John D. MacDonald

Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, in 1916, John D. MacDonald became one of the most successful American writers of crime and suspense fiction. He wrote dozens of novels and many short stories, and his work ranged beyond mystery into science fiction and psychological suspense.

He is most closely associated with Travis McGee, the salvage consultant at the center of 21 novels beginning with The Deep Blue Good-by. Those books, many set in Florida, blended mystery, adventure, and a sharp eye for greed, corruption, and the changing American landscape.

MacDonald's novel The Executioners was adapted into the film Cape Fear, helping extend his reach beyond the page. He was later inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, a fitting honor for a writer whose fiction is so strongly linked with the mood, beauty, and danger of Florida life.