Detective Biography: Travis McGee

McGee is not technically a detective, nor a licensed private investigator, but with such a colourful career in crime and discovery, he is a well deserved addition to the Dead Good detective biography list.

Name: McGee, Travis

Overview: A self-proclaimed ‘Salvage consultant’, McGee works from his custom made 52-foot barge-type houseboat dubbed The Busted Flush. A recoverer of misplaced goods, a US Army veteran, a connoisseur of gin and an amateur sex therapist.

What McGee really does is recover missing or stolen goods for half of their value (half of something is better than nothing), sometimes brushing closely with death, but always fighting for good.

DOB: possibly 1930, but his age is never disclosed.

Nationality: Irish – American

Marital Status: His love Gretel, was murdered. He remains unmarried but is rarely unaccompanied.

Physical Description:

6’4″

205 lbs

Tanned and sandy-haired with grey eyes.

Case of Note:

When Travis McGee picks up the phone and hears a voice from his past, he can’t help but get involved. Especially when he has the chance to reunite Sam, his reckless, restless old friend, with the woman who’s been waiting for him.

But the case takes a sinister turn when Sam shows up brutally cut and lying in a pool of his own blood. Travis is left to uncover the truth in a violent chase that takes him to dark but beautiful Mexico. But when the truth is as terrifying as this, does he really want answers at all?

Personal Assessment Notes:

• McGee is an honest and cynical man. He has an introspective nature and chooses to live alone and by his own set of rules.
• McGee is occasionally accompanied by his best friend and next boat neighbour Meyer, a respected economist, a chess aficionado and amateur psychologist. Mayer acts as McGee’s inner compass when McGee needs help.
• He enjoys a drink but is not a drunk, is physically fit and strong, but is not a bully. Travis McGee is a deep thinker.
• He enjoys his retirement in instalments.

If you’re a fan of John D. MacDonald, Transworld Digital Publishers are re-releasing the series in eBook format, with introductions from Lee Child.

See a list of available titles below, starting with the beginning of the series: