British author Jack Higgins

Best selling author Jack Higgins rings a bell.

However, the vision of those books that I read have no recollection. Most books I read usually have a lasting impression, including the plot and also the protagonists.

The Judas Gate by Jack Higgins is a page turner – very entertaining, tense and reverting read. I rummaged through the 360 pages in less than 15 hours. It reminds me of the The Killed List by British author Frederick Forsyth. And just like Judas, the villain is also known as the Preacher. He uses his online sermons to inspire Muslim followers to kill western targets. Link

A search through my book shelf for Higgins found only Edge Of Danger and Confessional. Edge was a surprise. It is the earlier book of the Sean Dillion series, published in 2001. Ferguson was then only a Brigadier.

Although published 20 years ago, you should find Edge of Danger very readable. Even though the pages already turned brownish, the book cover still looks new. Instead of dog eared the pages, I use paper or others like air ticket as book mark. I felt nostalgic when I discover a hotel writing pad as book mark. It reminds me of when I read it, where I was and the fond memories of my past business travelling days in my younger days.

Thanks to Judas. My line up for Convid 19 phase II read shall be the rest of the Sean Dillion thrillers.

Although Judas has a thrilling plot and pleasurable read like those of Ian Hamilton, I opine Higgins’ style of writing is less dramatic than that of Follett, Forsyth or Archer. Not forgetting John Grisham is always very readable.

After reading 3 of Higgins’ Sean Dillion series, I am very tempted to read the rest of his 21 books of this series. (Higgins has written 85 novels) As the 1st of the series was published more than 30 yrs ago, I was wondering where to find and can only think of preowned books. With second hand bookstores disappearing fast, my daughter suggested Book Depository(BD). It hits the nail on the head. Amazingly, almost all books I tried to acquire unsuccessfully for many years in the past are listed in Book Depository and new. I bought 5 of Higgins early series and cost me $74.00 or an average of $15 per book. Unlike Amazon, BD online order doesn’t charge shipping and delivery.

Written by Freddie Tan

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