The White House Connection

Rating:
Summary: It Pains Me...
Review: ...to rate this book so low. I am a long time fan of Jack Higgins having enjoyed his books since I was a teen. I don't know if the writing has deteriorated or maybe my tastes have matured, but I could not finish this book. The plot was stale, the dialouge staged and it just failed to generate any suspense at all. Maybe it's time for the Sean Dillon series to end, I know there are several more after this. Whatever happened to the Martin Brosnan character? He and Dillon have an old score to settle. Now that would make an interesting book.

Rating:
Summary: It Pains Me...
Review: ...to rate this book so low. I am a long time fan of Jack Higgins having enjoyed his books since I was a teen. I don't know if the writing has deteriorated or maybe my tastes have matured, but I could not finish this book. The plot was stale, the dialouge staged and it just failed to generate any suspense at all. Maybe it's time for the Sean Dillon series to end, I know there are several more after this. Whatever happened to the Martin Brosnan character? He and Dillon have an old score to settle. Now that would make an interesting book.

Rating:
Summary: Please disconnect me from this nonsense
Review: Excuse me, with all the clues out there, why did it take these masterminds so long to figure out who was knocking off all the Sons of Erin? Higgins must be getting royalties from the tobacco and alcohol firms, with all of the gratuitus product plugs he's inserted between the lame storyline. I was starting to hope that Dillon would go the way of the Soak Hole, and I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for Lady Helen, despite what the President may think. One final slam - this book was far too rich in Irish brogue and British colloquilisms. Go back to Thunder Point if you want to see Sean Dillon in good form.

Rating:
Summary: another great read
Review: I debated between four or five stars and gave it five stars because I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. It piqued my interest at the first with the 60 year old hit woman and kept it all the way through the book. She is killing the Sons of Erin and the British and American special intelligence are trying to find out who is doing it and why. They are also looking for the connection at the White House who has been giving out secret information to the IRA group. I read this book in one day. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A thoroughly entertaining book by a master of suspense...
Review: I've read few Jack Higgins books, and this was my first. That said, I didn't know any of the recurring characters or their stories, yet it didn't make a difference. The story makes perfect sense without foreknowledge of the characters, and this was still a great book.

In the opening pages, an assassin waits patiently for a Senator to arrive at his residence. Against the backdrop of a light rain, two men pull a woman into an alley with the intent to rape her. The assassin comes to her aid, and we find that the assassin is an old woman, a kindly old grandmother! From this moment on, my interest was peaked. I had to find out who this woman was, how she entered her profession, etc. I was not disappointed. "The White House Connection" is a spy thriller true to its purpose, perfect for a rainy day or an extended plane ride. If you like Jack Higgins, you'll definitely love this novel. And if you've never read his work, this is a great starting point. For a quick reality escape, read this book!

Britt Gillette
...

Rating:
Summary: Decent light reading
Review: Lady Helen, a geriatric British aristocrat, gains revenge on people involved in the killing of her son. While not very believable, and not one of Higgin's better works, it's a quick and mostly enjoyable read with familiar characters. The two major annoyances throughout the book were:

1. EVERY character talks about the joys of smoking. It appeared to be a paid advertisement for Marlboros and the emphasis he placed on the dialogue related to smoking detracts from the story.
2. EVERY American character uses British phrases and discusses their love of things British from meat pies to Harrods.

If a friend gives you the book and there isn't anything better to read, it will pass the time.

Rating:
Summary: The fantasy is great!
Review: Some of you guys are tough! It's Jack Higgins, for heaven's sake. When I want a quick, exciting read, I turn to him. And he usually delivers. This one is totally 'out there', but so entertaining you can't put it down. Just because the shooter is a 60ish y.o. woman with money and connections (good ones) you have to make believe this could really happen. Her son is killed and thrown into a cement mixer and she goes after the Sons of Erin who did him in. Aiding her is her loyal chauffeur and friend, Hedley. This guy is one mean dude; she couldnt get along without him. Sean Dillon and crew are there to add to the mix. Great, good fun. Stop looking for the Book of Life. This was one good time!

Rating:
Summary: Come on!
Review: Super-granny killing gangsters, never getting killed herself.
Please

Rating:
Summary: smoker
Review: The plot of this book is simplistic: a mother wants revenge for her son, and gets it. Other than that, nothing much happens. The whole story is predictable. I don't think I will spoil anybody's surprise by disclosing that the mother -- loved by all -- dies when revenge is complete and has a lovely funeral.

This is a book peopled by ... caricatures, such as the troubled soul with a difficult past, and bizarre habits only to be hinted at. Imagine! one character has a Gurkha batboy named Kim. I bet the author stayed up all night trying to think that one up.

You can get cancer just by reading this book, with all the smokers in it. If you cut out every time somebody lights up, or asks for a cigarette, you would reduce the book's volume by a good 10 per cent.

The dividers tell you that this section takes place in New York or London, or something. Beyond that, and a few street names, the book does not produce any sense of place. It doesn't help that the "Americans" sound British. Read James Lee Burke and you're squarely in rural Louisiana; Ian Rankin places the reader right in Scotland. I have never visited either place, but feel I know them, just from the authors' skill. Jack Higgins' writing makes you feel you are sitting in a chair at home, wondering, isn't New York any different from London?

It rains a lot in this book. Characters slip through walls and out windows. They like to do nothing so well as to tell about battles they have fought, and they do so almost every time they speak. Two characters (Hedley and the Secret Service agent) even review their battle resumes as they slug it out: My war was bigger than your war! Fortunately, the Gurkha orderly doesn't get a speaking part. Otherwise, he too would be telling us about battles he fought: "Here's your tea, sir. Reminds me of the time I was in Nam."

There is an interesting line; the author refers to types you see 'anywhere in the world, from New York to London.' The world is a lot larger than the shores of the North Atlantic, but Mr Higgins is probably surrounded by so dense a cloud of cigaret smoke that he cannot see very far or very deep.

Would I recommend that you read this book? Well, I hear there's a new Robert Parker out, if you get my drift. Let's go see what Michael Connelly is up to.

Rating:
Summary: Warning: you may get hooked!
Review: This is the first Jack Higgins book I had read and I found it intriguing. It was an interesting book that I had to finish and the characters were so lively and complex that I was thrilled to discover other books with them...several in fact. I would suggest reading A President's Daughter as well although I liked The White House Connection a bit better since it was more believable and less bomb/gun happy. I would reccomend these books although the warning is that you may get hooked just like me!