(Just ressurected this review from the dusty depths of Facebook.)

Perennial philosophical loner Travis McGee is asked to trace a missing yacht, which he does with a delightful bit of lateral investigating. Unfortunately the thieves are still on board, horribly murdered. Despite his best efforts at discretion, word gets back to certain people of his involvement, and he's soon dodging bombs and bad guys. Finding the man responsible becomes a matter of life and death, but it's thoughts of old age and loneliness that are bothering McGee the most, while the mystery of who is leaving pipe cleaner cats on his boat seems like only a trivial annoyance.

I'm beginning to get an idea of why MacDonald's McGee series is so popular. I enjoyed The Deep Blue Goodbye, but it was a bit of a drag compared to this fast, slick read with a well crafted plot and well-drawn characters.