Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed on 4/28/2020 + 1031 more book reviews

Oh dear, what to say. Written in 1971, I think I probably read it in 75 or thereabouts. It hasn't aged well. The basic premise is good: McGee's instincts telling him there's something very wrong about Mary Broll's disappearance, so he does what he does best and goes off to investigate, with some help from Meyer. I also liked that he's worried he's too old to do what he does, that he'll slip up and be killed. It's a valid concern as we readers will find out and McGee's brooding about this is justified. The villain is as nasty as they come in this series, appropriately spine-chilling, and we can feel sorry for those who die. But, lordy, the women! The philosophical whining about sex! There's at least 4 women in here who get a good page and half each, with McGee going on and on and on about whether it is or isn't moral and ethical to (ahem) have intercourse. The sexism, I could write paragraphs. I'm trying to remember what I thought as a teen (let's not talk about whether this was appropriate for me as a teen), but I'm sure I didn't cringe like I did this time. I know we shouldn't judge books based solely on our changing attitudes, but geez, I did not like re-reading this book. And yet, McGee is not a bad guy and I suspect pretty enlightened for the time period this was written. I can waffle on it all day but in the end, I would never re-read this. Disappointing.

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