- Title: Nightmare in Pink
- wiki: link
Throwback Tuesday takes us back nearly 60 years to John D. MacDonald‘s second Travis McGee novel. While doing a bit of sleuthing for an old army buddy, the salvage consultant will get into a case which he will lose himself both in the arms of a beautiful young woman and the grips of a dark conspiracy. Out of his element, and working in the big city, McGee looks into money left behind to Mike’s younger sister Nina after the death of her fiancé. There’s no rational explanation for the large sum of money and Nina fears what he might have gotten involved in.
While fighting the guilt of falling for Nina and starting a romantic relationship with the sister of a friend, the mystery will lead Travis to an odd-acting wealthy businessman and his unscrupulous associates and a high class escort service where the novel takes a drastic turn and our hero finds himself drugged and locked in a mental institution. Out of the way, and no longer causing trouble, McGee is experimented on loosing all agency for a large chunk of the book until finally breaking through the drug-induced haze leading to his brutal escape, recovery, and the wrap up of the story.
Despite feeling very much like a 60s storyline, the threads here could still all be easily adapted to modern day with criminals using subterfuge and chemical means to control the wealth and power of prestigious businessman while fueling questionable science to hide their actions. It may not be as shocking today as it was then, but the evil McGee blunders into provides the novel with plenty of thrills.
There’s a melancholy feel to the Travis and Nina relationship. Despite their time together, it’s obvious that things can’t last. We do get an extended epilogue with the pair spending time together in McGee’s world and parting as friends. McGee’s time in the institution leave their scars, helping to cement the core character John D. MacDonald was still crafting, and our hero is left alone once more ready for a new case.