Another Jack Higgins Story

I like Jack Higgins or Harry Patterson's novels because they are fast moving, pretty uncomplicated story lines and can be read in a couple of hours. His novels involves a tough, ruthless, totally focused protagonist who is a trained killer set against an antagonist who is equally tough, ruthless, focused and evil. While his earlier novels were set during the Second World War or Ireland, recently he has started a series of books based on Sean Dillion, a ruthless ex-IRA assassins and a secret black opts unit known as the Prime Minister's private army commanded by General Ferguson. The unit has been know to drawn upon the aid of former gangsters with a sense of honor. Recently ex Russians GRU people are also involved.

The antagonists are often rich Arabs (linked with Al-Qaeda), foreign governments and multinationals. One of these rich Arabs is a Bedouin clan of Rashids.

In this his lastest novel (2007), the 13 year old daughter of Caspar Rashid was kidnapped by her own clan Rashid and Sean and Ferguson were drawn in to rescue her in return for promise of information on Al-Qaeda and the Army of God. They came into contact with the Hammer of God, an Islamic assassin that is the equal of Sean himself. The novel is fast moving with a lot of travelling, shooting, killing and a simple attempt to understand a Muslim assassin's psyche. As it all his novels, it ends with a final shoot out in a remote English country house. Just the type of book to read and relax on a lazy afternoon.

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