Another of the Travis McGee novels. This one is a murder mystery, but not a typical one. Tush Bannon, a friend of Travis McGee, has been murdered. Travis knows almost from the beginning who is responsible, but they're too powerful and the law can't catch them. They may think they're above the law, but they aren't beyond the reach of justice. They murdered his friend, and now he's going to make them pay. The idea is summed up in this passage (some parts have been left out both for space and to avoid giving away names):

"I came prowling for you, ... If the thing you cared most about in the world was that face you wear, I would have changed it permanently, little by little. If your most precious posession was a beautiful wife, she'd be right down there below in the master stateroom waiting for you to leave so I could get back to her. If you juggled for a living, friend, you'd now have broken wrists and broken elbows. ... Tush Bannon was one of the best friends I ever had. All you give a damn about is money, so that's where I hit you."

McGee is a salvage expert. He recovers things that are "unrecoverable," and his fee is half of what he finds. He sums up his job in this passsage:

"There are a thousand perfectly legal acts that can be immoral, or amoral, acts. Then the law officers have no basis of action. Attorneys can't help. The pigeon might just as well have dropped his wallet into a river full of crocodiles. He knows right where it is. And all he can do is stand on the muddy shore and wring his hands. So I'm the salvage expert. And I've known a lot of crocodiles. So I make a deal with him. I dive down, bring it up, and split it with him, fifty-fifty. When a man knows his expectation of recovery is zero, recovering half is very attractive. If I don't make it, I'm out expenses."

I loved this book. I got it from a used bookstore called The Book Rack here in Auburn, and I plan to release it soon. I hope however finds it likes it as much as I did.
This book was published by Pan books in London. I'm not sure how it got to Alabama.

As with Nightmare in Pink, the cover pictured is not the cover on this copy of the book, due to an ISBN problem.

Books by John D. MacDonald:
The Deep Blue Good-by
Nighmare in Pink
A Purple Place for Dying (2^nd copy)
The Quick Red Fox (2^nd copy)
Darker Than Amber
Pale Grey For Guilt
The Girl In The Plain Brown Wrapper
The Green Ripper
The Long Lavender Look
A Deadly Shade of Gold
One Fearful Yellow Eye
The Turquoise Lament (2^nd copy)
A Tan And Sandy Silence
The Lonely Silver Rain
The Dreadful Lemon Sky
Cinnamon Skin (2^nd copy)
The Empty Copper Sea
Dress Her In Indigo
The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything
One More Sunday
Barrier Island
Wine of the Dreamers
Condominium
A Key To The Suite
Worlds To Come edited by Damon Knight
Introduction to Night Shift by Stephen King

Sent to the USS KEARSARGE through Operation Paperback

Books sent to troops through OP:
Pale Grey for Guilt by John D. MacDonald
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Robot Dreams by Isaac Asimov
Code of the Lifemaker by James P. Hogan
Silent Thunder/Universe by Dean Ing/Robert A. Heinlein
The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein
Berserker by Fred Saberhagen
The Berserker Attack by Fred Saberhagen
The Ship Who Won by Anne McCaffrey and Jody Lynn Nye
The Ship Errant by Jody Lynn Nye
One Door Away From Heaven by Dean Koontz
The Practice Effect by David Brin