Travis McGee is one of those characters that is just so charismatic and irresistible. And while I still find "Flash of Green" to be my favorite John D. MacDonald book, there's something so appealing about the Travis McGee series that it keeps me coming back to them. "Green Ripper" is just another addition to the spectrum of colors that his great novels get their titles from. Also "Green Ripper" has such a gripping opening sequence of events, and such an array of fascinating characters, that you cannot put this mystery down. And while I found some of the middle sections unusually plodding (for MacDonald), this still ranks as one of the best.

As always, I must add:

I know that MacDonald enjoyed popularity in his time, but it seems that his popularity is running out of gas. I hope I am wrong because he is horribly overlooked.

This is a book of vengeance and revenge. Travis has finally found true love, and she is snatched from him of-a-kind killer seems obscenely unfair. Travis follows some paper-thin leads, discards his identity, and infiltrates a terrorist camp sponsored time favorite McGees. I was struck do and just plain luck. (Rambo has nothing on him!) The only thing that dated "The Green Ripper" was McGee's reluctance to treat the female terrorists as anything but "ladies" no matter how fearsome they were. Today no such chivalry (even if misguided) would be allowed.

John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee seems timeless. This "knight in tarnished armor," as Time magazine called him, is as pertinent today as when "The Green Ripper" was published in 1979.

Travis, once again, is confronted with his own mortality when Gretel, the woman he feels he is truly in love with, is murdered. McGee, as in episodes past (and this is the18th) feels that retribution, or justice, whichever comes first, is something that he, personally, must pursue. The "game is afoot," as it were, and the chase leads us through the forces of a religious cult (quite the topic in 1979), the Church of the Apocrypha. Travis "joins" to gain their confidence and little does he know the far-reaching ramifications of this group. The author cites George Santayana in a preface statement: "Fanaticism is described as redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim." And when you have finished "The Green Ripper," fanaticism is spelled with a capital "F"!

Probably, "The Green Ripper" is the most suspenseful of the McGee series (always characterized drawer storyline, marked by sparks of good humor, are MacDonald's trademark. It's a worthy read!

(Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)