Barrier Island John D. MacDonald

This book features justice. I believe it was one of the last, if not the last, book published by John D. MacDonald before he passed away. The paperback edition of Barrier Island was published in 1986 and he died the same year. If you’re not familiar with MacDonald, he’s one of the grand masters of private eye fiction. He had a popular series featuring Travis McGee. This is not a Travis McGee book. He published twenty-two books in the Travis McGee series and forty-six other books. A prolific and talented writer. Stay tuned, as later I’ll be reading a few Travis McGee novels.

This one took me a little while to get into. It deals with commercial real estate in Mississippi back in the eighties. In the beginning, MacDonald gives us a lot of background and much of it through dialog. I kept waiting for something big to happen, as I figured it was crime fiction. I was wrong. This book is interesting in that it’s not a topic I read a lot about. There is a murder, but it happens about two-thirds the way through. The book is hard to classify. If you’re my age, you might remember books like Airport or Wheels. This is kind of like those, only much shorter. An industry-centered drama about greed and corruption.

MacDonald’s writing is superb. At times, I felt like I was reading an Elmore Leonard book. MacDonald blurs the lines between who are bad guys and who are good guys. That’s what kept me reading and what I found entertaining about the book, waiting to see who fell on what side of the line. And there were times when characters crossed back and forth. If MacDonald was attempting to illustrate the self-centered nature of human beings, he did a great job.

I wouldn’t say this one left an intense impression on me. While it kept my interest, it’s one I’ll probably quickly forget about. I didn’t find any of the characters especially memorable, though all well-rounded and interesting enough to keep me reading.

If you’re expecting a suspenseful thriller or a complex mystery, this is not that book. If you like deep characters, interesting settings, and the exploration of greed and corruption, then like me, you will enjoy this book.

There is some on page sex. The language is tame for the most part. Some profanity but not too much. Only one violent scene and it wasn’t over the top. I’ll rank this one just behind Ed Gorman’s Several Deaths Later, because I found that one more entertaining, and Citadel due to Barrier Island’s slow start.

1. Every Dead Thing by John Connolly
2. Several Deaths Later by Ed Gorman
3. Citadel (Palladium Wars Book 3) by Marko Kloos
4. Barrier Island by John D. MacDonald
5. Fireplay by Steve P. Vincent
6. Wrong Place Wrong Time by David P. Perlmutter
7. Nowhere Safe by Kate Bold
8. Run for Your Life by C.M. Sutter

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