Last of the giants of the mystery genre to establish his name in the pulps. MacDonald created his famous series character Travis McGee in his forty-fourth novel THE DEEP BLUE GOOD-BYE in 1964, and went on to write twenty-one books about the foremost of all unlicensed private detectives.

John D. MacDonald is not to be confused with Ross Macdonald who wrote his first Lew Archer novels under the name John MacDonald. The next four books he issued as John Ross MacDonald dropping finally the John.

MacDonald was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania. He received his B.S. degree from Syracuse University in 1938, and earned a Harvard M.B.A. in 1939. In 1937 he married Dorothy Mary Prentiss; they had one son. During World War II he served in the Office of Strategic Services (1940-46) in the Burma-China-India theatre. He began during this time write fiction, and sold later numerous stories in various genres (sports, science, adventure, and fantasy) in several magazines. His first story was published in Story magazine, and the first novel, THE BRASS CUPCAKE, appeared in 1950.

"I think that most of us have a greater liking for strong and solid people than we have for the wimps of the world. With the strong people you can tell where you stand. Nobody, of course, is too strong to ever be broken. And that is McGee's forte, helping the strong broken ones mend."
(in 'John D. MacDonald' by Ed Gorman, from The Big Book of Noir, 1998)

Since 1949 MacDonald lived in Florida, where he set most of his works. Often he used fiction to comment such moral or social issues as ecological dangers, racism, political corruption, real estate scams, infidelity, and the drug culture. The author himself called the figure of McGee a 'tattered knight on a spavined steed.' Typically he is drawn into a situation through some obligation from his past, or he is helping his friend or a relative. In CINNAMON SKIN (1982) McGee's friend Meyer lends his boat to his niece Norma, and her new husband Even. The boat explodes and Meyer enlists his friend McGee to investigate the case. The time MacDonald spent in Mexico is seen in the authenticity of detail in THE DAMNED (1952) and BORDER TOWN GIRL (1956). Satirical DRESS HER IN INDIGO (1971), set in Oaxaca, Mexico, takes a look at the drug culture and portrays rich American hippies. Each novel in the series had a colour in the title. Sometimes it referred to an aspect of a character, as in Cinnamon Skin, describing Barbara Castillo's skin tone. THE DEEP BLUE GOOD-BY (1964) referred to a mood and in THE GIRL IN THE PLAIN BROWN WRAPPER (1968) McGee wraps the dead Maureen Pike in brown paper.

MacDonald's science fiction novels include THE GIRL, THE GOLD WATCH, AND EVERYTHING (1962), a romance about time travel, and BALLROOM OF THE SKIES (1952) a story about an atomic war that leaves India world ruler. MURDER IN THE WIND (1956) and CONDOMINIUM (1977) were realistic descriptions of hurricanes. The author published also non-fiction. THE HOUSE GUESTS (1965) focused on animals, principally on cats. DEADLY DRUG (1968) was an account of the hearing and trials of Dr. Carl Coppolino, a doctor accused of killing his wife and a neighbour. NOTHING CAN GO WRONG (1981) was about the mishaps on the SS Mariposa the MacDonald's experienced on one of their cruises.

THE LONELY SILVER RAIN (1984) was the last in the Travis McGee series. It was rumoured for a long time that there was a final McGee story with the colour black in the title. MacDonald died on December 28, 1986. Among his awards were Grand Prix de Littérature Policiere (1964), Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award (1972), and American Book Award (1980). The first John D. MacDonald conference was held in 1978 and subsequent followed in the 1980s and 1990s.

Travis McGee films: Darker Than Amber, dir. by Robert Clouse, starring Rod Taylor (1970), based on 1966 novel; Travis McGee/TravisMcGee: The Empty Copper Sea, dir. by Andrew V. McLaglen, starring Sam Elliot (1982)

Travis McGee: A Korean War veteran and former football player, a 200-pound dropout from conventional society. McGee has sandy hair and ice-blue eyes; he enjoys a good fistfight but disapproves of brutality. He drives a 1936 Rolls Royce, and lives in Fort Lauderdale on a houseboat named 'The Busted Flush', after the poker hand that won it for him. Best friend and neighbour is the brilliant, chess playing retired economist Meyer - the relationship has much literary connections to Rex Stout's heroes Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. - Note: NIGHTMARE IN PINK too McGee in New York and featured an early fictional use of LSD - usually private detectives consume heavily liquor.

For further reading: John D. MacDonald and the Colourful World of Travis McGee by Frank D. Campbell Jr. (1977); A Bibliography of the Published Works of John D. MacDonald by Jena and Walter Shine (1981); John D. MacDonald by David Geherin (1982); A Special Tribute to John D. MacDonald (1987); Meditations on America; John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee Series and Other Fiction by Lewis D. Moore (1994); Contemporary Popular Writers, ed. by David Mote (1997); Mystery & Suspense Writers, vol. 1, ed. by Robin W. Winks (1998)

• (first) THE DEEP BLUE GOOD-BY, 1964
• THE QUICK RED FOX, 1964
• NIGHTMARE IN PINK, 1964,
• A PURPLE PLACE FOR DYING, 1964
• A DEADLY SHADE OF GOLD, 1965
• BRIGHT ORANGE FOR THE SHROUD, 1965
• DARKER THAN AMBER, 1966 (screen adaptation)
• ONE FEARFUL YELLOW EYE, 1966
• PALE GREY FOR GUILT, 1968
• THE GIRL IN THE PLAIN BROWN WRAPPER, 1968
• DRESS HER IN INDIGO, 1969
• THE LONG LAVENDER LOOK, 1970
• A TAN AND SANDY SILENCE, 1972
• THE SCARLET RUSE, 1973
• THE TURQUOISE LAMENT, 1973
• THE DREADFUL LEMON SKY, 1975
• THE EMPTY COPPER SEA, 1978 (also television adaptation 1982)
• THE GREEN RIPPER, 1979
• FREE FALL IN CRIMSON, 1981
• CINNAMON SKIN, 1982
• (last) THE LONELY SILVER RAIN, 1984

Other works:

• THE BRASS CUPCAKE, 1950
• JUDGE ME NOT, 1951
• MURDER FOR THE BRIDE, 1951
• WINE OF DREAMERS, 1951
• WEEP FOR ME, 1951
• THE DAMNED, 1952
• BALL ROOM OF THE SKIES, 1952
• DEAD LOW TIDE, 1953
• THE NEON JUNGLE, 1953
• CANCEL ALL OUR VOWS, 1953
• ALL THESE CONDEMNED, 1954
• AREA OF SUSPICION, 1954
• CONTRARY PLEASURE, 1954
• A BULLET FOR CINDERELLA, 1955
• CRY HARD, CRY FAST, 1955
• APRIL EVIL, 1956
• BORDER TOWN GIRL, 1956
• MURDER IN THE WIND, 1956
• YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, 1956
• DEATH TRAP, 1957
• A MAN OF AFFAIRS, 1957
• CLEMMIE, 1958
• THE EXECUTIONERS, 1958
• SOFT TOUCH, 1958
• THE DECEIVERS, 1958
• ed.: THE LEATHAL SEX, 1959
• THE BEACH GIRLS, 1959
• THE CROSS ROADS, 1959
• DEADLY WELCOME, 1959
• PLEASE WRITE FOR DETAILS, 1959
• THE END OF THE NIGHT, 1960
• THE ONLY GIRL IN THE GAME, 1960
• SLAM THE BIG DOOR, 1960
• ONE MONDAY WE KILLED THEM ALL, 1961
• WHERE IS JANICE GANTRY, 1961
• I COULD GO ON SINGING, 1961 (novelization of a screenplay)
• A FLASH OF GREEN, 1962
• A KEY TO THE SUITE, 1962
• THE DROWNER, 1963
• ON THE RUN, 1963
• THE HOUSE GUESTS, 1965
• END OF THE TIGER, 1966
• THE LAST ONE LEFT, 1967
• THREE FOR MCGEE, 1967
• NO DEADLY DRUG, 1968
• SEVEN, 1971
• CONDOMINIUM, 1977
• OTHER TIMES, OTHER WORLDS, 1978
• THE GOOD OLD STUFF, 1981
• NOTHING CAN GO WRONG, 1981
• THE GOOD OLD STUFF, 1982
• MORE GOOD OLD STUFF, 1984
• ONE MORE SUNDAY, 1984
• BARRIER ISLAND, 1986
• A FRIENDSHIP, 1986 (letters between MacDonald and comedian Dan Rowan)
• READING FOR SURVIVAL, 1987