Jack Higgins' A Darker Place

I love Jack Higgins' books and this, A Darker Place (2009) is his latest release. Jack Higgins writes about tough men, often with military or paramilitary background who are trained killers. They are persistent, resilient and often are willing to sacrifice themselves for what they believe in. Unfortunately they often find themselves manipulated by power beyond their control. These powers are often covert operatives of the world's secret services. In each of these books, these hard men has to search and wrestle with their conscience to do what is right.

My favourite Jack Higgins book remains The Eagle has Landed and I loved the movie version staring Michale Caine.


Jack Higgins whose real name is Harry Patterson is one of the top selling Irish thriller writer in the world. He was in the army before he left to become a teacher and later found his true calling as a writer.

Series (from Wiki)

Paul Chavasse

• The Testament of Caspar Schultz (1962) aka The Bormann Testament'
• Year of the Tiger (1963)
• The Keys of Hell (1965)
• Midnight Never Comes (1966)
• Dark Side of the Street (1967)
• A Fine Night for Dying (1969)
• Day of Judgment (1978)

Simon Vaughn

• The Savage Day (1972)
• Day of Judgement (1979) (a number of sources have this listed as featuring Paul Chavasse, but they are in error; this is a prequel to The Savage Day)

Nick Miller (writing as Harry Patterson)

• The Graveyard Shift (1965)
• Brought in Dead (1967)
• Hell Is Always Today (1968)

Liam Devlin

• The Eagle Has Landed (1975)
• Touch the Devil (1982)
• Confessional (1985)
• The Eagle Has Flown (1985)

Dougal Munro and Jack Carter

• Night of the Fox (1986)
• Cold Harbour (1989)
• Flight of Eagles (1998)

Sean Dillon

• Eye of the Storm (1992) aka Midnight Man
• Thunderpoint (1993)
• On Dangerous Ground (1994)
• Angel of Death (1995)
• Drink with the Devil (1996)
• The President's Daughter (1997)
• The White House Connection (1998)
• Day of Reckoning (2000)
• Edge of Danger (2001)
• Midnight Runner (2002)
• Bad Company (2003)
• Dark Justice (2004)
• Without Mercy (2005)
• The Killing Ground (Feb 2008)
• Rough Justice (Aug 2008)
• Darker Place (Jan 2009)
• Wolf at the Door (Sep 2009)

Rich and Jade (written with Justin Richards)

• Sure Fire (2006)
• Death Run (2007)
• Sharp Shot (2009)
• First Strike (2009)

Non-Series Novels

Writing as Harry Patterson

• Sad Wind from the Sea (1959)
• Cry of the Hunter (1960)
• The Thousand Faces of Night (1961)
• Comes the Dark Stranger (1962)
• Hell Is Too Crowded (1962)
• The Dark Side of the Island (1963)
• Pay the Devil (1963)
• Thunder At Noon (1964) aka Dillinger
• Wrath of the Lion (1964)
• A Phoenix in the Blood (1964)
• The Iron Tiger (1966)
• Toll for the Brave (1971)
• To Catch a King (1979) aka The Judas Gate

Writing as Hugh Marlowe

• Seven Pillars to Hell aka Sheba (1963)
• Passage By Night (1964)
• A Candle for the Dead (1966) aka The Violent Enemy

Writing as James Graham

• A Game for Heroes (1970)
• The Wrath of God (1971)
• The Khufra Run (1972)
• The Run to Morning (1974) aka Bloody Passage

Writing as Jack Higgins

• East of Desolation (1968)
• In the Hour Before Midnight (1969) aka The Sicilian Heritage
• Night Judgement At Sinos (1970)
• The Last Place God Made (1971)
• The Savage Day (1972)
• A Prayer for the Dying (1973)
• Storm Warning (1976)
• The Valhalla Exchange (1976)
• Solo (1980) aka The Cretan Lover
• Luciano's Luck (1981)
• Exocet (1983)
• A Season in Hell (1988)
• Memoirs of a Dance Hall Romeo (1989)
• Sheba (1995)