In Travis McGee, hero and narrator of the series, MacDonald has created a figure who combines convention and originality in striking fashion. Tough, solitary, resourceful, and romantic, McGee is no sharp departure from the conventional hero of the mystery/ thriller genre. At the same time, he is no carbon copy either: His basic lifestyle, taking his retirement "in chunks" until he runs out of money, has a satiric force, and his standard working arrangement, "salvaging" what is hopelessly lost for fifty percent of its value, is unusually pragmatic. Another original feature of the character is his voice as narrator of the novels. Skeptical, articulate, witty, and unfailingly moralistic, McGee constantly examines his world and himself, and the quick pace of the action frequently gives way to leisurely reflection — even homily.

The sense of moral emptiness in the novels is largely a product a McGee's own observations. At...