Dark Justice [Paperback]

As the book opens, a terrorist assassin named Henry Morgan stalks the U.S. president. The trail the assassin leaves behind leads to a mosque in London and suggests a wider terror network aimed at destabilizing Iraq.

While consulting with the president, General Charles Ferguson leads a counter attack to locate the terrorist organization and to stop it. As usual, Ferguson relies heavily on Sean Dillon, Major Roper, Hannah Bernstein and Dillon's allies, the Salters.

The opposition draws heavily on experienced Russian intelligence personnel who are now freelancing, as well as other freelance operatives.

Soon Ferguson and the opposition are well aware of one another and are racing to gain strategic advantages. Along the way, there are lots of threats, bragging and by-play. Every 40 pages or so, there's a brief violent confrontation. This conflict is enhanced by Belov's antipathy towards Ferguson and his team.

The backdrop of the story is more interesting than many of Mr. Higgins's thrillers. There are cameo appearances by world leaders and lots of references to the antiterrorist methods now being used in the U.K. The book gently raises the question about whether the antiterrorist forces should have unrestrained authority or not . . . and seems to suggest that they should.

As usual, character development is minimal and ideas are few and far between. But if you like having gun battles every so often in your stories, this book will do just as well as any other gun-filled thriller.

As for writing style, some will find this book a little too spare in its descriptions. An entire gun fight can be concluded in a handful of paragraphs.

May you live with love and in peace.

It's a lacklustre half hearted re hash of the Rashid novel,"Edge of Danger", and a few others, like "midnight runner" . It even tells you in the opening pages of the main baddie, Belov, buying the Rashid's assets and property as if he is forewarning the reader of what to expect.

It has the same meeting of the bad guy's at a formal function. The same frank exchange of what each knows about the other. The same bad guy's where one believes Dillion can't be as bad as they say, with ridiculous implausible underestimation of him, whilst another pays him homage to impress the reader by re-hashing his previous exploits via the "file" on him. The same recruitment of old IRA comrades of Dillion's who suitably hero worship him, but will try to kill him for the sake of the "game". Even the anti climatic ending is in a country manor/ castle, with Dillon and Billy Slater parachuting in at low level, on the rush, going against greater odds who are waiting for him at the manor.

However what is very noticeably different about this novel, is that although it feels like just a re-write of a previous novel, it lacks Mr Higgins normal drama, suspense and action packed thrills. Its as though Mr Higgins was bored with it too and rushed it without thought or effort. It lacks Dillions normal flair, there are no instances where Dillion amazes you, or stuns you with his gentle romantic demeanour, bursting into deadly action of epic proportions. Despite being a Dillion book there are only two action scenes involving him, so under played, lacking in suspense, drama or significant action that you wonder why Mr Higgins even bothered to include them. The second of them is the end show down, which is the worst part of the book. Its ridiculously easy, it ends in a few pages of none action, and the potential showdown of deadly proportions that you anticipate doesn't happen. In one paragraph the ultimate bad guy, the one you expect to give Dillion a run for his money say's lets leg it (one man dead only) then in one sentence he's made it from the manor, across the fields and onto a boat that Dillion simply blows up. As a reader you feel cheated.

The only thing you remember about this book is Mr Higgins stressing over and over that terrorist's post 9/11 should be disposed of by any means. That England and America should do absolutely whatever it takes to bring them down and suspend all rights laws or moral considerations in order to do so at any cost. One wonders if this is truly a Dillion fictional Novel, or if its Mr Higgins platform to shout his opinions regarding Terrorism and anti-terrorism at the powers that be and the world at large. Certainly he makes no effort to provide a thrilling ride of suspense and drama, whilst stresses again and again from various viewpoints his beliefs in regards to how anti-terrorism should be fought. He even throws in the token nod to the moral considerations of removing human rights and laws from the equation in the form of Hannah Berstein's conscience, stressing her position on law via her position as superintendent for special branch and morals via her grandfather the Rabbi. But straight away Mr Higgins stresses that its her feelings or emotions that cry out for due process, the law and human rights and her intellect telling her that it should be ignored to do what must be done. He even has a priest from the church of England giving her moral advise that due process of the law needs to be suspended to fight terrorism. (Ignoring the fact that she's jewish) I'm not saying I'm against this view point, but if Mr Higgins felt so strongly that he needed to write a novel to air his views he could have at least spent as much time and effort on the novel itself. At least that way may be more people would read it.

I feel compelled to say that I'm a die hard Jack Higgins fan and owner of all his Novels to date. Normally Mr Higgins provides flair, drama, suspense and thrills by the bucket loads, so I hope new readers don't judge him by this book alone.

If you've not read a Jack Higgins novel before, then this is an okay novel by the standards of other novelists, but if you have then this is deeply, deeply disappointing. For those new to Jack Higgins may I suggest you try "A prayer for the Dying", I book I have re read so often that I'm on my third battered and worn copy.