The Empty Copper Sea by John D. MacDonald
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"[...] and then she looked at me, a steady, suspicious, interrogatory look, trying to see through my eyes and into my skull. There was a sudden impact, almost tangible. I wanted to be more than I was, for her. I wanted to stop being tiresome and listless and predictable. I wanted to be thrice life-size, witty and urbane, bright and reliable, sincere and impressive - all for her."

In the famous Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald The Empty Copper Sea (1978) directly precedes The Green Ripper which I reviewed here a few months ago. And I was thrilled to find out that in this prequel we learn how McGee met Gretel, the most memorable character in Ripper. Alas, the Gretel thread, which I like a lot, is - to me - the only remarkable aspect of the novel.

Travis McGee is a marine "salvage expert", but this time he is hired to salvage the good name and employability of an acquaintance of his, Van Harder, who used to work as a skipper on charter fishing boats and family boats. A rich businessman disappears, presumably having drowned, during a marine accident on one of these boats. While the official inquiry determines Van Harder's negligence resulting from his drunkenness on duty the skipper maintains that he was drugged.

The victim had a large insurance policy and some of his business moves before the accident hint at the possibility that he faked his own death. A discovery of a post-accident picture of him in Guadalajara seems to give credence to that possibility. In conducting the investigation McGee is helped by his friend, Meyer, who is an economist and an academician, and who - rather implausibly - always has time to help out. This is only my second book in the series and I am already tired of Meyer, a cliché of an all-knowing, all powerful sidekick.

The implausibility of Meyer thread is balanced by the sweet and in places well-written story of McGee meeting Gretel. The "sudden shining in the midst of life" experienced by McGee reads believable and gives the author a chance to infuse some lyricism into the formulaic plot:

"I turned my head and saw, beyond the shoulder of my beloved, the empty copper sea, hushed and waiting, as if the world had paused between breaths.

And with apologies to my dear Goodreads friend from Texas I am unable to resist quoting a fragment that I find hilarious:

"[...] on some planet far beyond our galaxy a race of sentient armadillos is busy scooping out Texans and selling them at roadside stands, possibly as Lister bags."

The clichéd denouement reminds me a little of Ross Macdonald's work; alas the prose is not exactly at that level. The ending is cinematic and it would be much better to watch it on a screen. I can only marginally recommend the novel.

Two and a half stars.


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