Dead Low Tide - by John D MacDonald (Paperback)

About the Book

Original publication and copyright date: 1953.

Book Synopsis

Dead Low Tide is an iconic early thriller from John D. MacDonald, the mastermind behind Cape Fear and the Travis McGee novels. On the coast of Florida, a working stiff is wrongfully accused of murdering his boss--and must outwit one of MacDonald's signature villains to save his life.

Introduction by Dean Koontz

A college graduate and amateur fisherman, Andy McClintock is stuck toiling in the office of a construction company. But when Andy tries to quit, his boss offers him a promotion and a raise--and then promptly kills himself with a harpoon gun. At least, that's what it looks like, until the police rule it homicide--with the murder weapon belonging to Andy.

The harpoon gun had been stolen out of Andy's garage, and the boss's wife makes the outrageous claim that she and Andy were having an affair. He's been set up. To clear his name, he'll have to find the real killer. But Andy soon discovers that he's up against more than a two-bit thief--he's been targeted by absolute evil, a monster with no compassion for his fellow man.

Praise for John D. MacDonald and Dead Low Tide

"John D. MacDonald was the great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller."--Stephen King

"The writing is marked by sharp observation, vivid dialogue, and a sense of sweet warm horror."--The New York Times

"To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen."--Kurt Vonnegut

Review Quotes

Praise for John D. MacDonald

"The great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller."--Stephen King

"My favorite novelist of all time . . . All I ever wanted was to touch readers as powerfully as John D. MacDonald touched me. No price could be placed on the enormous pleasure that his books have given me. He captured the mood and the spirit of his times more accurately, more hauntingly, than any 'literature' writer--yet managed always to tell a thunderingly good, intensely suspenseful tale."--Dean Koontz

"To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen."--Kurt Vonnegut

"A master storyteller, a masterful suspense writer . . . John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all of us in the field. Talk about the best."--Mary Higgins Clark

"The consummate pro, a master storyteller and witty observer . . . John D. MacDonald created a staggering quantity of wonderful books, each rich with characterization, suspense, and an almost intoxicating sense of place."--Jonathan Kellerman

"There's only one thing as good as reading a John D. MacDonald novel: reading it again. A writer way ahead of his time, he is the all-time master of the American mystery novel."--John Saul

About the Author

John D. MacDonald was an American novelist and short-story writer. His works include the Travis McGee series and the novel The Executioners, which was adapted into the film Cape Fear. In 1962 MacDonald was named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America; in 1980, he won a National Book Award. In print he delighted in smashing the bad guys, deflating the pompous, and exposing the venal. In life, he was a truly empathetic man; his friends, family, and colleagues found him to be loyal, generous, and practical. In business, he was fastidiously ethical. About being a writer, he once expressed with gleeful astonishment, "They pay me to do this! They don't realize, I would pay them." He spent the later part of his life in Florida with his wife and son. He died in 1986.