Rating: 
Summary: Good Followup To Edge Of Danger!
Review: This book picks right up where the previous book "Edge Of
Danger" ended.In the previous book the vicious Rashid family
had attempted to assassinate the President of the United States and thew Ruling Council of Hazar.All of these attempts were thwarted.Sean Dillon killed three of the Rashid brothers.In this
new book Kate Rashid continues to run the Rashid oil empire.She
is determined to avenge the killing of her brothers.For her new partner in crime she is now aided by her cousin Rupert Dauncey.
She attempts to embaress the President by setting up the daughter
of Presidential troubleshooter Daniel Quinn.She dies when the plot goes off track.Dillon and company discover the Rashid
involvement.They also discover a plot to sabotage the major pipelines in the Empty Quarter and send the United States into
economic disaster.Dillon and company conduct a running battle with the Rashids.this is avery readable book that you will enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Saturday morning cartoons, but with alcohol
Review: Ever read a book that makes you grit your teeth after reading the last word of the last sentence, because you're so angry at yourself for not throwing the thing [out] back at page 50 when you first realized how bad it was? This is one of those books for me. I kept thinking "was this written while under the influence?" The characters sure got sloshed throughout. The word "Bushmill" (the brand name of a type of Irish whiskey) appears over 50 times. After the main players would return from bashing someone, or just for a meeting, they'd all serve themselves "Bushmills", and say lines like "Drink this, you're going to need it." "Here, drink more of this, you're going to need it." It became so comical; I'd read sentences outloud to my wife. Neither of us will ever be able to say the word "Bushmills" again without cracking up. Okay, so the characters drank, but if they'd have been plausible, it would have worked. But the main nemesis, Kate, is the richest women in the world. Yet she places herself at her crime scenes, or with the guys that she sent out to do the crimes, instead of being surrounded and protected like the richest women in the world would be. This is the silliest book I have read in 20 years. But I did get a new way to make my wife laugh outloud: "Honey? Bushmills!"
Rating:
Summary: Typical Higgins Today
Review: I am of the belief that a writer has trouble coming up with new ideas after several books, its a miracle to do thirty three. No doubt there are similaritys. Bushmills, Shepards pie, "Bless all here" are in abundance. The odd part is I still get a kick out of his 007 Dillion. Reminds me of a little Irishman I knew. I'll bet he can write many more in the future and I will look forward to them.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Much Typecasting Spoils the Broth
Review: In looking through Jack Higgins extensive list of publications, I discovered that I had read another of his novels years ago - 'The Eagle Has Landed.' I literally remember nothing about it, but given the elapsed time involved, that is not surprising. On the other hand, this is not a particularly memorable novel either, and I suspect I will forget it in far fewer years. 'Midnight Runner,' the sequel to 'Edge of Danger,' sets out to be a classic spy thriller. Kate Rashid, half-wealthy Arab and half-English nobility, is the villain of the piece, along with her cousin Rupert Dauncy. She is determined to have revenge for the killing of her brothers when their evil plans were snuffed out in the previous volume. Dauncy just likes to do nasty things. The list of people Kate Rashid wants to get even with is quite large, including the President of the United States and several of his staff, Senator Daniel Quinn, most of British Intelligence, and, especially, Sean Dillon, the British agent who has been her nemesis. Kate, the only remaining Rashid, is not 'just' wealthy, she controls the lion's share of world oil production, heads up a large clan of Bedouin tribesmen, and is funding almost every terrorist organization in the world. Indeed, her idea of revenge is to kill of a few people personally and then bring down the world around them. It does not help matters that not only is she wealthy and determined, she is also possessed of a brilliant mind. Small wonder that Dan Quinn and Sean Dillon are determined to see the end of her. The story has all the right ingredients - menacing villains, roguish heroes, a fast moving complex plot, and the required threat to the free world - but for some reason it fails to sell itself. I found myself unhappy with the sketchy, archetypal characters that Higgins uses to people this story. Everyone is exactly the way you would expect him or her to be, from the President right on down to the Arab servant. No one displays a lot of originality, and as soon as anyone gives into weakness, he or she is ushered from the center stage. Almost everyone has an Irish last name, with the exception of Hannah Bernstein (who should get a bigger part) and the Rashid's minions. Characters such as these can make the plot seem inevitable and predictable. As a reader of suspense stories, I like to be surprised a bit more, and to have the ending be in doubt. I also enjoy exotic locales or intriguing technical details and these too are only sketched in. Higgin's writing style is smooth, but minimalistic. I wouldn't call this a 'bad' book, but a mediocre one. If you are looking for a bare boned spy story to fill an hour or so on a rainy afternoon this may be just your cup of tea. Do not, however, expect anything memorable. Marc Ruby for the Mystery Reader
Rating:
Summary: an action thriller with no frills
Review: Jack Higgins is a very well established thriller writer who started writing decades ago in the same vein as Alastair MacLean and Ian Fleming. They wrote with a spare direct language creating scenes of action with minimal words or characterizations. This is quite different than today's character driven novels. Nonetheless, over the decades, his popularity hasn't waned. His latest work, MIDNIGHT RUNNER, continues the story from last year's EDGE OF MIDNIGHT. Sean Dillan, an ex IRA warrior, in his tenth outing is, once again, pitted against the Rashid family specifically Kate Rashid, the sole heir to the family's fortune. Countess Kate wants to disrupt the stability of the United States economy by disrupting the flow of oil even if it is her oil distribution that is directly affected. The purpose is to discredit President Cazalet's reputation and legacy. With the help of her cousin, Rupert Dauncey, she also wants to enact her revenge on Sean Dillon who is responsible for several deaths in her family. This leads, of course, to an explosive climax as the forces of good and evil clash. Once again, Jack Higgins remains true to form in creating an action thriller with no frills. Adversaries share dinner and drinks prior to heading to the battlefield. Deaths are, again, dealt with quickly and in a matter-of--fact style. Characters are shallow and lack true depth of feeling. Depiction of locale is a bit flimsy but effective enough for the rapidly paced adrenaline charged plot. The purpose of the Higgins books are simply to entertain and on that level they succeed admirably.
Rating:
Summary: Midnight Runner
Review: Jack Higgins returns again with his usual bunch of characters. This time around it's Lady Kate Rashid's turn to seek vengeance on the President of the USA as well as Sean Dillon and others. It seems her three brothers were killed attempting to assassinate the president (Edge of Danger). Kate Rashid is one the richest women in the world and thus, has the power to get what she wants. Needless to say, she has no idea what she's soon to come up against: Sean Dillon, Blake Johnson, Harry and Billy Salter, Roper, Daniel Quinn and others. A fast-paced thriller. The character of Sean Dillon is reminding me more and more of a character by the name of Dirk Pitt. You thriller readers know whom I'm talking about. Somehow you just know that no task is impossible. Of course Dirk still rules. This novel was comparable to the previous Dillon novels.
A suspenseful and quick read. Recommended
Rating: 
Summary: a thriller? not even close
Review: Maybe I'm missing something...I've read and loved tons of "thrillers" but Midnight Runner just didn't keep my attention. It actually became a chore to read this book. It had some bright moments, but all in all it wasn't suspenseful, the characters were not that interesting, and the action was extremely hackneyed. Don't waste your time with this book, it's mediocre at best.
Rating:
Summary: a thriller? not even close
Review: Maybe I'm missing something...I've read and loved tons of "thrillers" but Midnight Runner just didn't keep my attention. It actually became a chore to read this book. It had some bright moments, but all in all it wasn't suspenseful, the characters were not that interesting, and the action was extremely hackneyed. Don't waste your time with this book, it's mediocre at best.
Rating:
Summary: Almost as poorly written as Harry Potter
Review: Thank God I borrowed the CD from the library instead of spending hard earned moola. This novel leaves you wondering what kind of a Mickey Mouse world Higgin's characters inhabit. The story line is somewhat passable if not formulaic: wealthy meglomaniac wants to screw over the the USA and the world big time but is thwarted by a small rag tag band from a super secret agency. Everything in the novel is overly simplified and lacking in any details or logic for that matter. For example, the main hero Sean Dillion is ex-IRA who works for Her Majesty's Secret Service now. There's a superficial explanation of how that came about, and for some reason all the Brits and Americans are perfectly happy to be best buds with a former terrorist murderer and let him into their secret ranks. Fine, I never read the prequel so maybe I missed the explanation there, but if everybody seems to know and hate everybody else in this book because of a past blood feud, why does everybody spend the first half of the book having drinks and dinner over polite conversation with their sworn enemies only to spend the second half trying to eliminate them? If you're going to kill somebody, kill them, don't buy them dinner and drinks so you can pontificate about how bad you are! The other thing is that for secret agents and military nobody seems to care about being followed or bugged or anything. It's as if all the characters were actors following a bad script and just going through the motions because that is what the screenplay says. If you've read any Andy McNab or Tom Clancy you know they both go to great lengths (sometimes painfully so) to give realistic details about how agents or soldiers act and what motivates them. Higgins would have you believe that thwarting couple of SAS hit men is nothing more difficult than a jog in the park. Speaking of details, Higgins would have you believe that everybody in the world drinks gallons of Bushmills and are armed with Walther PPK's and AK-47's. To summarize, the plot is full of holes, the characters one dimensional and the writing is unimaginative.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Some, Be Sure to Read the Prequel
Review: There's no doubt about it, Jack Higgins writes a lot. This piece, which has as a companion piece the book EDGE OF DANGER, is actually much stronger in plot and characters than EDGE was. However, I would suggest to all that they read EDGE of DANGER before reading MIDNIGHT RUNNER because you get much more of the history of the characters who are of the House of Dauncey, especially Kate, whom I picture is sort of a Catherine Zeta-Jones type of beauty. As for which version of the books is the best, I have read and listened to the unabridged version of MIDNIGHT RUNNER and found that listening to the audio version by Patrick Macnee adds more to the sometimes limited, in description, words of Higgins. While I would recommend MIDNIGHT RUNNER to anyone, whether they have read EDGE of DANGER or not, I believe you will appreciate RUNNER more if you have read the history of the Dauncey family as it happened in EDGE of DANGER
| 
