A Season in Hell (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Jack Higgins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1990 | Series: G K Hall Large Print Book Series

American socialite Sarah Talbot had everything going for her: a multi-million dollar business, a large circle of well-placed friends, and a successful marriage to English aristocrat and army colonel Edward Talbot. Talbot is killed in the Falklands Campaign leaving her with her adored step-son Eric, a student at Cambridge. Then Eric dies in Paris of a drug-overdose, and when Sarah seeks to uncover the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death she finds all official roads to justice are blocked. If she wants satisfaction she must take matters into her own hands. And Sarah is determined: someone must pay. When she meets enigmatic young former SAS sergeant Sean Egan, an eloquent lone gun and the ultimate soldier, she knows she has the weapon she needs. A study in contradictions, Egan is a careful, thoughtful man, but a man to whom killing is as natural as breathing. Together they embark on a quest for revenge that will lead them from London to Paris, to Sicily and Northern Ireland, then back to London and a shattering climax on the dark, brooding wharves of the river Thames. Together Sean and Sarah will plumb the depths of the underworld, a world in which man’s capacity for destruction is almost beyond belief, a world in which revenge truly is a “season in hell."

--This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sean Egan is Irish, well-educated and cynical, trained by the British as a commando who can shoot bad guys between the eyes without blinking. Sarah Talbot is a powerful Wall Street lawyer and a wealthy socialite. This unlikely duo join forces to avenge the killings of Sean's adoptive sister and Sarah's son, both murdered by a ghoulish heroin smuggling ring. They travel throughout Europe, uncovering clues just before each source is murdered before their eyes, followed by the drug ring's cool assassin, Jago. Though it's not unusual to find a political adventure novel lacking in original dialogue or emotional depth, it is surprising to see the plot fall quickly into such predictable contrivances. If Sean straps on an ankle holster at a certain point in the narrative, for example, he will certainly be frisked just a few pages later. The novel has no romance, no sex, and too few twists. The most interesting character, Jago, never lives up to his early promise as the cold-blooded killer with a chilling respect and fondness for Sarah. Higgins builds suspense only to let it dissipate at the last moment, and the ending, though a surprise, is arbitrary and unrewarding. The novel should, nevertheless, eventually find a comfortable niche in the paperback racks.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Jack Higgins is the master.” —Tom Clancy

“A corking good tale.” —San Diego Union-Tribune

“Higgins is a real pro.” —The New York Times Book Review

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 365 pages
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co (March 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816148279
• ISBN-13: 978-0816148271
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,515,342 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

94 of 100 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting to the last moment ...., May 1, 2001

By 

snowy "Lorne Vallen" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Season in Hell: Season in Hell (Mass Market Paperback)

I reserve 5 stars for classics like "The Eagle has landed", but this book comes close. There are plenty of twists and turns and unlike repetitive characters of Higgins, you wonder when a major character in this book will get bumped off the next page.

Sarah Talbot and Sean Egan came from 2 different world, an ex-SAS from London East End who had to quit due to a knee injury, and a Wall Street terror whom Washington bigwigs queue to kiss her hand. But they have one thing in common, people they love had died under strange circumstances and the corpses to smuggle heroin.

Ferguson of Group 4 (in this book, Harry instead of Charles, wonder if they are one and the same), Tony Villiers, another intel officer, knew it was linked to some sensitive issues and made no open inquiry, effectively denying official investigation.

But Sarah Talbot and Sean Egan had no such burdens and vowed to discover the truth and the mastermind behind the tragic deaths of their loved ones.

It was interesting as the bad guys found out early in the game they had crossed powerful people and tried desperately to stay ahead, denying Sarah and Sean information without killing the two bereaved. Sarah carried an aura of protection due to her political connections to the White House, and Sean used his underworld connections to get clues and leads, his uncle being Jack Shelley, an infamous London gangster.

Their adversary was one ex-para named Jago who works for the mysterious Mr Smith. One by one, Jago sought to eliminate the links from the 2 bodies but Sarah and Sean just managed to gain a little clue each time before their links were terminated abruptly.

From London, to Paris, to Sicily, to Ireland, the trail finally leads back to the shadowy streets of London East End where the mysterious Mr Smith is unmasked.

Higgins gave a good description of the trial by fire of Sarah who was determined to step into a different world, of murder and mayhem and lawlessness (illegal ones, not the legal kind in Wall Street). Readers could actually see that it is one thing to be incensed by the murder of a beloved, it is quite another to go out to the streets seeking revenge.

This is definitely one of Higgins' better books, where the reader is kept in suspense and the action was fast and furious but not mindlessly so, with each chapter providing clues and hints and kept essential to the development.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful and Fantastic!, January 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Season in Hell: Season in Hell (Mass Market Paperback)

A Season In Hell is about drugs in Europe and what people do to get them. It is also about a woman's struggle to find out how her stepson was murdered. The two main characters, Sarah and Sean are very, very intense. The story takes place all throughout Europe. The book ends very well and is unexpected.

I loved this book! It was amazing. I love the way Jack Higgins wrote this book. The book is non-stop suspense. I would recommend it very, very highly.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Action and humour, Jack Higgins when he is on top, March 31, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Season in Hell: Season in Hell (Mass Market Paperback)

Action from page one to the last one. A story that could be true. Drugs and the way some people do anuything to get to the big money. But Jack Higgins also has a great homour that makes his storyes ver y good reading...Warning!! Ones you start reading this book...be sure you have the time becouse you wont like to stop reading it