- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Open Road Media (Jun 22 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1936317419
- ISBN-13: 978-1936317417
- Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 20.3 x 1.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
'Exciting and believable!Higgins writes in a terse, succinct style. He knows what he's about and he does his job with skill, speed and sanf--froid -- just as any good spy might' New York Times 'Higgins is a master of his craft.' Daily Telegraph 'A thriller writer in a class of his own.' Financial Times
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
In the shadow of the Cold War, two rugged IRA veterans must crush a ruthless mercenary before his deadly scheme can bring Europe to its knees Terrorist-for-hire Frank Barry has been wreaking havoc in Germany and France with backing from the KGB. His next mission might be his deadliest, as Barry plans to steal a state-of-the-art missile and sell it to the highest bidder. Only Barry's longtime rivals, retired IRA gunman Liam Devlin and his ally Martin Brosnan, can prevent the missile from falling into the wrong hands. But first Devlin must stage a thrilling jailbreak to free Brosnan before the men set off on a gripping race against the clock to eliminate Barry and his reign of terror. "Jack Higgins is the master." -Tom Clancy Jack Higgins is the New York Times bestselling author of more than sixty thrillers that have sold over 250 million copies worldwide, including The Eagle Has Landed and The Wolf at the Door. Before beginning his writing career, Higgins served in the British Army along the East German border. He lives in the Channel Islands.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice background on some of Higgins' main characters., Oct 19 2000
By "bulldog51" - Published on Amazon.com
This book centers around three men: Former IRA gunmen Liam Devlin, Martin Brosnan and Frank Barry. Devlin is now semi-retired, working as a professor of English Literature at Trinity College in Dublin. Brosnan is in an island jail off the French coast for shooting a policeman during an IRA arms deal. Barry is now working as a gun-for-hire to various left-wing European terrorist groups, and sometimes the KGB.After he attempts to kill the British Foreign Secretary on a visit to France, the Prime Minister decides Barry must be dealt with, once and for all. Group 4, the PM's special missions unit headed by Brigadier Charles Ferguson, is given the task.
Ferguson enlists the aid of Devlin and, after he breaks out of the prison, Brosnan, in the mission. There is personal bad blood between Brosnan and Barry. The final confrontation is the best part of the book, when Barry tries to escape England with a stolen rocket-launcher prototype and Brosnan and Devlin hot on his heels.
This book would be enjoyable for Higgins fans, because the characters have either appeared in other Higgins books, or (in the case of Barry) been alluded to. It's nice to get some background on Brosnan, and it makes his actions in "Eye of the Storm" more clear and understandable.
But Barry is the most interesting character. He's Sean Dillon, only less charming and more cold-blooded. The relationship between Barry and Dillon was hinted at in "Eye of the Storm," where Dillon refers to Barry as sort of his mentor. That relationship is interesting, and I would like to see Higgins devote an entire book to it, because I think it could work well.
I would also like Higgins to give us some more background on the time in the late-60s/early-70s when Devlin, Brosnan, Barry, and Dillon were all in the IRA together. Hopefully he'll put out a book on that, too.
As for "Touch the Devil," if you're a Higgins fan, you'll like it. If you're not, it's a good introduction to some of his main characters, but not his best book. I recommend "Eye of the Storm" as an introducition to Higgins, because it'll get you hooked and coming back for more.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Early 80's thriller, nice mix of villains and good guys!, July 10 2004
By Gerald M. Bull "Jerry Bull" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Touch the Devil (Paperback)
Our introduction to the prolific Jack Higgins was his early (1969) thriller "A Fine Night for Dying". That novel, while mildly entertaining, was short and pretty tame by modern standards. With "Devil" we moved ahead several years to a Higgins' work written in 1982 and set in roughly that same time frame. Based on other reviews, apparently the lead characters -- Martin Brosnan, Liam Devlin, and Frank Barry -- appear in several other Higgins stories; but their appearances stand by themselves just fine in this story. A flashback prologue set in Viet Nam during the war introduces us to Brosnan and a female photographer, Anne-Marie Audin, who plays a minor role throughout the book. But the main focus is on Barry, who spends most of his time as a paid assassin with seemingly little loyalty to any cause or country. When he nearly offs a British Foreign Secretary on a visit to France, and slays an important agent instead, the Prime Minister orders her Secret Service to retaliate. The guy in charge, Brigadier Charles Ferguson, deciding it takes a killer to kill one, in effect hires (now) death row convict and ex-IRA terrorist Martin Brosnan to attempt the deed. Brosnan figures Ferguson will never pull off getting him out of the slammer, and so stages a stunning escape instead, setting up a climax where it's bad guy versus bad guy for the suspenseful latter section of the book."Devil" is a fun read: it's long enough and complex enough to build and sustain your interest; the characters are interesting; and in the end we're not completely sure which bad guy we want to root for!! Along the way a number of bystanders and lesser characters get knocked off by our author, but some twists and turns fool us on more than one occasion. A somewhat philosophical but stunning denouement even gives us pause for thought. Presuming this is more representative of Higgins' work than our first read, we can see why he has built a loyal following. Enjoy "Touch the Devil"!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good stories never die, Oct 7 1999
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
I recently picked up this 10-year old book (at least) form a used obook store and ended up finding it one the best I read recently. It just goes to show that good stories never die. The plot seems a bit rusty so far removed from the Cold War, but Higgins' lively writing soon makes you forget the present for a trip into the past - a trip you won't regret.
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