Customer Reviews

Cold Harbour

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Buy the book to save the cover. It display a German U-Boat. There's a partial photo of a submarine on the back page. And, each chapter is signaled with a small image of a submarine. So, it's about a submarine, right? Wrong. The only boat in the book is a German E-Boat. The cover designer didn't know the difference between a German U- and an E-boat! :-} One has to wonder how this got past the proof readers!! Meanwhile, the story is fair, but in places it leaves the reader saying, "Naw, that wouldn't happen."

...and that is precisely what I did with this book. The characters were laid out, then they subtley changed and then yet another twist altered your perception again. I was constantly flipping the pages, ready and as nervous as the characters themselves, to find out what would happen next.

Higgins has pretty much mastered this genre and has been known to "phone a few in, but COLD HARBOUR does a nice job within the confines of Higgins' rather straight forward style. Playing around with the typical conventions of cross channel warfare, identical twins(never a good idea), and a foray into LeCarre territory, a nice thriller emerges. The story does have its flaws with a rather obvious villain and a few too many twists to hold onto the realism that Higgins generally strives for but overall it works its way to its inevitable conclusion effectively. Other than the ridiculous cover on this paperback, as astutuely mentioned by another reviewer-a U-Boat which has nothing to do with this tales of an E-Boat and espionage, this one's a rather nice page turner and not bad for a quick thriller to fill in on the plane trip or at the beach.

I very much enjoyed the characters. The book was filled with suspense and puts the reader right back to the harbour. Overall a good WWII spy novel that was hard to put down. I will read many more of Mr. Higgins' books

The Story twists and turns, you never know what will happen next.

Cold Harbour is a very intresting book with a wonderful main character. I would love to read more books with OSS agent Craig Osbourne.

Cold Harbour is fairly good, as it goes, but there are times when the story seems to stretch to meet its own ends...and becomes predictable. Still, there are a couple of pretty good characters, and certainly enough plot twists to keep you interested. And, of course, Higgins gives us, in the person of Dougal Munro, someone we love to hate. Worth one read, anyway.

Adding another Jack Higgins "Sean Dillon" book to my collection. Book arrived within alloted time frame and was well packaged.

Once you get past the (now-infamous) cover** Cold Harbor is at least a decent read about a covert operation from Britain into occupied France during WWII. The main characters are well-developed, and the at least plausible background story fits into the history fairly well. Good Jack Higgins novel, perhaps not quite up to "The Eagle Has Landed" or "The Wrath of God".

**It would be nice if Berkley issued a new edition using artwork of a WWII German E-Boat (surface torpedo boat, similar in role to the British MTB and US PT boats) rather than a WWI minelaying submarine.... Wrong war, wrong type of vessel. Perhaps they should sack the art editor.

Cold Harbour (Dougal Munro & Jack Carter)

Jack Higgins drops the reader into the espionage world of WWII with COLD HARBOUR. The pace is fast and the mission is deadly for all concerned. Craig Osborne who has once been a prisoner of the Gestapo executes a Nazi and escapes back to England with the help of the beautiful Anne-Marie Trevaunce.
Anne-Marie is the niece and heir to the Countess Hortense du Voincourt who's chateau has been convenscated by the German high command. Anne-Marie is ordered back to England where she is given a truth serum that goes horribly wrong. Her twin sister Genevieve is recruited to carry out her assignment.
Great action and intelligence novel with a rapidly changing plot. Excellent read.
Nash Black, SINS OF THE FATHERS.