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Summary: I like Higgins, but...
Review: This book is one of the worst books I have read in some time. Dylan is always a delight, but the writing was trite, dull and, for the most part, lifeless. The plot actualy contains elements that could have been melded together for a solid story, but they just didn't work here, or with the way the book was written. I'll be hesitant about reading another by the author.
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Summary: THE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER - ANOTHER HIGGINS TRIUMPH
Review: Jack Higgins has done it again with another brilliant chapter in the Sean Dillon saga. The formula for success shouldn't be altered and Higgins has stuck to it. Everyone needs a hero and Sean Dillon is definately mine. B R A V O. Don't read about the book, read the story and you be the judge!
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Summary: It's the same old story
Review: Jack higgins seems to have fallen into a rut. Of the last four or five novels he has written, has there been anything that is surprising? With The President's Daughter, once again, after reading the first 100 pages you know the story and how it will end. Sean Dillon and Brigadier Ferguson are smarter and have more resources than the bad guys and the conclusion is predictable. It is a quick and exciting read to get to the point of the story, but after that there is nothing compelling. Every character that is introduced is the best at what they do and can supply any information or material that is needed.
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Summary: My first all-nighter since college, 20 years ago!
Review: This book is great! It had everything a bibliophile would want - politics, royalty, romance, intrigue, love, passion, and is very thought-provoking. I literally stayed up all night until I finished it in one sitting.
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Summary: Dropping A Tired Formula Revitalized The Series
Review: Sean Dillon's 'ironic smile' has been wearing thin since he exploded on to the literary schene in On Dangerous Ground. The happy hitman, himself, seemed to be growing bored with the replay of a tiring formula. Jack Higgins took a detour in The President's Daughter which became his most enjoyable journey in years. There were more subplots than body counts, more character building than action scenes, and more suspense than the yawns of the last four Dillon-based novels. Higgins has developed quite a few new rogues to match Dillon in future stories. Hey Jack, return Sean Dillon to the dark side in the next chapter. He's a villain we could root for.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story!!! Higgins needs more work, though
Review: Sean Dillon is back! After taking on Mafia thugs (On Dangerous Ground, Drink With the Devil, and Thunder Point), British Intelligence (Eye of the Storm/Midnight Man), and a terrorist group (Angel of Death), Dillon goes after a mysterious Jewish zealot who has kidnapped U.S. President Jake Cazalet's daughter, Marie de Brissac, whom he fathered during an affair with a Frenchwoman in 'Nam. Higgins is descriptive and writes good action, but his plots & character development is getting worse. Other than his two 'series' heroes, Dillon and his mentor, Liam Devlin, the characters are cliched. Jake Cazalet is like a Jack Ryan/Harrison Ford-type Prez, and the plot sounds like it was copied out of "The Rock," Higgins' early novel, "The Run to Morning," and the Playstation game "Time Crisis." And the villains are deteriorating too. In the beginning there were James Bond-esque baddies in Carl Morgan (ODG) and Max Santiago (TP). Now there's a terrorist group (from AOD) who is of NO REAL THREAT - there are only 3-4 members who have no experience; a couple of greedy Mafiosos who come out of a bad actioner (DWTD); and a Jewish zealot who doesn't have enough scenes (with us knowing his true identity) to really get to know. His character is like Gary Oldman's in Air Force One. Why is everyone in this book like someone from that movie, anyways? C'mon Jack, I know you can do better! And really try to kill off one of your "Fab Five" (Dillon, Brigadier Ferguson, Hannah Bernstein, Blake Johnson, Devlin). Now that is a plot! Also more cases for Dillon, not just one! Higgins fans - Whatever happened to Martin Brosnan, Mary Tanner, and Harry Flood from Eye of the Storm? With Sean a good guy now, what does Brosnan have to say? After all, Sean killed his girlfriend.
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Summary: A 269-page ad for the cigarette companies
Review: As they are restricted from normal advertising and marketing channels, the cigarette companies have moved to "product placement". This is the payment to entertainment companies -- usually motion pictures -- to feature cigarettes.
It appears with this novel that the practice has moved to books, too. Higgins book reads as a long commercial for Morlboro. People light up when they're angry, when they're happy and after a meal. They give Marlboros as gifts and smuggle them for profit.
It's hard to see the plot through the haze of cigarette smoke.
Rating:
Summary: Quick read
Review: A solid book, but ends up being the equivlent of a Harlequin romance. You read it quick and then forget about it. It is fun while you read it, but you expect a little more for a $20 hardback. Jack needs to start putting a little more work into these, perhaps actually letting the characters progress some
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Summary: What a disappointment....
Review: I was in the mood for a good thriller when I picked up this book. Unfortunately, I still am. Cardboard characters, weak plot, and predictable action add up to a disappointing read. The only redeeming quality of the book was Sean Dillon, the ex-IRA terrorist-turned-good guy protagonist. Dillon apparently received all the benefit of Higgins' attempts at character development. The rest of the characters are so weak and uninteresting that you find it hard to care if the President's daughter is rescued or not. Since both the female characters seemed to have a slight crush on Dillon, I thought there might at least be some romantic tension to add excitement to an otherwise bland novel, but I was disappointed in that area as well. I find it hard to become involved or invested in a book whose main gimmick, the rescue of a hostage, is so obvious from the beginning. She'll be rescued, they'll walk off into the sunset, birds will sing.....all that nonsense. Unless you're waiting to be rescued from kidnappers and this is the only book available to pass the time, I'd suggest you skip this one in favor of a thriller with more, um, thrills
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Summary: If you value character development, don't waste your time.
Review: This book is long on action and short on character development. I found it unsatisfying, but kept reading with the hope that it would improve. If you must read this book, don't waste your money on the hardbook
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