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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not "Higgins at the peak of his powers", but enjoyable, 25 Aug 2003
Our story begins at the funeral of Kate Rashid, the villainess of Higgins's last thriller, whom undercover enforcer Sean Dillon managed to kill before she wrought her vengeance upon him for killing her three beloved brothers. Dillon and his companions watch on, increasingly uneasy at the presence of Baron Max von Berger, a multi-millionaire friend of the Rashid's, who has now interhited their old empire in the Hazar that is worth billions. Now, von Berger himself wants revenge, and it is a matter of honour. Kate Rashid once saved his life, and she was a very dear friend. He is determined to exact justice on those who conspired to destroy the Rashid's and their empire: Dillon, his friend in the government General Charles Ferguson, and their colleague, White House insider Blake Johnson. But, unknown to them, Berger has a secret weapon. In the waning days of WWII Hitler entrusted von Berger, his close aide, with his diary detailing the final six months of the war, and a meeting he had with President Roosevelt which could have stopped the war before it started. Bad Company is another of Higgins's increasingly by-the-numbers, cliched, formulaid thrillers that just reuse aspects from his other books (boats blown-up, planes crashed, assassinations, etc), but it is a primse example. A one character says of the events in the book, "It's like a bad novel", and that is exactly what they are. They are the evnets of a bad novel. however, they are also the envets of an entertaining story, and this is exactly what this is. A great story, a nice adventure. It's fast, thrilling, enjoyable, nothing more. nothing less. If you are looking for great writing, don't come here. If you're looking for a plot that wont fall apart under close scrutiny, also don't come here. If you're simply looking for a quick, easy read that's a bit James Pattersonesque in style, then do come here. There's only one little problem, really: Dillon is flat and cardboard. Higgins has reduced him merely to proper nouns and pronouns, and as a result the reader tends to prefer the villains, who are more colourful, and that leads to dissappointment come the finale (which is a tad rushed), in which, of course, the heroes unfailingly win. Still, Bad Company is light and easy reading, and it's relatively easy to overlook that almost everything within has been lifted from various other Jack Higgins books. This is about as close to literature as a TV guide, but, then, it doesn't intend to be.
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by Jack Higgins
by Jack Higgins
by Jack Higgins
by Jack Higgins
by Jack Higgins
