A Tan and Sandy Silence by John D. MacDonald

One of the less well crafted of the Travis McGee books. I am a fan of John D MacDonald, and have read and reread the Travis McGee series many times. I never tire of the character and just enjoy the craft of this author. The stories seem almost timeless. You have to work hard to find references that allow you to peg the time setting. This one, he clearly was playing with where to come into the story. "In media res" is partly true, but things keep moving back and forth as information is uncovered. Travis and Meyer are concerned about Mary Broll when her husband comes by and asks Travis to give her a message after she had disappeared for three months. Seems Harry, the Husband, thought she would run to Travis. No one "hires" Travis, he just gets the niggling feeling that she would have gotten in touch and heads to Granada, where she supposedly went, to confirm that she is okay. The true villain in this piece pops up fairly late in the game, then turns out to be one of the most chilling psychotics of the whole series. If written in the 90s we would have thought JDM was trying to be more "edgy". He uses some inconceivable coincidences to get Travis through the steps to a solution, almost like he had a deadline and had to finish up. Not his best, but the worst of the Travis McGee Series is better than almost any other author's best work.

Reflex by Dick Francis

Read/Heard weekend of Mar 21-22 09, on long drive.
I am a huge fan of Dick Francis. His mysteries have good pace, interesting twists and are always tied in some way to the world of Horse Racing. When I read him, I always enjoy his precision and succinct phrasing. He can create great characters, give them appropriate accents for their status and geography in the UK, and do it all without wasting words. This book is one of the very good ones as he weaves multiple threads of mystery together, while also building a romantic relationship for the protagonist in the process.
The main character has a peculiar upbringing and unusual combination of skills. He is a middling steeplechase jockey, who also learned photographic skills, which are key to unraveling one of the multiple mysteries.
One mystery involves finding a lost sister at the request of his estranged, wealthy grandmother. In the process, he must work back through his own unusual upbringing, and along the way, appreciate the peculiar chapters that made him the person he has become. Another mystery involves looking into the death of a racetrack photographer (using a 'Reflex' camera) and the ensuing burglaries and attacks on the dead photographer's wife and the destruction of their home. Ultimately, he weaves 4-5 complicated stories together, keeps them interesting, and in order.
I listened to the audio version which is always a treat as the British reader does an amazing job of shifting voices for the huge cast of characters. Kept me awake on a very long solitary drive, fortunately finishing the last tape a half hour from home.

Sea Wolf by Jack London

Recommended by someone after hearing about my interest in the Vendee Globe, an around the world solo sailing race just completed by 11 sailors. A Jack London classic discussion of a wealthy, prim office type falling from a boat in San Francisco Bay, then ending up on a seal boat and being toughened by serving under the maniacal captain, Lars Wolf. In fact, there is not a lot of insight into sailing and the challenges of rigging and manning a sailboat until about 3/4 of the way through the book. But, the character growth and the philosophical debates between Lars and his shanghaied educated crew member are well worth the read. The romance that develops and the ultimate ending are tied to the time of the writing, but still a very good classic novel. This was a book that I had in print and on Audio tape (unedited) so I could listen during my workouts. I became addicted to the audio version and enjoyed finishing the book with the tapes.