Bright Orange for the Shroud

A Travis McGee Novel, Book 6

By: John D. MacDonald

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Travis things he's in for a quiet summer until a walking zombie of a man, Arthur Wilkinson, stumbles aboard The Busted Flush. He's the latest victim of a fragile-looking blond sexpot who uses the blackest arts of love to lure unsuspecting suckers into a web of sordid schemes. Gone, suddenly, are the lazy, hazy days of summer as Travis becomes embroiled in one of the most dangerous, dirtiest cases of his career.

©1965 John D. MacDonald Publishing, Inc. Renewal © 1993 Maynard MacDonald (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[T]he great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller." (Stephen King)
"[M]y favorite novelist of all time." (Dean Koontz)
"[W]hat a joy that these timeless and treasured novels are available again." (Ed McBain)

The Busted Flush Ain't So Busted

McGee at his best! This time, he's helping a friend recoup a loss and get revenge.

The hero with feet of clay

The reader is carried along with Tab as he works to unravel a scam. I wonder if MacDonald himself had a bad experience investing in a real estate syndication. They are found everywhere in Florida. One gets to know all his characters well, sometimes to well. The tennis club characters was fun.
I particularly enjoyed his portrayal of Everglades City and the sportsman's club - a place I have been and which hasn't changed that much. On the other hand Marco Island is dramatically different.
That Trav wins out is as much because of persistence as due to all and insight.

Good story, excellent narrator.

A little slow to start, but a good story with interesting characters and bits of humor.

Typical MacDonald. It grabs you and holds you.

The narrator adds life to the story. It Harkens back to an age with no GPS or cell phones.

macgee gets close to death bur escapes

I like the action, the nautical background and the vivid descriptions. Macdonald writes with a flair that is enjoyable to read.

Somewhat lacking but still decent

The first several chapters felt dragged down by Travis' caring for a friend and his constant waxing on about the human condition. Travis has always done so but he seemed to do so at length for the first third. Picks up nicely and improves to be on par with past stories.

Grateful to audible and you will be too!!

John D. MacDonald was one of our best crime story writers. Bright Orange for the Shroud is one of the best in the McGee series. It has it all-a classic revenge story, a villain that is worth the listen alone, a carefully told and skillfully developed novel with good old-fashioned edge of the seat suspense plus a series hero who's worth his weight in gold.. One of the better additions to Audible.

Just Started the Series; Almost Finished

It feels like I just started reading this series. I read this one in late July and I am now on number 20. I'll be disappointed to finish but happy that I happened upon the series and will look to read other titles from the same author.

Great Series!

Travis McGee novels provide an interesting perspective on life in 1960’s Florida. This book and the series is worth the read.

Perfect Authentic 1960's Period Noir

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

John D MacDonald was an extremely prolific writer of mysteries and thrillers during the 50's through the mid 1980's. His popular Travis McGee series always placed a color in the title. Hence the Orange reference here. This story was copyrighted in 1965.

The value of this series is that it is written in its time with spot-on dialog, technology, prices, values, contemporary culture and morals. It was a wild and reckless time that this novel is set in. So essentially you have a master writer creating a novel in his time with a perfect pitch. Contrast this with contemporary writers trying to set crime novels in WWII, the 50's etc. and you get a story told through the prism of a 21st century writer, a big difference. People in the 1960's thought and acted quite differently.

The story is interesting, the characters developed and real. You care about all of them. John MacDonald takes the time to let you get to know the characters are real functioning people with strengths and weaknesses. He sets you down the pathway of the plot and you become an observer. The story reveals itself through logical, clever detection by Travis McGee, a stalwart knight that seeks to redress financial wrongs for a 50% cut of the recovery.

The story is set in the seedy Florida of the 1960's where land scams abounded and the innocent like the alligators were both skinned. This novel is crisply written, the run time on this Audible book is a little over 8 hours, just enough to tell a full story and not too much. The story unfolds fast. A feature of Travis McGee novels is that things work out in the end for the right people. So you find yourself cheering for the mistreated victim and share the redemption at the end. We have a first class villain and a cast of con-men that ring true. I place this series in the pantheon of historic crime masters like Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald (no relation) where perfect characters and plots are immortal.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bright Orange for the Shroud?

It would be unfair to give up too much of the plot, but the search of the villain's property was a classic. McGee has a gift for the theatrical.

What about Robert Petkoff’s performance did you like?

Excellent rendition of male and female characters. Good accents and a nice energy level to the reading. A very pleasant voice to have a story read to you.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Scams don't pay and beware of your spouse!