The President's Daughter

Rating:
Summary: Anothe Quick and Fun Read from Jack Higgins
Review: A good read that gets you right into the action from page one. This is the second "Sean Dillon" book that I have read by Jack Higgins though I preferred "Drink With the Devil". Here, Dillon has been asked to rescue the daughter of the President from some Israeli extremists. Like other Higgen's books, the characters are net very complex (with the exception perhaps of Sean Dillon).

What I liked about this book is, like an old B-movie, it never slows down. Dillon and his connections have almost no time to solve a mystery and prevent an international crisis...and he's only in it for the money and the fact that he would hate to see a nice woman like the President's daughter get rubbed out by a crazy man.

Reserve this book for the beach. Don't expect Wuthering Heights and prepare to turn some pages real fast.

Rating:
Summary: The President's Daughter
Review: Ever since I read "The Eagle Has Landed" in the 70's, I have been a fan of Jack Higgins. Sean Dillon returns in "The President's Daughter". The President of the United States, Jake Cazalet, fathered a child during a brief affair while he was in Vietnam. Only he and the child's mother knew her true paternity, or so they thought. Almost thirty years later, the president's daughter, Marie de Brissac, is kidnapped by Israeli terrorists who hope to get Cazalet to support an effort by the US government to bomb Arab countries like Syria and Iraq. Cazalet opposes the initiative, and calls on Sean Dillon, ex-IRA enforcer now working for the British to try to find Marie and rescue her. In the meantime, this group kidnaps Dillon's colleague, Chief Inspector Hannah Bernstein. After finding out where the women are held, Dillon and American Blake Johnson stage a daring rescue. The suspense is taut, and I found it impossible to put down this excellent novel by the master of the thriller, Jack Higgins.

Rating:
Summary: Standard Higgins, but not nearly as good as he used to be
Review: I have been a Higgins fan for a long time, but I am somewhat mystified as to why I still read him at this point. I think it's because I was so enthralled by "The Eagle Has Landed" years ago, and some of his other older books and the quick read that you get. However that being said, Higgins follows the same formula for every book and if you have read at least 3 of his books, then you know what is coming at every stage of the game. "The President's Daughter" is no different from a dozen other Higgins novels I have read. What I do appreciate is it's a quick read that's entertaining and doesn't make you think hard. If you want to give one Higgins book a shot, then read "The Eagle Has Landed", this was when he was at his best and is a quality novel. If you are a Higgins fan, then you'll read this book regardless, just don't be surprised that it doesn't stand out from many of his other books.

So what's the recommendation overall. If you are looking for a quick mindless read with adventure, then this is for you. If you want a book with a lot more substance and a believable adventure tale, then you need to look elsewhere.