1965 was a long time ago but even under another name (Long) the musings of a master story teller are at work here. This could be a primer for "how to wrote a good novel". Some will be taken back by some 1965 descriptions of others but no PC was refreshing. Enjoy this book

Jack Higgins' best books feature fast, compelling action in a tight and surprising plot. The dialog is tough and realistic, although not particularly stylish. The writing is more than good enough to carry the action, but when things slow down, the reader notices flaws. Characters are one-dimensional and do not develop, however Higgins' loves to introduce them in one light and show them later as nearly opposite of the first impression.

This book is nowhere near Higgins' best. The plot is hackneyed and unconvincing. There are some good action scenes, but in between the story drags. Individual characters have a lot of interest, but they don't don't work well with each other. There are some interesting settings as well, but they never work into the story.

For all the complaints, this is a better-than average hard-boiled noir action thriller. It has some interest as a transitional book between 50's psychological noir and the procedural novels that developed in the 60s and 70s. Higgins' wavers between exploring the feelings of his characters (which he is not expert at) and pushing his characters through credible series of actions (which he does well). It's also interesting if you're a Higgins' fans to see some of the virtues of his later work, but obscured by inappropriate conventions that Higgins later discarded.

While there are many, many better mysteries of this type, this book is readable and of some historical interest.

I have always loved Jack Higgins Novels. They have a way of pulling readers in from the first page using graphic imagery to tell a story with such detail that readers feel they are walking on the streets of NYC or Ireland.
Jake Higgins Novels have twist and turns readers will never see coming to the point they will be shocked and excited to start the next book in the series.
Thank you Netgalley for the updated Cover which is beautiful and a chance to reread an another I fell in love with as a kid.

What a first day on the job. Detective Sergeant Nick Miller is given the assignment of tracking down Ben Garvald. Ben is fresh out after a nine year prison sentence. During the search for Garvald, Miller comes to know more of the story surrounding him. He was imprisoned for a robbery that didn’t end quite right. He refused to give up his conspirators, so served the sentence by himself. Depending on who is talking, Garvald is a despicable criminal or a hero figure. Miller is trying to find out the truth and track him down before the wrong people find him.

When I first received this book from Netgalley, I thought it was a new release. It is actually a re-release. I don’t think I would’ve realized this was originally written over 30 years ago. This story was masterfully written. It wasn’t lengthy, but so much character development and plot twists filled this story that only takes place in less than 24 hours. You truly got a picture of the seedy side of the criminal life. There are a few things that date the story, such as mentions of a record player at a party, but other than that, this story could take place now.

If you didn’t know, Jack Higgins has since written other blockbusters such as “The Eagle Has Landed” and “Day of Reckoning” This was one of the books he originally published under his real name, Harry Patterson. I don’t know how I have managed to miss all of these books, but I plan to read more. The writing style was incredible and I definitely did not see the end coming. Four out of five stars.