Customer Reviews

Midnight Runner

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I am an unabashed Higgins fan who has tried to get his hands on almost everything he has written. Each springtime I eagerly await the release of his latest effort. In short, my standards for Higgins is high. And that is why I am very disappointed by this book. The characters are two-dimensional and the story flat. It's a shame; the formula was there for a great story. I will still eagerly wait next spring for the next new Higgins novel. But unlike other years, I will not be recommending this year's effort to my friends.

This series of books about the converted IRA killer and his friends is one of my all-time favorites! Let's be frank, however; this is not great literature. The characters are mere brush strokes, there's very little exposition, the plots are see-through, and there always tends to be a happy ending. That being said, the books are just full of non-stop excitement, to the extent that you overlook the flaws in the work. Once you start reading these books, you're hooked from beginning to end, and sometimes it's impossible to put down until you've finished reading, even if it's the wee hours of the morning, and your eyes are burning from lack of sleep! That's the highest accolade I can give a book: that it kept me up way beyond my bedtime. It'll happen to you also.

The Book,Got lost in what should have been the main people
I fell a sleep while reading it only to find I had read a hundred pages.
Not a great piece of work for such a good writer

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

The first Jack Higgins book I read was "Pay the Devil" and I loved that book. This book however is a totally different story while it was a good enough book to read on a plane or waiting in an airport its not one of those books you want read agian. Its all the same plot Mideast terrorist organization wants to stop the oil supply nothing ground breaking here.

My impression-Lots of action, but the characters for the most part are 2 dimensional and uninteresting. I mean heck thinking back on it the only characters that I can remember are Quinn, Billy and Sean Dillon.

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

Sean Dillon and company are at it again and the action is as we would expect from Higgins. I read this book in practically one sitting and enjoyed it a lot. I am looking forward to the next Dillon outing and wondering about Kate Rashid????? As one reviewer mentioned unleavened bread and Savile Row suits, who cares? The plot's the thing and there's plenty of action to move it along.

Did Jack Higgins write this book? I've read about a half a dozen of his previous novels and was not disappointed until this one. He is capabable of much better.

Trick me once...Shame on you...Trick me twice...Shame on me.
Well, consider me shamed. The first time I ran into what I think is fraud was the Grisham book "The Brethern" That was the "Shame on You" Now, after Higgins latest..Shame on Me. I was so disappointed. Jack Higgins can write better than this. I want to know if this was one of those "Hurry Jack, we paid you upfront for x number of books and you're behind schedule. Punch one out." Shame should also go to his editor/publisher for allowing something like this to go out with his name.

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.