On Dangerous Ground [Audio Cassette]

Jack Higgins (Author), Patrick Macnee (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2001

In 'On Dangerous Ground' Jack Higgins weaves together big business interests, the Hong Kong Treaty and the deadly intrigues of the Mafia.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having turned former IRA terrorist Sean Dillon into a hero in Thunder Point , Higgins refines his portrait of that deadly little man even further here by allowing him to acquire almost mystical kung-fu skills. This latest thriller opens with a prologue set in Chungking, 1944, during which Mao Zedong and Lord Louis Mountbatten sign the mysterious Chungking Covenant--a promise by Mao to extend the treaty giving Britain control of Hong Kong by 100 years. With Hong Kong due to be returned to China in 1997, the existence of such an agreement could destroy delicate international relationships. One copy of this vital document may still exist, supposedly hidden in a Scottish castle known as Loch Dhu ("Place of Dark Waters"). American billionaire Carl Morgan, determined to locate the document so that he and his Mafia associates might have leverage to protect their operations in Hong Kong, takes up residence in the castle with Asta, his stepdaughter. On the scene to foil their designs are Dillon, Brigadier Charles Ferguson and his Chief Inspector, Hannah Bernstein. Following a path from the castle to a villa in Sicily to a final confrontation in London, the search leaves a bloody trail. Unfortunately, revelation of the novel's most duplicitous villain will come as no surprise to most readers. Nevertheless, Higgins compensates for a less than elegant style with his signature unrelenting pace. BOMC main selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Special agent Sean Dillon seems genetically engineered for the 1990s. As a former IRA operative, he's terrorist chic, but since he's killed no women or children, he's also very PC. In any case, Dillon returns from Higgins' Thunder Point and Eye of the Storm (1992) to help British intelligence locate the Chungking Covenant, a 1944 document in which Winston Churchill agreed to assist Mao Tse-tung against the Japanese for Mao's promise to extend Britain's lease of Hong Kong for another 100 years, to 2097, should his revolution succeed. For some reason, the Mafia--and not the all-powerful Chinese triads?--are most interested in exposing the document and thus sustaining their lucrative Asian drug trade another century. However, Britain fears that revealing the covenant would strain already-delicate relations among the UK, China, and the U.S. This is pure espionage pulp from its far-fetched plot to its cut-out characters. But Higgins keeps the action too crisp and the settings too luxuriant for us to worry much about that. Alan Moores --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Phoenix Audio (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590401387
• ISBN-13: 978-1590401385
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,250,991 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 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something new around every corner., April 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: On Dangerous Ground (Sean Dillon) (Paperback)

This book throws all sorts of surprises your way. Everything you've come to expect or think about the characters will all of a sudden change as their true personality is revealed. It's just full of surprises that keep you wanting more, even when nothing exciting is happening.

This book was particularly interesting because of the topic. With Hong Kong having been handed over just a little while back and me actually living there I thought it took on a different meaning. Now I wonder if something like this really happened, whether the Chungking Covenant actually existed and was found. Either way, it makes for a good read, especially on a lonely beach in Malaysia.

I agree with everyone else that has written reviews here, Dillon is a great character. He seems like the perfect secret agent, but he's also got a little bit of an evil past which helps make him the person he is. The way he and Asta relate really confuses me because when they are around each other they seem like they truly have a thing for each other, but when they go back to their homes their attitude completely changes. Asta is a great character too, mainly because of that side of her, the way she changes so quickly makes you unsure of her motives so that when they are revealed at the end it really surprises you.

All in all this a great book that I never expected to like. I had to pick out a book on China for english and this seemed like the one that would appeal the most to me.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rattling good yarn!, December 24, 2006

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Dangerous Ground (Hardcover)

In China, in 1944, in the waning days of WW2, a document was signed by Mao Tse Sung and witnessed by Lord Louis Nountbatten, on behalf of Winston Churchill. This document, the Chungking Covenant, guaranteed continued rights to the British to accupy Hong Kong for yet another 100 years. The plane on which Scottish Officer, Ian Campbell and the Covenant was flying, crashed but Campbell , barely alive, was rescued by his batman and returned to England, never to regain his wits.Fifty years later as the time approaches for the handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese, the now aged batman reveals the presence of the Covenant to be hidden somewhere in the grounds of Campbell's castle in the Highlands of Scotland and both British Intelligence forces and the Mafia, who hold huge interests in Hong Kong, are anxious to acquire the document. The Brits hire Sean Dillon, former IRA operative and general mercenary to many countries (but definitely an almost good guy) to act on their behalf and to vie with a mysterious American millionaire, to get the document. If you like action thrillers with plenty going on, you'll love this as I did...it would make a marvellous movie!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars On Dangerous Ground, April 18, 2010

By 

Eugene J. Walden "E.J. Walden" (Lake Saint Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Dangerous Ground (Sean Dillon) (Paperback)

Near the conclusion of WWII the British and Chinese Communists have a meeting during which they signed a pact, called the Chungking Covenant, which would extend British rule over Hong Kong for 100 years, provided the Communists were in control of China at wars end. The document is seemingly lost when the plane carrying it to England crashes. Fifty years later, news of the documents survival surfaces, when the surviving pilot of the plane advises a Mafia connected doctor of its existance. The Mafia, of course, would make multi-millions if they could get their hands on the document.

Here again, our two favorites, Sean Dillon and Brigadier Ferguson, match wits with a coterie of espionage agents, such as Carl Mason and his step-sister Asta, who portrays herself as a sweet and loving woman, but who, in reality is just the opposite...a true vixen. The characters and the plot are both well developed and hold your interest throughout the whole story.

E.J. Walden, author of "Operation Snow Owl"