Travis McGee

Travis McGee
First appearance	The Deep Blue Good-by
Last appearance	The Lonely Silver Rain
Created by	John D. MacDonald
Portrayed by	Rod Taylor Sam Elliott
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Salvage Consultant
Nationality	Irish-American

Travis McGee is a fictional character, created by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. Unlike most detectives in mystery/detective fiction, McGee is neither a police officer nor a private investigator; instead, he is a self-described "salvage consultant" who recovers others' property for a fee of 50%. McGee appeared in 21 novels, from The Deep Blue Good-by in 1964 to The Lonely Silver Rain in 1984. In 1980, the McGee novel The Green Ripper won the National Book Award. All 21 books have the theme of a color in the title, one of the earliest examples of detective/mystery fiction series to have a 'title theme' (e.g. the Sue Grafton 'alphabet' series; Janet Evanovich's 'number' series of Stephanie Plum books, etc.)

Travis McGee lives on a 52-foot houseboat dubbed The Busted Flush (after the circumstances in which he won it in a poker game; it also may be a pun on a broken toilet), docked at slip F-18 at Bahia Mar Marina, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A self-described "beach bum" who "takes his retirement in installments", he prefers to take on new cases only when the spare cash (besides a reserve fund) in a hidden safe in the Flush runs low. McGee also owns a custom 1936 vintage Rolls-Royce that had been converted into a pickup truck by some previous owner long before he bought it, and another previous owner painted her "that horrid blue". McGee named it Miss Agnes, after one of his elementary school teachers whose hair was the same shade.

McGee's business card reads "Salvage Consultant", and most business comes by word of mouth. His clients are usually people who have been deprived of something important and/or valuable (typically by unscrupulous or illegal means) and have no way to regain it lawfully. McGee's usual fee is half the value of the item (if recovered) with McGee risking expenses, and those who object to such a seemingly high fee are reminded that getting back half of something is better than owning all of nothing. Although the missing items are usually tangible (e.g., rare stamps, jewels, etc.), in several books McGee is asked to locate a missing person; in one, the stolen property is a client's reputation. In several instances, he shows a marked propensity to exact revenge, usually for the ill-treatment or death of one of his few real friends.

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