Praise for Jack Higgins The New York Times Book Review The San Diego Union-Tribune New York Daily News Suspense Magazine
The main plot device in Higgins's new thriller has a certain comic-strip blaze to it: a female British motorcyclist in black leather who carries a Beretta pistol and kills only to create chaos. This angel of death is also Britain's greatest actress, Grace Browning, relishing her new role as assassin of political activists of every stripe, be they Arab or Israeli, Catholic or Protestant, CIA or KGB, East End gangster or American senator. Browning belongs to a group that calls itself ``January 30,'' seemingly in honor of Bloody Sunday in Belfast but actually in honor of nothing but the chaos that she and her homosexual superior, an old KGB hand who's now on Prime Minister John Major's staff, hope will usher in a worldwide Communist state. Pitted against January 30 and Browning are Brigadier Charles Ferguson of the PM's elite Group Four and his most devilish agent, returning Higgins hero Sean Dillon (On Dangerous Ground), ex-actor, ex-IRA hit man and master makeup artist. It's assassin vs. assassin, actor against actor, in this shallow and far-fetched yet exciting yarn, which needs all of Higgins's considerable expertise to stay on course as it hurtles from one nervy thrill to the next. BOMC main selection. (Mar.)\
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Sean Dillon, a former Irish terrorist turned undercover agent, and his boss, Brigadier Charles Ferguson, make their latest appearance (following On Dangerous Ground, Putnam, 1994) in a lively but rather predictable shoot-'em-up set primarily in the United Kingdom. A terrorist group, born from communism, is killing in the name of Irish nationalism. Their real purpose, however, is to foment anarchism and chaos among the major powers. Can Dillon, partner Hannah Bernstein, and Ferguson track down this band and prevent additional murder? Given the author's writing talent, it is disappointing to find the characters barely sketched and the plot clunking from one episode to the next. Unhappily, by attributing his characters' need for mayhem solely to bloody episodes witnessed in their youth, he cheapens the achievements of real people who have managed to survive Bloody Sunday and other violence. Purchase only where Higgins has a following.-Elsa Pendleton, Boeing Computer Support Svcs., Ridgecrest, Cal.\
What if there was a terrorist group with no discernible agenda? Jews and Arabs, Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics, commies and fascists are all fair game for a group known only as January 30. Brigadier Charles Ferguson of the British prime minister's top security group is charged with determining January 30's plans, its members, and their whereabouts. With the whole world as a potential hideout, it won't be an easy task. But Ferguson's right-hand man, former terrorist Sean Dillon, is tugging on a thread that might prove valuable. He's hot on the trail of one Daniel Quinn, who's been a thorn in the side of both the British army and the IRA in Ireland. Quinn tried to sell an arsenal to an undercover Dillon and, though the deal broke down in the end, Dillon has Quinn headed for the Middle East. The novel follows the formula for most recent spy thrillers: terrorists threaten the world order by appearing to get their hands on weaponry that could unleash widespread devastation. Higgins has the formula down pat and does a better job than most at putting his own spin on it. Ferguson and Dillon function much like Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin: Ferguson is the at-home brain a la Wolfe, and Dillon is a violent, coldhearted version of Archie. Toss in elements of the Russian Mafia, leftover KGB agents, and a black-hearted actress, and one has a novel that will keep international conspiracy buffs turning pages long into the night.
