Published in 1986, "Barrier Island" was John MacDonald's last novel; it also was one of his weaker efforts. In it, the author expressed his long-term concerns about environmental degradation; he reportedly considered that Florida, his adopted home, was overpopulated and had substantially deteriorated. "Barrier Island" features Tuck Loomis, a shady real estate tycoon with an invalid wife. His latest plan is to buy up the fragile, undeveloped Bernard Island that the US government is likely to take over for environmental reasons. By (supposedly) selling lots on the island to his cronies at inflated prices, he figures on making a killing financially when the government takeover comes. Loomis hires a real-estate broker (Bern Gibbs) to help implement the deal, and Gibbs' partner, the incorruptible Wade Rowley gets wind of it. As Rowley probes the situation, he finds evidence that widespread bribery is involved; the scheme begins to unravel, and the bodies begin to pile up, until finally the FBI gets involved.

I found the novel to be of average quality for a work of this kind; nothing objectionable but nothing special. Completists will want to add it to their reading lists, but newcomers to MacDonald's work should start elsewhere. ( )

Published in 1986 and set in the coastal area of Mississippi, this is a non-series mystery by MacDonald that gives us shady land deals and an honest realtor who is upset by his partners involvement with a crooked developer. He is also upset at the environmental damage being caused by thoughtless development on fragile lands. Pretty good once I got into it.

In this last novel, JDM drops his pretensions and goes into his environmental stance openly. ( )

While this book seemed to have a slow start, it picked up and by the end, I found it to be rather satisfying. ( )

fiction, mystery