About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

WITHOUT MERCY
by Jack Higgins
HarperCollins, September 2005
336 pages
17.99GBP
ISBN: 0007199449


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

There's no way to say this nicely or subtly -- WITHOUT MERCY is complete and utter tosh. The biggest insult I can pay it is to say it makes Colin Forbes look like William Shakespeare.

I remember Jack Higgins's THE EAGLE HAS LANDED as one of the books, together with Frederick Forsyth's THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, that got me hooked on thrillers. But the world has moved on and Higgins hasn't. As the Americans say, he's phoning it in -- and I wish he'd been cut off before he could dial.

WITHOUT MERCY is a tedious meander through Cold War paranoia, unencumbered by plot. It appears to be part of a series, but seeing as Higgins doesn't bother with anything so vulgar as recapping, I'm unable to help you out on this score. What the book is is a plod round the world without the slightest tension. If you want a quick and dirty breakdown on what plot there is, it involves a load of British spies, including a former IRA man and a London gangster, trying to bump off a load of Russians who killed a colleague of theirs.

You're actually catapulted into the middle of this story as Detective Supt Hannah Bernstein of Special Branch lies seriously ill in a London hospital after being mown down in a London street. Someone then nips along and finishes off the job. Her friends and colleagues want revenge.

This is somehow strung out to 320 pages. Characters prance along from A to B, do a bit of killing while they're there, and then wander back to London. Oh, and don't expect interesting and rewarding characters either -- instead, expect lots of stereotypical Russian bad guys (oh well, at least he didn't name anyone Boris), some shady Irishmen and a collection of unlikely British and American good guys.

What's decidedly frustrating is that Dillon, the IRA killer-turned-British spy, should be a fascinating character. But nothing is pinned to his flimsy bones, so I knew no more about him at the end than I did after reading the blurb on the dustjacket. Come to think of it, there's more character development on the book cover. There's a vaguely promising character in the shape of Igor Levin, the Russian with a British background, but he's one step away from a cliched music hall villain twirling his moustache.

What's even odder is that Higgins intersperses real characters into his plot, so we see Vladimir Putin sending Levin on his way with his blessing. And there are plenty of mentions of British and American prime ministers and presidents. It all made me feel very uncomfortable.

WITHOUT MERCY is a waste of time on two fronts -- Higgins's and the reader's. Higgins should pack it in and enjoy his money. Save yours and go and read Dan Fesperman instead.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, September 2005

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]