Bad Company

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Premise for a Very Thin Novel
Review: I have always liked the way that Jack Higgins can imagine circumstances that occurred in the past that could have profound, negative consequences today. In Bad Company, Mr. Higgins has once again developed such a concept. In the waning days of World War II, the Nazis hold secret talks with the Americans about joining forces against the Soviet Union. Although those talks went nowhere, the U.S. representative was the father of the current U.S. President, Jake Cazalet. And thus you see the risk of grave embarrassment.

The book takes a strange turn in two ways. First, Mr. Higgins grafts this interesting concept onto a continuation of the Rashid family saga . . . which doesn't really add anything to the book. In fact, it makes the book work less well. Second, the German protagonist is a confusing mix of a good German who turns into a supporter of post World War II Nazis . . . and a father who wants to dote on a monster.

On the side of the angels is the usual devil, Sean Dillon, who routinely annoys and dispatches all adversaries with comic book panache. I personally don't enjoy reading about Mr. Dillon and this book has much too much of him in it.

As with other books in this series, all roads lead through Northern Ireland . . . which is fine if you don't mind that sort of thing.

As I finished the book, I realized that the interesting premise had turned into a book that could have been written with almost any premise. So an interesting idea was mostly wasted. Perhaps another writer will pick up on the concept and continue with it.

If the premise had not been interesting, I would have rated this book at two stars.

Rating:
Summary: Higgins, you can do better!
Review: I have been a long-time Higgins fan. His books, as stated by another poster, are all over the place in quality. When Higgins is "On" he's like lightning. When he's cold, he's like a limp fish. This one is a limp fish. I couldn't even finish the book. Got about 25 pages from the end and just gave up on it. Parts of the book are just down-right hokey; as when he talks about hacking computers...like anyone can hack into the most sensitive files in a computer. He also sprays the book with his usual, and now just old and over-used phrases.

If you want good Higgins read "The Valhalla Exchange" or if you want great Higgins, read "Solo" or "The Eagle has Landed". Solo is a killer book...I read it in one day.

Rating:
Summary: Sean Dillon: "Lit Lite"
Review: Let's face it, this book is not great literature nor, I suspect, does the author intend it to be. I really think Mr. Higgins just wants to present his loyal readers with an action-packed, page-turning read every so many months, and he has accomplished that once again with this book. It's quite easy to read, and I polished it off in one sitting over about four hours. The usual group of good guys is present, with Sean Dillon given the opportunity to show what, for lack of a better term, is his "soft side" when he reacts to the murder of an elderly woman. There's the usual mayhem, with Dillon and Company prevailing in the end. Sure the plot is fairly predictable, the characters occasionally merely stick figures, but you don't read this type of book and expect to get "War and Peace"! Open it, start turning the pages, and hang on for the expected wide and wooly ride!

Rating:
Summary: "Nazis . . . I really hate those guys."
Review: One of the deadpan lines delivered by the heroic Indiana Jones in one of the 1930-1940 successful series, reminds me of the question how bad could a book be that continues to punish the Evil empire?

Jack Higgins never lets us down. We always know what's coming. The quips between Hannah Bernstein and Sean Dillon; the wisdom and experience of Charles Ferguson; the accolades from the President and the Prime Minister. We've seen it all before and we love it!

It's hard to give it a 5 star rating because there's nothing new. Here we have Baron von Berger, having survived certain death in the bunker, presently living the good life as an industrialist with access to Hitler's billions. He eventually becomes involved with Kate Rashid, the sister of Mid Eastern oil barons (the Rashid Brothers) and von Berger's empire becomes exponentially larger.

His long lost son, Marco Rossi, returns to him and the two plot vengeance on General Fergusen and Sean, as a result of the latters' involvement in the killing of the Rashid brothers and possibly of the death of sister Kate.

Mr. Higgins writes an enjoyable story. A fast read. He won't stretch you like Dennis Lehane or John LeCarre or Elizabeth George. A fun read. If you want more, this is probably not the place to start.