The Judas Gate, by Jack Higgins

When you read a lot of a particular author, there are favorite characters who begin to appeal to you, and make you want to read more of. In this category is Jack Higgins' hero Sean Dillon. I have read quite a few Sean Dillon thrillers, and felt them to be quite good. When I picked up The Judas Gate, I expected it to be quite good too.

Plot-wise, I think this one's not the best of Higgins, because it starts out with just a recording of the villain expressing something, and the chase based on that. It didn't seem very interesting at all, more like a wild goose chase that puts emphasis on the talents of the wheelchair bound genius Major Giles Roper. The pace seems very slow, unlike many other Sean Dillon based novels I've read, and over time, the characters don't seem very different. Yes, Dillon is brash, and Ferguson is uncaring, but it doesn't come out as easily as before. Even the US President seems to have gone nameless, and Clancy Smith seems more a stranger to the set of characters than usual. Another aspect that is repetitive is the Irish villain. Most of the novels have one Irish bad guy in them, and this is no different. I haven't read the novel where Hannah Bernstein is killed, but the novel misses her character badly. And the action scenes lack punch.

I don't know what to make of this novel, from the perspective of a Sean Dillon fan. I can only hope it's a one-off glitch. I rate it 2 stars.

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Rating: 2 Stars

Reviewed by: Vinay Leo R. 

Genre: Fiction/Thriller 

Book Source: Library Copy 

 This is not a paid review. The opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.

A Devil is Waiting by Jack Higgins

There are certain characters that are quite well known in crime fiction. It's Jack Reacher for Lee Child, Alex Cross for James Patterson, Shane Schofield for Matthew Reilly and Cotton Malone for Steve Berry. In the same way, it's Sean Dillon that is the principal character of action thriller series books authored by Jack Higgins. I'm quite a fan of the character, that no-nonsense, ruthless, carefree killer who is a protector of justice and part of the Prime Minister's personal army, so to speak.

This book however wasn't one of my favorites, so to speak. This is the first book that I've picked up where a main character is missing. On checking, I found she had been killed in a previous book that I missed. Guess the dialogue from the series Castle comes to mind. Perhaps the author got bored of the character. Maybe Hannah Bernstien started to become a little predictable to him. It was sort of a repetitive character, with Dillon's affection for her and her affection for the rules dominating almost every novel's plot and character sketch. That being said, the new characters of Daniel Holley and Sara Gideon were quite interesting. The war background, the similarity in character to Dillon and the love angle between the two new characters was quite nice to read.

The villains Mullah Ali Selim and the Frenchman Henri Legrande were ruthless too, the former especially. The action shifts from the USA to London to Pakistan, and then to Persia etc. much like a Jack Higgins novel usually does. The old known and loved characters like Roper, Ferguson, Blake, Lacey and Parry, all return and play their parts seamlessly. It's a thriller alright!

Did I love it? Yes, I did. Not the best, but it's got quality. Here's to more of Sean Dillon and his antics.

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Book Details:
Title: A Devil is Waiting
Author: Jack Higgins
ISBN: 9780007479870
Genre: Action Thriller
Publishers: Harper Collins
Price: INR 299

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Reviewed by Leo

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