''The Last One Left'' (1967) is a mystery novel by John D. MacDonald. The plot is similar to the notorious real-life events on the sailing ship '' Bluebelle'' when, in 1961, the captain killed his wife and four passengers and set a surviving child adrift to die, all in an unsuccessful attempt to cash in his wife's life insurance policy. The book's subtitle is ''A story about money and dying'', and it is written on several different levels. Throughout the plot are subtle discourses on what it means to have a "good" life, how people deal with stress and uncertainty, and at what point will someone reach out for healthy human contact, or else take self-interest as their highest goal. ''The Last One Left'' has been described as one of MacDonald's longest and most complex works.Mike Mayo (2008) American Murder: Criminals, Crimes, and the Media. Visible Ink Press, p 148 The story largely takes place in southern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, and is similar to many of the author's better-known stories starring adventurer

Travis McGee Travis McGee is a fictional character, created by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. McGee is neither a police officer nor a private investigator; instead, he is a self-described "salvage consultant" who recovers others' property fo ...

stories. The book is in fact dedicated to McGee "who lent invaluable support and encouragement," and a named runabout motorboat later appears in the McGee novel '' Pale Gray for Guilt''. It was originally published in 1967, appearing in paperback by Fawcett (reprinted 1981) and in hardcover by

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

Plot summary

A yacht explodes in the Bahamas, apparently killing six people and leaving its burned captain temporarily marooned on a small island. Sam Boylston, an attorney from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and the brother of one of the victims, investigates the circumstances, as does Raoul Kelly, a newspaper reporter. As the plot develops it becomes apparent that one person is ruthlessly manipulating events, but proving guilt appears impossible. From internal evidence the action occurs in late May and early June, circa 1965 (e.g., the 1961

Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called or after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States of America and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front ...

is mentioned but the Bahamian dollar, introduced in 1966, is not yet in circulation).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last One Left 1966 American novels Fiction set in 1965 Novels set in Florida Novels set in the Bahamas Doubleday (publisher) books Novels by John D. MacDonald