Bad Company [Large Print] [Paperback]

Jack Higgins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2004

A New York Times Bestselling Author

A diary concealed by Hitler in the waning days of WWII records a meeting between emissaries of Hitler and Roosevelt to reach an armistice and join efforts against the Soviet Union. The American representative was someone very close to President Jake Cazalet, and his enemies will do anything to get that diary. It's up to White House operative Blake Johnson and his British colleague, Sean Dillion, to make sure they don't.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Humdrum company would be a more accurate title. This sequel to Higgins's last, ripsnorting yarn, Midnight Runner, is mostly a by-the-numbers effort, though the numbers do speed by. The novel, the author's 35th, begins promisingly, playing to Higgins's greatest strength, WWII action. Young Baron Max von Berger, entrusted by Hitler during the last days of the Third Reich with his diary as well as the key to a vast fortune in Swiss banks, makes a daring and exciting escape from the Fhrerbunker. But once the narrative leaps toward the present, it begins to flag, with a second setup (including a nifty Saddam cameo) explaining why and how the baron inherits the wealth and power of the Rashid family, the Arab oil kingpins destroyed by Higgins's customary antihero, Sean Dillon, in the last book. Problematic is Higgins's use of von Berger and his thuggish son as villains here; they lack the evil charisma of the Rashids. To avenge the death of the Rashids, von Berger targets Dillon and his master, British black ops commander Gen. Charles Ferguson, who fights back with the help of the usual crew of "hard" men, including computer whiz Major Roper, White House black ops chief Blake Johnson, London tough guys Harry and Billy Salter, et al. Matters pick up a bit when von Berger's son kidnaps General Ferguson to Germany, but Dillon's rescue attempt whips by much too quickly, as if Higgins were hurrying to finish this book and get on to number 36. The author's fans will find enough gnarly action and sentiment here to make them anticipate his next, but this entry is sub par and the series as a whole could use a kick in the spine.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Higgins' classic novel of World War II espionage, The Eagle Has Landed (1975), was the thriller that brought him fame--and probably fortune. Bad Company, his thirty-fifth novel, also deals with WWII. As the war is drawing to a close in 1945, Hitler gives his diary to an aide for safekeeping. The diary contains an account of a meeting between representatives of Hitler and President Roosevelt at which they discussed ways to negotiate a peace treaty and then to attack Russia. The aide, Max von Berger, is now (in 2003) a billionaire industrialist and a silent partner with an international crime family. Seeking revenge for a killing, Berger vows to reveal the diary's secret that would destroy the current U.S. president. It's up to an American and a British agent to get the diary before it falls into the hands of the president's enemies. Like other Higgins' novels, the locales in this one are worldwide and include London, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, the U.S., and Iraq. (Yes, Saddam Hussein is one of the many characters.) Both the good guys and bad guys talk tough and smoke and drink a lot--Bushmills Irish whiskey, champagne, and schnapps are among their favorites. By a master of espionage novels, and certain to be requested at the circulation desk. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Large Print Press; 1 edition (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007768125
• ISBN-13: 978-1594130205
• ASIN: 1594130205
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,801,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Higgins is among the world's most popular authors. Since the publication of The Eagle Has Landed--one of the biggest-selling thrillers of all time--every novel he has written has become an international bestseller, including The White House Connection and Day of Reckoning. He has had simultaneous number-one bestsellers in hardcover and paperback, and has been published in thirty-eight languages worldwide. Many of his books have been made into successful movies, among them The Eagle Has Landed, To Catch A King, and The Valhalla Exchange. He lives with his wife on Jersey in the Channel Islands.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to par, July 23, 2003

By 

Konrad Kern (OFallon, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bad Company (Hardcover)

See storyline above.

First of all I don't remember Jack Higgins previous novels being this bad. Okay, the plot had potential and the action was there, but this book seemed like it was very rushed. The characters didn't seem there usual self (Dillon being stopped by a tractor in the road? No other explanation?). Please. The brevity of the book and the rushed style (very little depth) made for a very disappointing read.

Not recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Poor cousin sequel to Midnight run., September 8, 2003

By 

William J. Tennison (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bad Company (Audio CD)

If you are a Jack Higgins fan you know what to expect. This book is by the numbers.

Higgins goes into great detail setting up the book with the Hitler diaries subplot. However, this whole section goes nowhere. It could have been much more interesting.

The Von Berger character as a villian does not really work out.

I listened to this on CD. Patrick MacNee does a creditable job as the reader.

If you have nothing better to do, you may want to pick this book up. Otherwise, I would try other works.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty bad, if I'm honest, but enjoyable!, August 25, 2003

By 

RachelWalker "RachelW" (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Company (Hardcover)

Our story begins at the funeral of Kate Rashid, the villainess of Higgins's last thriller, whom undercover enforcer Sean Dillon managed to kill before she wrought her vengeance upon him for killing her three beloved brothers. Dillon and his companions watch on, increasingly uneasy at the presence of Baron Max von Berger, a multi-millionaire friend of the Rashid's, who has now interhited their old empire in the Hazar that is worth billions.

Now, von Berger himself wants revenge, and it is a matter of honour. Kate Rashid once saved his life, and she was a very dear friend. He is determined to exact justice on those who conspired to destroy the Rashid's and their empire: Dillon, his friend in the government General Charles Ferguson, and their colleague, White House insider Blake Johnson. But, unknown to them, Berger has a secret weapon. In the waning days of WWII Hitler entrusted von Berger, his close aide, with his diary detailing the final six months of the war, and a meeting he had with President Roosevelt which could have stopped the war before it started.

Bad Company is another of Higgins's increasingly by-the-numbers, cliched, formulaid thrillers that just reuse aspects from his other books (boats blown-up, planes crashed, assassinations, etc), but it is a primse example. A one character says of the events in the book, "It's like a bad novel", and that is exactly what they are. They are the evnets of a bad novel. however, they are also the envets of an entertaining story, and this is exactly what this is. A great story, a nice adventure. It's fast, thrilling, enjoyable, nothing more. nothing less. If you are looking for great writing, don't come here. If you're looking for a plot that wont fall apart under close scrutiny, also don't come here. If you're simply looking for a quick, easy read that's a bit James Pattersonesque in style, then do come here.

There's only one little problem, really: Dillon is flat and cardboard. Higgins has reduced him merely to proper nouns and pronouns, and as a result the reader tends to prefer the villains, who are more colourful, and that leads to dissappointment come the finale (which is a tad rushed), in which, of course, the heroes unfailingly win.

Still, Bad Company is light and easy reading, and it's relatively easy to overlook that almost everything within has been lifted from various other Jack Higgins books. This is about as close to literature as a TV guide, but, then, it doesn't intend to be.