is aging. That doesn't stop him from having a few flings in this book, of course, including show more one with a character who is hard to sympathize with. Thank goodness Meyer is on hand most of the time to help out and lend advice. There is a lot you can fault in this book. It just sort of goes on and on, as MacDonald seems more interested in his characters than in a coherent plot. But suspend your disbelief and prepare for the ending, which is perfect example of how MacDonald could write something so bad it's good--or maybe it's vice-versa.

Now I can resume my reading of his non-McGee books, which in general I have found to be his best work. Check out Dead Low Tide or The Damned, for instance. show less

Not sure if this was published post humously or not. I even wondered if it been written earlier in the series and saved for the last McGee. It has the expected adventures and womanizing but it is filled with more than the usual dose of introspection which os to day a lot. It does end with an element suggesting a sequel with a segue into a different kind of partnership.
I have re read most of the McGee stories by listening to them as audio books. But the last few only became available recently. I’m sure I read this when it was published. I may even have the hard bound. I have to check.
A lot of cutting comments about the drug trade in Miami, something MacDonald must have abhorred. He does make a pressing reference to legalizing the show more drug trade. show less

This was the last novel in the McGee series as MacDonald died a year after it was published. The plot finds Travis hired to find a stolen yacht for his friend Billy Ingraham. He quickly does locate it partially hidden in mangrove on an island. He takes a boat and goes to see what shape it is in only to find it contains four dead bodies in advanced state of decomposition. Noting that the dead had been tortured before they were killed, McGee clears out and anonymously reports it to the coast guard as he knows the killers are part of the drug trade.

One of the dead is the niece of a drug lord in Peru and he puts out a contract on McGee and Ingraham because he thinks McGee did the murders. After several near misses from assassins, McGee show more seeks to get the facts to the drug cartel. Eventually he discovers who did the murders and he puts their names in the rumour mill which starts a major killing spree among the drug dealers.

Meanwhile, cats made out of different coloured pipe cleaners keep appearing in his houseboat. Looking for a clue as what they mean, he comes up empty. Eventually he captures the person leaving them and discovers she is a daughter he did not know he had fathered with the now deceased Puss Killian. This opens a new future for McGee which MacDonald never had the chance to pursue. show less

The Lonely Silver Rain is the final volume in the 21-book Travis McGee series and it matches the extremely high quality level of the rest of the series. Absolutely terrific read.

This volume is not all about McGee riding off into the sunset. It, however, has a slightly different flavor than other McGee books. Here, McGee is not the hunter so much as the hunted and he doesn't exactly find it to be the most comfortable feeling. Someone wants him dead for slightly off kilter reasons having to do with misplaced dreams of vengeance. And it's going to take all his resources to fend off South American narco hit squads.

MacDonald packed a lot into this book including a stolen yacht, a gold digging blonde, a drug war, an eyepatch, a trip to the show more Yucatan, comforting a widow, angry family members, mysterious gifts, explosions, stabbings, bodies strewn about, a nurse being traded like a baseball card, and all sorts of random violence and suspicions.

This is one of the quickest reads of the whole series and this tale has a furious and relentless pace.
If you've never had the good fortune to read about Travis McGee, you are in for quite a treat. If you've read this series before, you kind of know what to expect. show less

I really enjoyed this. This is the second Travis McGee I've read by MacDonald; the first being The Deep Blue Good-by (another one that the title doesn't have much to do with the story). I had a little trouble with the plot at times. It got a little convoluted but, it straightened out later. I like MacDonald's style; it's smooth and flows well. I liked the character developments. The variety of characters kept the story twisting and interesting with out me questioning, "Why was that person in the story?". I plan to read more of Travis McGee but, probably not any time soon, too many others on my night stand.