John D. MacDonald

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John D. MacDonald was a prolific writer whose popularity lasted through three eras of crime fiction, from the pulps, through paperback originals, and into modern times.

As Ed Gorman noted in The Big Book Of Noir, MacDonald's heroes tended to be "engineers, businessmen, construction managers, and civil servants...", and other professionals, which is understandable since MacDonald himself held an MBA from Harvard. After his service during World War II he turned to writing mystery stories for the pulp magazines of the day, eventually churning out some 600 (!) stories. As the 50s began, the writing was on the wall for the pulps, but the market for novel-length suspense fiction was growing rapidly, as several publishers introduced paperback original lines. MacDonald switched gears and became one of the top PBO writers.

Still, he'd probably be remembered today as a talented but slightly obscure writer if not for Travis McGee. MacDonald's publisher had been after him for some time to create a series character, and in 1964 he relented, creating Fort Lauderdale "salvage consultant" McGee. McGee is a sort of James Bond for the beach-bum set, an adventurer who faces all sorts of danger while having more than his share of success with the fair sex. The series got better as it went, culminating in late masterpieces such as The Green Ripper and The Lonely Silver Rain.