Drink With the Devil

Rating:
Summary: Drink with the devil
Review: Drink With the Devil

This is a story centered on the troubles in Ireland. An undercover catholic militant plots to assist the PIRA in heisting a fortune in gold. The heist goes smoothly, only to have the ship that they escape on occupied by evil men, who want the gold for themselves. The boat and the gold, sinks to the bottom of the sea. All of the thieves survive, and only one knows where the ship went down. Ten years later, the Mafia wants the gold. They link up with the IRA to find it. Both are looking for the PIRA people who were with the gold. The one who knows where the gold is in a prison, where his PIRA daughter works as a nurse. The Catholic terrorist, Sean Dillon, has begun to work with the British Secret Service. Now the Mafia is after them all.

This is a great thriller for all those who love thrillers. This is also good for suspense readers. I would recommend this to almost anybody. This may also interest those readers on the Ireland problem. I really enjoyed this book because the characters were very believable. Also, the plot was easy to follow, but also held you in suspense.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT FUN!!
Review: Equals everything else this writer has written! A master at the top of his game!

Rating:
Summary: Not bad
Review: Good description of the hate of rival parties in Ireland, good characterization of the Irish lingo for a Spanish language reader like me, interesting plot, however truly unbelievable when Dillon gets to meet Clinton. I will surely read other Higgings books.

Rating:
Summary: LESS OF THE SAME
Review: Higgins doesn't break a sweat with this one. If you have read Higgins' other books with Sean Dillon as the protagonist there's is no need to read this one. Same story elements, same set piece action scenes and so on. Maybe I have read one too many of his books but they are all very much blending together now. Even the name of the book is unoriginal, note his earlier "Touch the Devil." Harmless enough few hours of reading but not much is new.

Rating:
Summary: DRINK WITH THE DEVIL
Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK. I am 13, and this is my favorite book. It is the best Higgins book yet.

Rating:
Summary: DRINK WITH THE DEVIL
Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK. I am 13, and this is my favorite book. It is the best Higgins book yet.

Rating:
Summary: This book is much deeper than you might think.
Review: In 1985, IRA terrorist Sean Dillon is assigned to infiltrate a renegade Loyalist terrorist group led by Michael Ryan. Posing as a Protestant named Martin Keogh, Dillon saves Ryan's niece Kathleen from rape (and probably worse) at the hands of a group of Catholic thugs. Dillon joins Ryan in his plan to hijack a British armored car carrying 50 million pounds to fund Ryan's campaigns. The heist goes off successfully, but the captain of the boat ferrying them across the Irish Sea tries a double cross, and pays with his life. Dillon and the Ryans survive, with Michael maintaining an electronic device which will lead the user to the wreck and the money. Dillon has an opportunity to kill the Ryans and take the device, but (perhaps in his first pangs of conscience) chooses not to, and they go on their separate ways.

Ten years later, Michael and Kathleen Ryan have immigrated to the U.S., where Michael is imprisoned for shooting a police officer in a botched robbery. Michael's health is failing, so he is often transported from the prison to a nearby hospital for treatment. One of the henchmen of Mafia Don Antonio Russo gets wind that Ryan knows the location of (now) 100 million pounds sitting at the bottom of the Irish Sea. Russo confers with IRA chieftain Jack Barry (the man who assigned Dillon to infiltrate Ryan's group) and offers to split the booty. Russo will break Ryan out of prison in exchange for the location of the wreck. The Ryan's are thus forced into assisting the IRA and the mob.

Stalwart British Intelligence guru Brigadier Charles Ferguson gets wind of Ryan's resurfacing and sends Detective Chief-Inspector Hannah Bernstein and Dillon, who's now working for British Intelligence (read "Thunder Point" if you want to know why,) after the gold, to stop it from falling into the hands of either the IRA, the mob, or the Ryans.

Another Dillon classic, with the added bonus of shedding some light on what Dillon did when he was with the IRA. Kathleen Ryan is easily the most compelling character in the book. At the end of the book, when you find out what has happened to her in her short life, it makes her actions that much more tragic and also much more understandable. I defy you not to feel for her when her trauma is finally revealed. One wonders how many real Kathleen Ryans there are in Northern Ireland today, both Protestant and Catholic, and if they'll ever manage to find peace.

If you like Higgins, and especially Dillon, buy this book. But it's a lot deeper, and raises a lot more questions, than most people are willing to admit.

Rating:
Summary: Major plot holes mar thriller
Review: Introduction : in 1985, Ulster Loyalist Ryan successfully robbed 50 million pounds of gold, only to lose it in transit when the Irish Rose, a vessel carrying the truck which carried the gold, sank somewhere off the coast of Ireland after sailing off from England.

Ten years later, a New York mafia don discovered Ryan and his connection to the lost gold. He arranged for Ryan to escape and forced Ryan's niece along to salvage the gold, working together with Jack Barry, retired IRA chief. It appeared that Ryan's gang of robbers had included an IRA mole, whose identity is easily guessed by readers familiar with Higgins' work.

Through a stroke of luck, the British authorities learned of the planned salvage and Group 4, aka PM's private army, was put to work to prevent the refunding of either militant factions in Northern Ireland. The rule, as usual, is "no publicity", which is somehow important amidst the US-mediated Irish peace process. Higgins' work, as usual, is action packed. There are less twists and turns, with the prologue taking almost half the book. His heroes, and heroines, seemed incredibly lucky and outskilled the opponents all the time, and trip only the sheerest bad luck. As usual, they know exactly where to inquire for their quarry, rendering zilch the laborious detective work.

This book would have served well enough if not for some incredible plot holes.

First, it was in the papers that the gold was on the Irish Rose which sank between England and Ireland. Though the British may find it hard to locate the wreck, the IRA had strong clues to narrow the location, and 50 million pounds of gold would have been worth the effort, regardless of whether one is driven by idealism or greed.

Second, Ryan could have retrieved his gold without too much difficulty, but instead he took chances to rob a bank in American and landed in jail. Why he did nothing, even after finding himself in prison, is a major plot hole. He could even have contacted his comrades to work something out instead of growing old in prison.

Rating:
Summary: good book
Review: THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK BY JACK HIGGINS I HAVE READ ANDI THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD ONE. THIS BOOK STARTS OUT IN 1985 WHEN MARTIN KEOGH AKA ( SEAN DILLON) PLAY HERO FOR TEENAGE GIRL NAMED KATHLEEN RYAN WHO ENDS UP INTRODUCING HIM TO HER UNCLE MICHAEL RYAN WHO IS A IRISH PROTESTANT LOYALIST AND WHO HAS A PLAN TO STEAL A SEMI THAT IS LOADED WITH GOLD WORTH A 100 MILLION POUNDS . BUT MARTIN KNOWS THIS BECAUSE HE IS WORKING FOR JACK BARRY A LEADER IN THE IRA AS IS MARTIN . TEY FIGURE ON STEALING THE GOLD TO HAVE MONEY FOR WEAPONS JUST LIKE MICHAEL RYAN. I WONT GIVE ANY MORE OF THAT PART AWAY BUT THE BOOK JUMPS A HEAD 10 YEARS AND THERE ARE SOME NEW ALLIANCES. THIS WAS A REALLY GOOD BOOK WITHWHAT I THOUGHT WAS A PRETTY GOOD ENDING

Rating:
Summary: Well paced book for fast read
Review: You can get an understanding of the plot from the other reviews. Basically, it's a good fast read and hard to put down. It's not Higgins best work, but enjoyable nonetheless. It would be a good first Higgins book because if you like this book you'll love his classics such as: The eagle has flown, The eye of the storm and flight of eagles. Enjoy.