The Green Ripper finds Travis McGee in a rare state of domestic bliss with the lovely Gretel Howard, unfathomably making concrete plans for the future. Of course, per the rules of 20th century American male-centered fiction, it can’t last. One day at her job at a health resort, Gretel sees a man whom she eventually recognizes as one of the cult leaders who brainwashed her former sister-in-law. Unfortunately for her, he recognized her as well, and a few days she develops a mystery illness and rapidly succumbs to it.
Broken by death, McGee withdraws all his cash, puts his friend Meyer in charge of his houseboat, and sets off on a course for revenge. Having only the cult link to go on, he travels to Ukiah, California and tracks down the cult’s campground, claiming to be a father trying to track down his long-lost daughter. The cult members take Travis in under his assumed identity, using tricks he sees through but still finds terrifyingly effective. As he tries to ingratiate himself into their community and learn more about what they are up to, he becomes more and more terrified by his discoveries.
The cult is more like a militia at heart, and all the members have extensive combat training. In the name, supposedly, of bringing about a better world, they are prepared to commit some truly heinous acts of violence. McGee has to figure out how to tackle a problem far greater than any he has ever faced. Can he escape from the cult and alert the authorities in time, or can he somehow find a way to take down the cult himself, one by one?
I suspect if you’ve read John D. Macdonald, you know what the answer will be. The Travis McGee series is a bit of a frustration to me for this reason. Some of the entries are closer to true detective stories, with McGee trying to solve a mystery through a combination of his mental and physical prowess. But others are more straightforward action-thrillers, where there is no case to solve per se, more a bad guy or series of bad guys to be punched. These latter entries are of much less interest to me, and The Green Ripper falls into that category.
