A Tan and Sandy Blog: Exploring John D. Macdonald's Novel

Hello Readers!

We hope everyone had a relaxing and restoring holiday. Ours was just lovely. We scrapped the turkey and stuffing this year, trading it for Valencia Paella. Steak, shrimp, sausage, and chicken. So good!

We're less than two months away from the release of our next novel, An Educated Death, which takes us into the murder mystery genre. Although to be fair, we've made solving a mystery a major theme and plot point for each of our novels. It's the mysteries we love. 

Since we've been dwelling in the murder mystery genre recently, we've focused our blogs on the topic. Over the holiday, we revisited an old classic sitting on our shelf and decided we should write about it. We ripped through it in two days. 

It was John D. Macdonald's "A Tan and Sandy Silence". 

Now, before you go off complaining that we've become a little too obsessed with Mr. Macdonald, consider this blurb we found on the back of the novel:

To diggers a thousand years from now...the works of John D. Macdonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamun. 

Geez. Who wrote that gushing praise. Seems a little over the top, no?

KURT VONNEGUT!

"Macdonald is the greatest writer in the history of the English language" -Kurt Vonnegut, apparently

Well. Okay then. Let's write some more about Mr. John D. Macdonald. 

The 13th novel in the Travis McGee series, "A Tan and Sandy Silence" begins with an old acquaintance showing up at McGee's houseboat The Busted Flush, and demanding to see his wife. Now Travis has had his fair share of inappropriate relationships, but he hasn't seen this woman in over three years. Things escalate quickly when the man pulls out a pistol and tries to shoot him. And with that, the mystery of finding his old friend Mary is off and running, taking McGee out of his home turf in South Florida and into the Caribbean Island of Grenada (pronounced Grah-nay-da). We'll keep this spoiler-free, but McGee assumes an alternate identity, going by Gavin Lee, and he has the help of his trusty friend and retired economist Meyers. 

One of the things that makes Macdonald a master is his ability to incorporate big ideas--social commentary and philosophy--into a standard mystery. In "A Tan and Sandy Silence", Macdonald uses Travis McGee's adventure to explore the delicate balance between human progress and the preservation of the natural world. His thoughts on pollution, industrialization, and conservation are just as appropriate in 2023 as when he wrote them. Additionally, he drifts into discussions on cultural shifts, morality, and the interpersonal relationships between men and women--often with a philosophical and theoretical bent. He effortlessly flies between mystery, sex, violence, and deep deep thought. 

It turns out profound existential questions are more intriguing when surrounded by beautiful women and gin. 

The book was well received and further solidified Macdonald and McGee as legends. As far as we know, this has never been adapted into a film/tv project. We'd love to see someone like David Fincher take a crack at it. 

That's all for now. 

Have you read "A Tan and Sandy Silence"? What did you think?

Until next time,

~2authors