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Sean Dillon #4
Anioł śmierci
Brygadier Charles Ferguson, wyposażony w specjalne pełnomocnictwa od brytyjskiego premiera, oraz Sean Dillon, były terrorysta i zabójca, łączą siły, by powstrzymać tajemniczą organizację o nazwie 30 Stycznia, której działania zagrażają pokojowi Irlandii. Z rąk grupy giną ludzie stojący często po przeciwnych stronach barykady - katolicy i protestanci w Irlandii, Arabowie, Izraelczycy, agenci KGB i CIA. Na jej czele stoi cieszący się powszechnym uznaniem naukowiec Tom Curry, profesor w Yale i Harvardzie, nie on jednak okazuje się najbardziej niebezpiecznym przeciwnikiem Dillona, lecz Grace Browning, zwana Aniołem Śmierci, znana szerokiej publiczności jako aktorka angielskiego Teatru Narodowego.
288 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1996
219 people are currently reading
1087 people want to read
About the author
Jack Higgins
480 books1,279 followersThere is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Jack Higgins was best known of the many pseudonyms of Henry Patterson. (See also Martin Fallon, Harry Patterson, Hugh Marlowe and James Graham.)
He was the New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy thrillers, including The Eagle Has Landed and The Wolf at the Door. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Patterson grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a child, Patterson was a voracious reader and later credited his passion for reading with fueling his creative drive to be an author. His upbringing in Belfast also exposed him to the political and religious violence that characterized the city at the time. At seven years old, Patterson was caught in gunfire while riding a tram, and later was in a Belfast movie theater when it was bombed. Though he escaped from both attacks unharmed, the turmoil in Northern Ireland would later become a significant influence in his books, many of which prominently feature the Irish Republican Army. After attending grammar school and college in Leeds, England, Patterson joined the British Army and served two years in the Household Cavalry, from 1947 to 1949, stationed along the East German border. He was considered an expert sharpshooter.
Following his military service, Patterson earned a degree in sociology from the London School of Economics, which led to teaching jobs at two English colleges. In 1959, while teaching at James Graham College, Patterson began writing novels, including some under the alias James Graham. As his popularity grew, Patterson left teaching to write full time. With the 1975 publication of the international blockbuster The Eagle Has Landed, which was later made into a movie of the same name starring Michael Caine, Patterson became a regular fixture on bestseller lists. His books draw heavily from history and include prominent figures—such as John Dillinger—and often center around significant events from such conflicts as World War II, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Patterson lived in Jersey, in the Channel Islands.
Jack Higgins was best known of the many pseudonyms of Henry Patterson. (See also Martin Fallon, Harry Patterson, Hugh Marlowe and James Graham.)
He was the New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy thrillers, including The Eagle Has Landed and The Wolf at the Door. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Patterson grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a child, Patterson was a voracious reader and later credited his passion for reading with fueling his creative drive to be an author. His upbringing in Belfast also exposed him to the political and religious violence that characterized the city at the time. At seven years old, Patterson was caught in gunfire while riding a tram, and later was in a Belfast movie theater when it was bombed. Though he escaped from both attacks unharmed, the turmoil in Northern Ireland would later become a significant influence in his books, many of which prominently feature the Irish Republican Army. After attending grammar school and college in Leeds, England, Patterson joined the British Army and served two years in the Household Cavalry, from 1947 to 1949, stationed along the East German border. He was considered an expert sharpshooter.
Following his military service, Patterson earned a degree in sociology from the London School of Economics, which led to teaching jobs at two English colleges. In 1959, while teaching at James Graham College, Patterson began writing novels, including some under the alias James Graham. As his popularity grew, Patterson left teaching to write full time. With the 1975 publication of the international blockbuster The Eagle Has Landed, which was later made into a movie of the same name starring Michael Caine, Patterson became a regular fixture on bestseller lists. His books draw heavily from history and include prominent figures—such as John Dillinger—and often center around significant events from such conflicts as World War II, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Patterson lived in Jersey, in the Channel Islands.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
December 21, 2017
A variety of plots that almost gets derailed by religious wars. But in the end, good writing wins out. 8 of 10 stars
February 11, 2025
Books read & reviewed: 5️⃣9️⃣🥖4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣
╔⏤⏤⏤╝❀╚⏤⏤⏤╗
4️⃣🌟, "Disorder leads to strength, its inevitable"
~such a beautiful quote
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
This is a typical thriller, catch the criminal type of book where police catch a group of mysterious people who murder other people.
This book is extremely fast paced tho,. Everything happening from left to right and there are many complex and well written characters to take note of. Twists that keep the agency from ever discovering the secrets of "January 30".
✌️Good, fast paced writing out of 10💖👐
Such a shame,. I really would want this to be a tad bit popular, i mean this is reaaaaly good but this book IS pretty old and people kinda don't appreciate old books anymore, just the latest "romance" releases.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*Pre-Read✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Vintage reads from time to time (damn my copy, or like the copy that i got from the library is so wrecked haha)
╔⏤⏤⏤╝❀╚⏤⏤⏤╗
4️⃣🌟, "Disorder leads to strength, its inevitable"
~such a beautiful quote
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
This is a typical thriller, catch the criminal type of book where police catch a group of mysterious people who murder other people.
This book is extremely fast paced tho,. Everything happening from left to right and there are many complex and well written characters to take note of. Twists that keep the agency from ever discovering the secrets of "January 30".
✌️Good, fast paced writing out of 10💖👐
Such a shame,. I really would want this to be a tad bit popular, i mean this is reaaaaly good but this book IS pretty old and people kinda don't appreciate old books anymore, just the latest "romance" releases.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*Pre-Read✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Vintage reads from time to time (damn my copy, or like the copy that i got from the library is so wrecked haha)
May 5, 2015
Jack Higgins still has the touch. This is an absorbing, fast-paced thriller in the best sense of the word. The plot is current, and quite believable. Once again, ex-IRA terrorist Sean Dillon is teamed with Scotland Yard DCI Hannah Bernstein and her boss, Brigadier Charles Ferguson. He runs an elite intelligence unit responsible only to the Prime Minister of England. Apolitical, the unit has, inevitably, become an action unit as well.
Ferguson enlists Dillon in an attempt to run down a mysterious group known as “January 30.” This is a group that has murdered a variety of people operating in the shadow world of international espionage and terrorism. January 30 appears to play no favorites, having been identified as killing former KGB agents, American diplomats and even Israelis. Now they plot to destroy the tenuous peace process taking hold in Northern Ireland. ANGEL OF DEATH, told in flashbacks and present-day action, carries the reader pell-mell from Ireland to England, to America, Beirut, and back. Along the way the reader is treated to imaginative convoluted twists and accommodations of the diplomatic games nations play, set against brutal and abrupt physical action. You’ll see Dillon the charmer with a gift of gab, Dillon the stone killer and Dillon the experienced, intelligent agent, provocateur.
As always, Higgins characters are sharply drawn and always consistent. As always Higgins sense of place is thoughtfully and evocatively laid out so we are with him in the mean streets of Belfast and the elegant rooms of Ardmore House.
,
December 24, 2015
I enjoyed this book. Higgins is like good thriller writers...they create characters that seem so real after a few books that they become your "friends", and every book is like visiting them! The core people in the Sean Dillon books are interesting and fun, and the new ones that show up in each book (usually misguided villans) are interesting too. I am so glad I have a lot of Dillon books ahead of me!
December 12, 2014
This book was as good the second time.
August 29, 2019
Take three very unique villains, throw in a former IRA gunman, a Scotland Yard detective, and a brigadier and then put them in the middle of an effort to end 25 years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.
What you get when you do that - if you´re author Jack Higgins - is a really terrific spy thriller.
Higgins is well known for his thrillers, including those featuring former IRA enforcer turned anti-terrorist operative Sean Dillon, but just as importantly, in my opinion, he´s known for creating villains who aren´t all bad. By that I mean, regardless of the crimes they commit along the way, his villains have a reason for their actions. They aren´t simply mad dog killers or gangsters.
That´s the case in "Angel of Death" where the three main villains are an actress with a tragic past, a professor who is a committed Communist, and a bored aristocrat who is in love with the professor. Together they carry out a series of killings that seem political in nature but which are puzzling because the victims are on both side of the sectarian violence that plagued Northern Ireland for so many years.
That doesn´t make any sense - or doesn´t seem to make any sense -to investigators and that results in Dillon and his compatriots being called in.
I´m not going to go into the plot because it´s complex and should stay that way without spoilers. Suffice it to say that it involves, among other elements, the former USSR, an American President, a British Prime Minister, and both Catholic and Protestant radicals willing to kill to achieve their political goals.
If that´s not enough to get you at least mildly interested in this novel my advice is to skip it because it may just be too complex for your taste.
(That´s not a putdown or a slight on your intellectual capacity. I know many people who prefer straightforward police procedurals and this is definitely not that.)
My point is that if you do, however, like complex thrillers with some historical context thrown in for good measure, you´ll like this novel.
I certainly did.
What you get when you do that - if you´re author Jack Higgins - is a really terrific spy thriller.
Higgins is well known for his thrillers, including those featuring former IRA enforcer turned anti-terrorist operative Sean Dillon, but just as importantly, in my opinion, he´s known for creating villains who aren´t all bad. By that I mean, regardless of the crimes they commit along the way, his villains have a reason for their actions. They aren´t simply mad dog killers or gangsters.
That´s the case in "Angel of Death" where the three main villains are an actress with a tragic past, a professor who is a committed Communist, and a bored aristocrat who is in love with the professor. Together they carry out a series of killings that seem political in nature but which are puzzling because the victims are on both side of the sectarian violence that plagued Northern Ireland for so many years.
That doesn´t make any sense - or doesn´t seem to make any sense -to investigators and that results in Dillon and his compatriots being called in.
I´m not going to go into the plot because it´s complex and should stay that way without spoilers. Suffice it to say that it involves, among other elements, the former USSR, an American President, a British Prime Minister, and both Catholic and Protestant radicals willing to kill to achieve their political goals.
If that´s not enough to get you at least mildly interested in this novel my advice is to skip it because it may just be too complex for your taste.
(That´s not a putdown or a slight on your intellectual capacity. I know many people who prefer straightforward police procedurals and this is definitely not that.)
My point is that if you do, however, like complex thrillers with some historical context thrown in for good measure, you´ll like this novel.
I certainly did.
February 26, 2015
This, the fourth title in the Sean Dillon series, gave me a chance to visit with some old and likable friends once again, but I'm realizing more and more that these old friends are terribly incompetent (mostly Ferguson, the head guy) and would have been removed from their official roles long ago in the real world. The plot is unoriginal; the motives of the bad guys muddled, at best; there are numerous plot developments that require you to merely accept that some people must just be stupid; and the ending is rushed, as if Higgins had run up against a deadline or realized that he was nearing 300 pages and had to wrap things up. On the positive side, the pacing is good and the narrative moves along at a fast clip. I will continue with the next in the series, but I'm not overly excited at the prospect. If I were not interested in the ultimate fates of Ferguson, Bernstein and Dillon, I might be giving up on this series at this point.
December 21, 2009
This was the first novel I picked up off of my father's book shelf. The title struck me with interest. I flipped it over to read the information that would be contained within the pages and was hooked by just those words. I flipped through this book quickly and could not put it down. It went everywhere I went, and now I am certainly a fan of Jack Higgins and do plan on reading all the novels my father owns by this man.
June 8, 2009
This is the very first Jack Higgins book I have read. It made me want to read more works from the said author. He made every character exciting and I could not put it down till I got to the very end.
December 28, 2023
The British Prime Minister decides to launch an investigation into an IRA terrorist incident. A US Senator is involved. The IRA decide to take vengeance on the senator. Dillon has to stop them. Why the IRA thought taking on a US senator was a good idea is never really explained. 9/11 pretty much forced them to ditch their terror tactics because all the funding immediately dried up.
September 21, 2025
Good
A really good book with lots of mystery and action. I would recommend this book, it is a true Jack Higgins book.
A really good book with lots of mystery and action. I would recommend this book, it is a true Jack Higgins book.
February 16, 2015
IMO, not his best
Written is a fast paced breezy style. Lots of Irish dialogue.
Interesting plot. Hannah Bernstein is very annoying! Don't know why Higgins keeps her around. She isn't very competent.
Written is a fast paced breezy style. Lots of Irish dialogue.
Interesting plot. Hannah Bernstein is very annoying! Don't know why Higgins keeps her around. She isn't very competent.
February 27, 2018
Audible Library (A story reminder)
Former IRA enforcer Sean Dillon is special ops troubleshooter / hit-man for Ferguson direct links to Prime Minister John Major year 1994. He is initially on the trail of "a way out" highly dangerous group of Protestant right wing terrorists. He is after the leader. As it turns out the group had arranged to obtain Plutonium from some ex KGB Russians at the geographical location of Beirut. A setup by Ferguson and Israel intelligent snares Dillon and a key member of the terrorist group. Both are put in a well to die but fortunately the terrorist squeals and they find the ship with the Plutonium and the meet place. Dillon and operatives destroy the group and get the Plutonium thus that problem is cleared up.
The time is when the British government was well into the Irish peace process (Still early days but each of the sides was at last talking).
Then key to this fictional aspect of the story set in the time and reality of 1994 negoitations. There was a group claiming responsibilty for a diverse number of murders. They called themselves "January 30", after the date of a British massacre in Belfast. They are allied with no one, killing American diplomats and KGB agents, Arabs and Israelis, IRA gunmen and Loyalist soldiers. But they are definitely the enemies of peace--and they are plotting an assassination that will shatter an uneasy truce that reigns in Ireland.
Former IRA enforcer Sean Dillon and assistance decipher the various links and eventually isolate the Russian Embassy communist agent and the other loony members of the terrorist group. The group is made up of superb actress Grace, late arrival but main hit person of the group. Her thing is the act, the creating the scene. She even spares Dillon. saves him once and does not shoot him a second time. Basically she sets course for her end eventually been shot when she draws (unbeknown to Dillon and assistance) an unloaded pistol. She had become fully unhinged relating back to the shooting and murder of her parents. Next a minister of the crown and insider to vital information and also becomes the key clue to disclosing the whole group as he is the only one who could of passed on the secret information. The sleeper professor agent fanatic communist believer against all "the current time" evidence to the contrary who wants chaos to create an environment for revolution decades too late in reality as an ploy. Professor and crown minister are gay lovers. They both die one by suicide and the other on his farm motorcycle in the "get away"; he crashes been fatally wounded. Then it is just Grace who succeeded in her final act in the the shooting of the US senator and then still escaping. The senator is OK as he had been made to wear a Kevlar vest. Grace is traced and chooses basically her own ending. Grace was the Angel of Death
Former IRA enforcer Sean Dillon is special ops troubleshooter / hit-man for Ferguson direct links to Prime Minister John Major year 1994. He is initially on the trail of "a way out" highly dangerous group of Protestant right wing terrorists. He is after the leader. As it turns out the group had arranged to obtain Plutonium from some ex KGB Russians at the geographical location of Beirut. A setup by Ferguson and Israel intelligent snares Dillon and a key member of the terrorist group. Both are put in a well to die but fortunately the terrorist squeals and they find the ship with the Plutonium and the meet place. Dillon and operatives destroy the group and get the Plutonium thus that problem is cleared up.
The time is when the British government was well into the Irish peace process (Still early days but each of the sides was at last talking).
Then key to this fictional aspect of the story set in the time and reality of 1994 negoitations. There was a group claiming responsibilty for a diverse number of murders. They called themselves "January 30", after the date of a British massacre in Belfast. They are allied with no one, killing American diplomats and KGB agents, Arabs and Israelis, IRA gunmen and Loyalist soldiers. But they are definitely the enemies of peace--and they are plotting an assassination that will shatter an uneasy truce that reigns in Ireland.
Former IRA enforcer Sean Dillon and assistance decipher the various links and eventually isolate the Russian Embassy communist agent and the other loony members of the terrorist group. The group is made up of superb actress Grace, late arrival but main hit person of the group. Her thing is the act, the creating the scene. She even spares Dillon. saves him once and does not shoot him a second time. Basically she sets course for her end eventually been shot when she draws (unbeknown to Dillon and assistance) an unloaded pistol. She had become fully unhinged relating back to the shooting and murder of her parents. Next a minister of the crown and insider to vital information and also becomes the key clue to disclosing the whole group as he is the only one who could of passed on the secret information. The sleeper professor agent fanatic communist believer against all "the current time" evidence to the contrary who wants chaos to create an environment for revolution decades too late in reality as an ploy. Professor and crown minister are gay lovers. They both die one by suicide and the other on his farm motorcycle in the "get away"; he crashes been fatally wounded. Then it is just Grace who succeeded in her final act in the the shooting of the US senator and then still escaping. The senator is OK as he had been made to wear a Kevlar vest. Grace is traced and chooses basically her own ending. Grace was the Angel of Death
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2025
The fifty-third #jackhiggins #martinfallon #hughmarlowe #harrypatterson #henrypatterson #jamesgraham novel #angelofdeath published in 1995. The fourth appearance of #seandillon and another variation on one of Higgins favourite topics: the IRA and the troubles. Higgins has dealt with this in a few of his books and he pulls elements from previous novels and puts a fresh twist on them here, including a famous stage performer moonlighting as an assassin. I read this about 30 years ago in the mid 1990s. One particular imagine of a female assassin in black leather on a motorcycle has always stayed with me. It holds up really well. Some of the political machinations are quite impressive with complex characters. A former soldier and conservative politician in a homosexual relationship with an old university friend who is a communist and has been recruited by Russian intelligence get inadvertently involved with an attempted assassination of a Russian and for the sake of their friendship, one’s cause and the other’s entertainment they create a fictional IRA splinter group that confuses everyone as there doesn’t seem to be consistent ideological reasoning tying together the different crimes they take credit for.
The usual tropes: rain, sneaking around warehouses, Dillon being ruthless, traitors within the government, bushmills and Krug.
The reckless decisions made by the antagonist allow them to be defeated, but it is justified through the character’s love for excitement and risk taking. Although the female assassin’s training could have been a bit more extensive, I can suspend my disbelief and consider her to be some sort of prodigy of violence. Plenty of action. Political machinations, globe trotting, complex characters. Possibly one of my favourite Higgins novels.
The usual tropes: rain, sneaking around warehouses, Dillon being ruthless, traitors within the government, bushmills and Krug.
The reckless decisions made by the antagonist allow them to be defeated, but it is justified through the character’s love for excitement and risk taking. Although the female assassin’s training could have been a bit more extensive, I can suspend my disbelief and consider her to be some sort of prodigy of violence. Plenty of action. Political machinations, globe trotting, complex characters. Possibly one of my favourite Higgins novels.
January 7, 2024
Yıllar önce iyi arkadaş olan Profesör Tim Curry ve İngiliz kabinesi üyesi Rupert Lang'in yolları kesişir. Tim bir kömünisttir ve Yuri Belov'un emrindedir. Bir adamı Baretta ile öldürür ve 30 ocak örgütü doğar böylece. Sonradan aralarına meşhur oyuncu Grace Browning de katılır. Sean Dillon ise önce Belfast'ta Protestan örgüt liderlerinden birini bulmaya çalışır. Ölecekken Grace adamlardan birini öldürür. Lider Beyrut yakınlarındadır ve Plütonyum alacaktır. Burada Callaghan ile esir alınan Dillon liderin yerini öğrenir. Meğerse esir alanlar Araplar değil Mossad elemanlarıdır ve Callaghan bu tugaya düşmüştür. Ferguson ile anlaşmak zorunda kalır. Gemiye baskın yaparlar ve örgütü çökertirler. Hannah ve Sean başbakan'dan övgü alır. IRA ve diğer örgütler barış yapacaktır. Ama öncesinde Leim adındaki adam Grace tarafından öldürülür. Dillon bunu engelleyememiştir. Araştırmalar devam eder. Dillon Rupert'ten şüphelenir. Rupert kaçar ama ölür. Bunu duyan Tim D intihar eder. Grace kendini öldü gibi gösterir. Amacı Amerika'da gelecek olan İrlandalı senatör Keogh'u öldürmektir. Keogh'a çelik yelek giydiren Dillon, ölmesini engeller. Başarısız olan Grace döner. Rupert'in cenazesine katılacaktır. Burada Dillon, Ferguson ve Hannah onu karşılar. Belov da oradadır ve anlamıştır. Silahını çeker Grace. Acaba ne olacaktır? Hannah ne yapacaktır? Dillon neyi fark edecektir? Keyifle okunan bir roman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2022
I listened to this book on CD in my car.
This is apparently the fourth book in a series but I wouldn't have guessed it. It flows seamlessly as if it is a stand-alone novel.
Written in the 1990's, it centers around a then-timely topic, viz. the IRA coming to the peace table. But there is a fascinating subplot about four individuals who form an unlikely team.
Each of these characters was well-drawn and had aspects that were quite likeable. This is intriguing because from one perspective, they are villains. Yet at other times they eliminate people who are bad apples by anyone's estimation. I enjoyed their camaraderie, conversations, and peculiar outlooks on life.
The protagonists are by contrast much less interesting. Sean Dillon, the former IRA operative now working for the Brits, is the most intriguing of the 3 main government agents.
There is some jumping around the world. A sequence in Beirut had me completely fooled. Northern Ireland, Ireland, England & the U.S. are other locales.
The denouement is brilliantly conceived and executed by the author.
An excellent political thriller.
This is apparently the fourth book in a series but I wouldn't have guessed it. It flows seamlessly as if it is a stand-alone novel.
Written in the 1990's, it centers around a then-timely topic, viz. the IRA coming to the peace table. But there is a fascinating subplot about four individuals who form an unlikely team.
Each of these characters was well-drawn and had aspects that were quite likeable. This is intriguing because from one perspective, they are villains. Yet at other times they eliminate people who are bad apples by anyone's estimation. I enjoyed their camaraderie, conversations, and peculiar outlooks on life.
The protagonists are by contrast much less interesting. Sean Dillon, the former IRA operative now working for the Brits, is the most intriguing of the 3 main government agents.
There is some jumping around the world. A sequence in Beirut had me completely fooled. Northern Ireland, Ireland, England & the U.S. are other locales.
The denouement is brilliantly conceived and executed by the author.
An excellent political thriller.
November 13, 2020
I was introduced to Jack Higgins years ago by my Dad and read a few of his earlier works such as "Night of the Fox". I have not read anything of his in years and seeing these in a local charity shop I thought I might give Jack Higgins another go. I read "Angel of Death", "Day of Reckoning" and "Midnight Runner" all "Sean Dillon" character novels and I have to say that I was disappointed in all of them. None of these were up to the standard that I remembered from his earlier works. All the books seemed rushed, the plot and style written to fill a "quota" rather than written as stand out books. Maybe this suits a new audience of Jack Higgins that are unaware of his earlier books, but I am sorry to say this will not include me.
Although will be happy to return to earlier works such as "The Eagle has landed"!
Although will be happy to return to earlier works such as "The Eagle has landed"!
August 10, 2020
Angel of Death is a good story but not the best
This story has Sean Dillon helping to save the peace talks to end the war in Ireland. While I did enjoy it there were several incidents that moved the story forward but were not plausible.The British Prime Minister confronts one of the villains only to have him run & disappear. Of course he ran and there was no police to help make an arrest.Really?That was too difficult to believe. There were other situations that were also unbelievable. The book was a good read but not one of JacK Higgins best .
This story has Sean Dillon helping to save the peace talks to end the war in Ireland. While I did enjoy it there were several incidents that moved the story forward but were not plausible.The British Prime Minister confronts one of the villains only to have him run & disappear. Of course he ran and there was no police to help make an arrest.Really?That was too difficult to believe. There were other situations that were also unbelievable. The book was a good read but not one of JacK Higgins best .
August 22, 2022
Sean Dillon volume four, and Higgins actually comes up with a more or less original plot (albeit one consisting of highly familiar genre tropes) instead of simply rewriting the last novel. It’s as fast-paced, violent, cynical and ludicrous as always - the kind of thriller that makes your average Alistair MacLean outing look like a Ken Loach style exercise in social realism - but when you’re turning the pages so fast that there’s a genuine possibility of spontaneous paperback combustion, criticism just seems churlish.
March 14, 2024
Who is the Angel of Death?
I have read almost all the Sean Dillon novels. However, I missed the first couple, so am finding out how he became what he is. This one had a great premise and, for the most part, followed through. I liked how Jack Higgins let his characters grow with each book. The story, especially how he added the historical figures (Clinton, Majors, etc.) in, was well done. The action was crisp and the ending was exactly what it had to be. A 4.3 out of 5 rating.
I have read almost all the Sean Dillon novels. However, I missed the first couple, so am finding out how he became what he is. This one had a great premise and, for the most part, followed through. I liked how Jack Higgins let his characters grow with each book. The story, especially how he added the historical figures (Clinton, Majors, etc.) in, was well done. The action was crisp and the ending was exactly what it had to be. A 4.3 out of 5 rating.
August 9, 2021
Fast read, like the Sean Dillon character. Two homosexual men, one in British government, one a professor and a devoted communist are attempting to halt peace talks in Ireland by a program of murdering people in order to have the blame shifted from one group to another. A communist diplomat and a brilliant actress are in league with them in hopes of making Ireland a communist country. Ferguson, Bernstein and Dillon stop them and all meet different ends.
July 7, 2022
Probably a 3.5 - another Sean Dillon novel, so big into action (or violence). Sean is ex-IRA, now working for the British government. The plot uses terror groups, the ‘Troubles’ in Ireland as well as the peace process. ‘Real’ characters include PM John Major, President Clinton, Sinn Fein and the IRA.
Of course Dillon et al are instrumental in making sure the peace talks proceed as planned. A good and quick read!
Of course Dillon et al are instrumental in making sure the peace talks proceed as planned. A good and quick read!
November 27, 2023
Just finished my first Jack Higgins novel and must say, I was impressed. His writing is good...sharp, precise. grab your attention prose. Characters quite interesting with lots of background, small amount of romance and relationships, enough, and plenty of geographical description, and in that it is Ireland and England, quite enjoyable, even if a lot of rain. Story was good and believable. Would highly recommend Mr. Higgins and look forward to another one of his books soon.
December 23, 2024
Love the first 3 books but this was a tedious dialogue between far too many people and simply far too little action. Gone is Dillon’s use of his acting skills and his charm. Other than a single scene early in where he obliterates part of a small army(and is rescued by someone else), he achieves pretty much zero in terms of being an action hero. Everything almost plays out with him as a witness rather than the hero.
This book does the star character absolutely no justice
This book does the star character absolutely no justice
December 11, 2024
Higgins Hunt #53
Sean Dillon #4
It's been a while since I cracked open old Jack and I think it's because I'm not overly enamoured with this series. Anyway, book #4 of the series is done, and it was an average read, with some action and intrigue amidst some real figures of history in the tale.
Not overly exciting but an easy read.
Sean Dillon #4
It's been a while since I cracked open old Jack and I think it's because I'm not overly enamoured with this series. Anyway, book #4 of the series is done, and it was an average read, with some action and intrigue amidst some real figures of history in the tale.
Not overly exciting but an easy read.
December 2, 2025
Książki o terrotystach są nudne. W tej książce nie ma pomysłu ani na akcje, ani na bohaterów a szczególnie na tych dobrych... Źli bohaterowie wzbudzają symparie, dobrzy ... znudzenie... Niby są ale jakby wykreślić połowę to i tak by nikt nie zauważył... Chodziło zapewne o wykorzystanie "bierzącego tematu" ale nawet taki specjalista jak Jack Higgins nie wykreował z tego ciekawej historii...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2018
One of the earlier books. Only Ferguson, Dillon & Hannah Bernstein as the main characters, not the large cast of characters in the newer books. Dillion as tough as ever. He has to be pulled out of trouble. More suspense then most stories.
January 27, 2020
Easy reading but kinda boring but was also a subject I have little knowledge of. So I kept reading. The IRA, Sien Fenn and the fighting between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland. I wonder how much is kinda true and how much is pure fiction.
August 27, 2023
An espionage story set in 1994 and Sean Dillon is involved in trying to prevent extreme Protestant loyalists undermining the emerging peace process in Northern Ireland, when a less obviously aligned group comes into play.
July 24, 2024
Set in 1994, as the negotiations to end The Troubles took steam in England and Ireland. As an Irish-American from the Boston area, it was interesting to read how our involvement in the process was seen from the other side. Fortunately, Higgins is a romantic, so in the end we looked wonderful.
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