Luciano's Luck

by Jack Higgins

A fictional account of General Eisenhower's scheme to have Lucky Luciano help in the Allied invasion of Sicily centers on Major Harry Carter's attempts to get Luciano to Sicily

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, War, Action

238 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

There 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.

Reviews

[Oleksiy Kononov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't like books about mafia, never managed to get through Puzo's Godfather, but Luciano's Luck was different. I took it because of the Higgins's brand, and the book justified my expectations, I literally swallowed it in a couple of days. Real facts mixed with the Higgins's fiction encouraged me to conduct some diggings in history and the role of the Italian mafia in WWII. Bravo, Mr. Higgins!!!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luciano's Luck by Jack Higgins is very short, only two audio tape cassettes. It was a pleasant surprise. Since I had already read some reviews about the fiction in this historical fiction story, I did a little bit of research on this short chapter of history prior to listening to the cassettes. The story starts with General Eisenhower’s part in this and the author give some background information about Sicily. Jack Higgins says that Sicily had its own version of government and felt no allegiance to Italy. In fact each town in Sicily had its own capo and obedience was paid only to that capo not to those in other towns.

Basically the plan was to take Lucky Luciano aka Salvatore Lucina out of prison, commute his sentence and smuggle him to Sicily to rally the Sicilians and back the Allied Invasion. There were some secondary story which are probably the fictional part of the story.

I really enjoyed the male narrator’s voice which was a bit like Burt Lancaster’s. Both he, Tony Amendola and Judith Marx made it an exciting story to listen to. It was very entertaining and dramatic and Jack Higgins added some Sicilian cultural information. He said that when a woman was ready to deliver, a “witch” or streghe was sought out. There was some explicit sex but it was short. He also alludes to Sicilian customs that may have been carried over into the Mafia.

The best reason for listening to this story is that it can cause you to hunger for more details of history and more information on Sicilian culture.

If you have to chance to listen to this story, I highly recommend it.

[Sam Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack Higgins certainly failed the “try to describe a female character without mentioning her breasts” challenge

[Oli Turner]

The forty-first #jackhiggins #martinfallon #hughmarlowe #harrypatterson #henrypatterson #jamesgraham novel #lucianosluck published in 1981.
Lucky luciano is temporarily and secretly released from prison to help convince the Sicilian mafia to support the allies in the invasion against the Germans. A really strong entry in Higgins body of work. Polished #ww2 action adventure. Quite an ensemble of characters with even the side characters getting a little bit of development. Enjoyably tragic #alternativehistory taking real life historical figures and placing them in key historical events.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could it be that, just prior to the invasion of Sicily in WWII, General Eisenhower authorized the release of Mafia boss, Lucky Luciano, from federal prison to participate in an undercover operation on the island? According to author Jack Higgins, he met Sicilians who claimed to be eyewitnesses of Luciano's presence in Sicily during the war. Hence this fictionalized account of what those adventures might have been like.

This book is an enjoyable story about just such a adventure. Although it's not a must-read, I recommend it for a few hours of entertainment and some action as well.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't know there was a person named Lucky Luciano before reading this. It was just a book I picked off the shelf randomly.

I don't understand the title of the novel. With the assortment of characters that Higgins provides, it doesn't make sense to focus on just Luciano, and it doesn't make sense to focus on his luck as luck seems to have little to do with the plot.

[Manish Manu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can be opted to read from the range of best classic novels ever written. The book is plotted in summer of 1943 when Nazis were taking on the war.
So, they are all set to invade Sicily but that will cost lives of innocents. Only Mafia can stop this invasion.
Luciano's Luck is a story of Lucky Luciano, a big name in the mafia world who was behind the prison but taken out of the bars to execute this plan with American.
Book is really great with its story. It's fiction- suspense thriller.
*A MUST READ BOOK*

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think that Jack Higgins is for me. I know that he writes a lot of World War II books and this is another one of them. All his characters are very manly and rugged. The women are beautiful and perfect and just ready to fall in love with the men. This particular book had a nun, but even she got out of the convent.

And the book was full of punching, shooting, and death. Everyone was just thrust from one brutal situation to another. I did not enjoy it. Luckily for me, it was very short.

[D'Ailleurs · Rating 4 out of 5]

70ς Higgins παραμένει ένοχη απόλαυση. Εδώ μάλιστα με ξέπλυμα του αρχιγκάνκστερ Λάκυ Λουτσιάνο. Παρόλα αυτά καταφέρνει να βγάλει συναίσθημα εκεί που άλλοι κοιμούνται. Επίσης θα το πω ο Χίγγινς σκότωνε τους ήρωες του σε θεαματικά φινάλε πουτάνα όλα πριν κάποιοι το κάνουν κούλ κύριε Μάρτιν.

[Christian D. D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another action-packed, fast-paced, page-turning military history thriller by Jack Higgins, this time involving a plot to employ the aid of legendary American Mafia boss "Lucky" Luciano in convincing his Sicilian counterparts to support the pending Allied invasion of Sicily.

RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS (page numbers are from the Nook Edition)

--p. 10: Aahh, the good old days when you could lie about your age to get into the military and get away with it....even eventually end up as a commissioned ossifer no less!

Ciccio? Inspired by the character from "The Godfather" by any chance?

Central Casting call: Timothy Dalton as Maj. Harry Carter

--p. 11: "'Mafia began as a kind of secret society during a period of real oppression. In those days it was the only weapon the peasant had, his only means of justice.'"

--p. 16: Aahh, Dom Perignon. Obviously Maj. Carter is the sort of chap who appreciates the finer things in life.

Wikipedia lookup: kubelwagen

General observation: Nook edition is full of typos and lack of proper spacing & hyphenation.

--p. 25: Major General Karl Walther?? Art imitating life??

--p. 35; Harvey Grant already a Wing Commander (equivalent of a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Air Corps) at age 26? Wow, high-speed!

--p. 39: "'Wars aren't won by men any more. They're run by large corporations, just like big business.'" I respectfully postulate that this wasn't quite yet the case in WWII; it became more true during the Cold War onward.

Aahh, good "Old Blood and Guts" Patton

--p. 40: Ike complaining about paperwork, I feel his pain!

--p. 47: "White House next stop" for Dewey? Paging Harry Truman....

"'General Patton's Seventh Army?'" Ahem, I believe that was actually than Third Army.

--p. 51: The author misspelled "Franklyn" [sic] Delano Roosevelt. And I wouldn't trust FDR beyond spitting distance.

--p. 55: "'It can be hell. St. Chrysostom called celibacy the little crucifixion.'" Reminds me why I could never be a priest!

--p. 60: "'Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart rolled into one.'" Helluva compliment!

--p: 64: Ugh, the infamous Einsatzgruppen.

--p. 65: Look up meaning of "Zu Befehl."

--p. 75: "'They've been shooting Ranger and Commando prisoners in uniform under the terms of Hitler's Kommandobefehl for two years now, sir.'" I presume that same policy applied to SAS prisoners?

--p. 76: Ah, the old "automatics jam, revolvers don't" wives' tale. And since when did Smith & Wesson ever make a .32 calibre revolver? And hello, Mr. Higgins, revolvers aren't that easy to silence!

--p. 80: "The Avro Lancaster was the most successful Allied bomber of the Second World War." Um, more successful than the B-17 Flying Fortress or the B-29 Superfortress? That's highly debatable.

--p. 90: So then, "beretta" means "beret" in Italian as well as being the name of the famous firearms manufacturer?

--p. 95: Okay, so which M1, the Carbine or the Garand?

--p. 100: Gotta love a woman who's comfortable scratching her butt in the presence of a dude, heh heh!

--p. 102: "The worst landing of his career," but a good landing is any landing you walk away from.

--p. 104: Good riddance to that Communist POS bastardo!

--p. 106: Full kiss on the lips = Mafia kiss of death; like Michael Corleone did to Fredo in "The Godfather Part II," eh? In any event....Good riddance to that Communist POS bastardo, Part Deux!

--p. 113: "The kind of upperclass girl he had been raised with, girls like Joanna, used their virginity as a bargaining factor." Sounds like my money-grubbing psycho-bitch ex-GF from 2014!

"There was an incredible unreality to it all, like one of those fantasies born in the mind when halfasleep." Kinda like my first experiences with my first GF!

--p. 123: Aahh, the infamous Dieppe fiasco.

--p. 128: "a Beretta automatic of the type issued to Italian officers," as in the M1934?

--p. 129; Would an Italian woman be using "miles" instead of metres?

--p. 131: Fuck yeah, immediate head shot to resolve a human shield situation!

--p. 139: Verga? Like the Spanish word for "dick?"

--p. 149:"an anis-flavoured wine??"

--p. 152: "'And this drug thing. Infamita.'" A good 3-5 years ahead of the timeframe in the Godfather storyline for the New York Mafia getting involved in the drug business.

--p. 165: Lieutenant Suslov is now Major Suslov??

--p. 173: "the Russians??" Didya mean the Ukrainians there, Mr. Higgins?

--p. 176: "'In this way may I drink the blood of the one who killed you.'"

The Godfather in reverse, i.e. personal, not business, eh?

CENTRAL CASTING CALL: Pierce Brosnan or Timothy Dalton as Harry Carter, James Franco as Harvey Grant, Andy Garcia(? orJoe Mantegna? or Chazz Palmintieri?) as Lucky Luciano, Casper van Dien as Capt. Savage, Clancy Brown (Sgt. Zim from "Starship Troopers") as Sgt. Detweiler, Simonetta Stefanelli (the Apollonia chick from "The Godfather") as Rosa, Ed Harris as Oberst Koenig, George Dzundza as Major Meyer.

GENERAL OBSERVATION: This Nook Edition is lacking in proper hyphenation, commas, and spacing of phrases in multiple places.

[Vikram · Rating 4 out of 5]

In July 1943, British and American forces were to be landed on the southern coast of Sicily. British Army units, under General Montgomery, were to land at the Eastern end of the island, while General Patton and the Seventh Army were to land in the South and strike for Palermo.

The terrain, that Patton's Seventh Army would have to pass through, to reach Palermo, was a soldier's nightmare, the area around the Cammarata a warren of ravines and mountains. It could take months to hack a way through it, if at all it were not to be destroyed in ambushes.

General Eisenhower, American Commander, realised that progress would be slow and casualties high, if the Allies were to attack without local support. On the other hand, if the local Mafia used its power, to promote an uprising of the people and to persuade Italian units to surrender, the Germans would have no other recourse, but to retreat.

Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano, the infamous Mafia gangster, was serving a sentence of thirty to fifty years in Great Meadow Penitentiary in New York State.

Luciani was sprung out of prison by American Intelligence and dropped into Sicily, along with Colonel Harry Carter and his team of Commandos.

The Plan ?

To meet and to get support from local Mafia Dons, under Don Antonio Luca, the Capo di Tutti Capi (Boss of bosses), so as to prepare the way for the Allied invasion.

The only problem was, that Don Antonio hated the Americans, even more than the German invaders...

[George K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Λάκυ Λουτσιάνο ο Σικελός", εκδόσεις Bell.

Το πρώτο βιβλίο του Τζακ Χίγκινς που περνάει στη λίστα με τα διαβασμένα. Δεν ήταν ακριβώς έτσι όπως το περίμενα, με βάση αυτά που έχω ακούσει για τον Τζακ Χίγκινς, ο οποίος είναι από τους καλύτερους στο είδος του, κάτι που στο βιβλίο αυτό δεν φάνηκε και τόσο.

Εντάξει, ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία όπου γίνεται μπλέξιμο πραγματικών γεγονότων και φαντασίας, καλή γραφή, ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες, μερικές δυνατές σκηνές και σχετικά καλό τέλος (αν και λίγο απότομο), αλλά δεν ήταν ούτε σφιχτοδεμένο θρίλερ με απρόβλεπτες καταστάσεις και ξαφνικά γυρίσματα, ούτε αγωνιούσα και τόσο για τους χαρακτήρες ή για το τι θα γινόταν στην συνέχεια.

Ήταν απλά μια καλούτσικη ιστορία χωρίς κάτι το συγκλονιστικό ή κάτι τέλος πάντων που να με κάνει να ανατριχιάσω.

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

More legend than fact, this is a story about mafia leader Lucky Luciano's involvement in paving the way for the U.S. invasion of Italy during World War II. Not exactly a gripping and heart-stopping story, but an interesting enough story.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Jack Higgins book with an entertaining mixture of fact and fiction. Centres on a plan to aid the allied invasion of Sicily by gaining the support of the Sicilian Mafia. To do this, a team of agents are parachuted into Sicily, including the American gangster 'Lucky' Luciano and the local mafia don's estranged daughter, now a nun.

Good Points
The story is fast paced and certainly doesn't lack for action. Their are grizzly murders, gun battles and punch ups galore; just what we've come to expect from Jack Higgins. I also liked the plausibility of the story; it does feel as if it the basic premise of the story could have happened. I also thought that the character of 'Lucky' Luciano was very vividly portrayed as he appears likeable while still exuding enough savagery to appear realistically as a mafia boss. Finally, Higgins doesn't romanticise the Mafia - the reader sees it as it is in real life, a ruthless gang more than capable of extremely ruthless behaviour.

Bad Points
Unfortunately, there are rather a lot of these. For a start, Luciano is the only character who really seems to 'live' in the story, the rest of the characters appear flat and two dimensional. I appreciate this book is meant as light entertainment but even compared to other books by Higgins (such as The Eagle has Landed), the characters aren't up too much. Also, I'm beginning to get a bit sick of the good German, bad German conflict in Higgins novels. I appreciate that not all German soldiers in WW2 were ardent national socialists but surely the difference was by no means as clear cut as they often are in Higgins books? All the Germans in this book are either despicable Nazis or reluctant patriots which I personally find a little annoying. Finally, the end of the novel is a little abrupt, as if Higgins had trouble working out how to tie up all the loose ends.

Conclusion
Despite the bad points, this is not a bad book as long as you don't expect too much. It certainly isn't Higgins best work but by no means is it his worse either. It delivers a lot of action in a fairly realistic scenario, likeable if not very detailed characters and a fairly satisfactory ending. A good book to read on the beach or on public transport; not dull by won't cause you to become so involved that you'll miss your stop.

[Tim Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Higgins often wrote his early novels in World War II settings (including one of his most famous, “The Eagle Has Landed”), and why not? Nothing offers suspense and drama like the crucible of combat. Luciano’s Luck is one of those, though set in the struggle for Sicily in 1943.

General Eisenhower faced the innumerable problems of a field general attempting to put two armies ashore in on an enemy-held island. Among those was how to energize the Sicilian peasants to support the Allied cause and undermine the German and Italian forces on Sicily. Though one might think it’s a fools errand to try to turn Sicilian civilians against the Italian army, a mid-20th Century Sicilian was not necessarily Italian in identity. To whom, then, must one turn for help? Well, the mafia, of course, who ruled (rules?) Sicily. Eisenhower’s problem is that the current mafia leader hates Americans.

Into the cauldron, Eisenhower launches a typical Higgins protagonist, Major Jack Carter, a British intelligence operative. Life has chewed hard on Carter leaving a cynical but still loyal and perhaps too courageous soldier. Though he cares little about what happens to him, like other Higgins protagonists, he remains loyal to the cause and to those with whom he fights.

Carter finds and recruits the book’s title character, Lucky Luciano, a Sicilian-American and New York mafia don. He finds him in a New York prison and, with the help of FDR, springs him to travel to Sicily to intervene with the current mafia leader, Don Antonio Luca. Luciano also helps recruits Luca’s estranged granddaughter.

The book’s last half recounts their journey into Sicily, through the difficulty of locating and meeting with Luca, their failure to turn him and the ultimate resolution of the story (which you’ll have to read for yourself.)

Higgins’ characters are full of layered attributes; none is perfect and all have flaws that play into his plots and story lines. Carter is a devil-may-care cynic (as are most of Higgins’ lead characters), but courageous to a fault and loyal. Luciano is a mafia don, but committed to the Allied cause and Sicily. Together, they bring their faculties and foibles to the problem and conquer in—as is typical with Higgins—unexpected ways.

It’s a good read.

[Tim Lightfoot · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Higgins novel I've read and, as I expected from reading the author's bio, it falls deftly into the historical fiction/action genre. As any good historical fiction, the book blends non-fiction historical figures and events with fiction to the point that, if you're not a historian, you find yourself researching a bit to decipher which is which. This story moves swiftly but still manages to provide just enough character development to get you invested in the characters' outcomes. Another writer might have gone further and explore the obvious dichotomy between the murderous real life gangster and the heroic soldier in this fictional mission. Luciano in this story seemed just a bit too redeeming to be believable with the backdrop of his criminal background. But again, that is not Higgins wheelhouse.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book in 1982 from the monthly Reader's Digest collection. I, being all of a tender age of 19 felt it was a bloke's book, and so therefore stashed it into the depths of my bookshelves and promptly ignored it.
All this time, every time I cleaned the shelves it sat there, daring me to pick it up. Meh, after so many years I decided it had worn me down. I am pleased it did.

I found it an easy read and one with not too complicated a plotline. Many of this type of war books prattle on about the techniques and politics which can be quite boring for many readers. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters which all had a depth to them. The intensity of the battle at the end was riveting!

Jack Higgins has always been a great author and I bow humbly to him for not having picked this delight up all those years ago.

[Mark Stangroome · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those novels that you can read between weightier tomes as it does not in any way challenge a reader. The characters are varied but quite simple, you can makeup you mind soon after a character is introduced what kind of role that character will fulfill; some are 'bad-baddies', some have the role of being on the wrong side but have good moral sense, some on the right side are morally corrupt. Simple identification makes for an uncomplicated read.

The story is set in the lead-up to the allied invasion of Nazi occupied Sicily with the notorious gangster Lucky Luciano legally sprung from American prison by British intelligence in order to get the Sicilian mafia to aid the invasion by occupying the Nazis and their Italian allies.

A good read, the pages keep turning as the reader is taken from one action point to the next.

[Neville · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story based during WWII involving the Sicilian Mafia and the work of Harry Carter to get them involved in assisting in the defence of Sicily during the invasion of British, Canadian and American forces to rid the island of the German forces.
Carter's job is to convince the mafia head for assist in the defence of the island by authorising the island population to resist the German forces and hamper the Mussolini lead Italian forces to collapse and in turn, Mussolini to be toppled from power.

[Αγγελική · Rating 4 out of 5]

Το μυθιστορημα αυτο αποτελει πηγη νεων γνωσεων.Κατ'αρχας οσον αφορα τον Λουτσιανο του οποιου την υπαρξη δε γνωριζα.Δευτερον, τα αποσπασματα που αναφερονται στην απανθρωπια των Ναζι, με παρακινησαν να βρω κι αλλες πληροφοριες για τον Β παγκοσμιο.
Σημεια που με χαλασαν ηταν οι ερωτικες σκηνες Ροζας-Σαβετζ και ο θανατος της Μαριας.Επισης ηθελα λιγες παραπανω ανατροπες...Το τελος ηταν ευχαριστα παραξενο! :D

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Mr Higgins! Great story and plot. Characters are believable. Lots of action. They recruit Lucky Luciano to go to Sicily prior to the invasion in WWII to convince the local mafia boss to join with the Americans to fight the Nazi's. They have to take his granddaughter with them to get to the old man.

[Susan E Nordstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating

Hard to put down.. Having read this some time ago ,this second time was just as interesting as the first. One of the best books, full of action and suspense. Jack Higgins is a master of his craft.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this on an eight hour flight down to Mexico. Not my normal type of book but not bad. I do not think I will be looking for anymore books by this author. Will not remember one thing about it .

[JT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just become a reader of Jack Higgins and delighted that there are so many books of his to read. This one is probably not as well known as some of the others; however, the storyline, characters and detail are just as compelling. Well worth the read!

[Ross Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short engaging story set in Sicily during WW2 in the prelude to the Italian campaign. Spies go into Sicily to engage with local gangs to encourage them to support the invasion to drive out the German Army.

[Judith Gunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel has a good deal of actual history in it: the story of how the United States used Lucky Luciano, the Mafia don, to help defeat the Nazis in Italy. It's well written, as one would expect from Jack Higgins, and most educational.

[Dyann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written book about the beginning of the end of World War II. It’s a very fast read. The end of the book is a little predictable but I wasn’t disappointed. Interesting cast of characters and the plot is very straight forward. Enjoyed the read.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Loved this book. Just enough history to make me wonder... how much was TRUTH?? If you like WWII, Italy, Italians, Intrigue, great characters, Real People and unexpected plot twists... THIS is your book!

[Manrico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good narrative and background. Flowing and kept me hooked.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

FunWWII adventure read with mixture if real and fictitious characters. Always a bonus to learn more about WWII; in this case invasion of Sicily.