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A Flash of Green

by John D. MacDonald

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2323116,876 (3.75)3
A Flash of Green tells the gripping story of small-town corruption and two people brave enough to fight back, featuring many of the themes John D. MacDonald explored better than anyone in his legendary career as a leading crime novelist. Introduction by Dean Koontz The opportunists have taken over Palm City. Silent and deadly, like the snakes that infest the nearby swamps, they lay hidden from view, waiting for the right moment to strike. Political subterfuge has already eased the residents toward selling out. All that's left now is to silence a few stubborn holdouts. James Wing is only trying to help a friend's widow. At least that's what he tells himself after warning Kat Hubble that the beautiful bay she and her neighbors have struggled to save is going to be sold to developers. He knows that he shouldn't have told her anything. He's a reporter, trained to reveal nothing. But he's falling in love with her. Now cutthroats have set their sights on Kat--and they'll do anything, use anyone, to stop her from interfering in their plans. Praise for John D. MacDonald "John D. MacDonald was the great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller."--Stephen King "The first modern writer to nail Florida dead-center, to capture all its languid sleaze, racy sense of promise, and breath-grabbing beauty."--Carl Hiaasen "To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen."--Kurt Vonnegut… (more)
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Good 1960s drama/crime novel by the great John D. MacDonald. This is the type of novel that was very popular in the 1940s - 70s. I didn't really like the story so I only gave it 3.5 stars. It was long, ponderous, and a bit sad. This is one of my least favorite books by this master.

I love John D. MacDonald. This guy could write! His dialogue and characters are wonderful. The words and thoughts of his characters often show more introspection then the average human we meet from day to day. He is truly a craftsman. Of course the most fun and interesting of his works are the Travis McGee books. Thank God he wrote a lot of them. ( )
  ikeman100 | Apr 13, 2020 |
The characters come to life

The book isn't. a fairy tale with a happy ending. I thought I'd read it before but the details didn't fit what I remembered. In a way it is a story about the'plague'of people, and the need to hold onto one's dreams even as we disappoint ourselves from time to time. It is life is what happens to you when you are making your plans. I know MacDonald was disappointed by the development that he saw go up around him when he lived in Sarasota. I don't believe he saw Wing as his alter ego but did want to portray ways society and government can steamroller people. By titling it Flash of Green he was saying don't give up hope but remember sometimes that hope is a fairytale for children and tourists, but that sometimes patience and persistence and keeping the dream alive can make it come true. ( )
  waldhaus1 | Feb 6, 2020 |
I got chills as I read this book. You see, I, like Jimmy Wing, was a small town reporter with all the credentials. I could, like him, go anywhere and see anyone. Then Jimmy got suckered into being "important" and was corrupted by Elmo Bliss. I was "corrupted" by Earl Branch. Having said this, JDM has performed a remarkable feat: he has written a piece of fiction that has actually happened several times along Florida's estuaries and coasts. Thisis the way things operate. As a reporter and editor of our county's council, I've watched project after project get "killed," only to come back two or three years later and pass swiftly through. What Macdonald does in this work is bring us into that world so intimately one can be whatever character he identifies with. My character is Jimmy Wing. What's yours? ( )
  andyray | Oct 5, 2008 |
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For Sam Prentiss
Jim Neville
Tom Dickinson
And all others opposed to the uglification of America
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When she heard the rattle of the old tin wheelbarrow, Kat Hubble knew it was after four.
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A Flash of Green tells the gripping story of small-town corruption and two people brave enough to fight back, featuring many of the themes John D. MacDonald explored better than anyone in his legendary career as a leading crime novelist. Introduction by Dean Koontz The opportunists have taken over Palm City. Silent and deadly, like the snakes that infest the nearby swamps, they lay hidden from view, waiting for the right moment to strike. Political subterfuge has already eased the residents toward selling out. All that's left now is to silence a few stubborn holdouts. James Wing is only trying to help a friend's widow. At least that's what he tells himself after warning Kat Hubble that the beautiful bay she and her neighbors have struggled to save is going to be sold to developers. He knows that he shouldn't have told her anything. He's a reporter, trained to reveal nothing. But he's falling in love with her. Now cutthroats have set their sights on Kat--and they'll do anything, use anyone, to stop her from interfering in their plans. Praise for John D. MacDonald "John D. MacDonald was the great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller."--Stephen King "The first modern writer to nail Florida dead-center, to capture all its languid sleaze, racy sense of promise, and breath-grabbing beauty."--Carl Hiaasen "To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen."--Kurt Vonnegut

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