From Publishers Weekly
When world-famous Russian novelist Alexander Kurbsky decides to leave for the West in bestseller Higginss suspenseful 16th thriller to feature former IRA man Sean Dillon (after Rough Justice), Kurbsky turns for help to Dillon and other members of the British prime ministers private army. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin persuades Kurbsky to infiltrate this elite group and spy for Russia by showing him current photos of his sister, Tania, who the celebrated author thought died years earlier in a student riot. Tanias release from a life sentence in prison is the price for Kurbskys cooperation. Dillon and the others, most notably Lady Monica Sterling, Dillons girlfriend, welcome Kurbsky into their circle in England, where the Russian begins to go about his deadly business. Several long flashbacks explore past events to good effect. The final dustup is a little rushed, but the crisp writing shows Higgins to be on top of his game. (Feb.)
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From
The veteran author of political thrillers turns in another lackluster performance. As usual, the story contains the raw material for a first-rate novel: a Russian writer makes arrangements with Sean Dillon, the IRA terrorist turned British intelligence agent, and his colleagues in the βPrime Ministerβs private armyβ to leave Russia and come to Britain. However, as Higgins reveals very early on, the writer is actually working for the Russians, and his deadly mission could wreak havoc at the top levels of the international intelligence community. Unfortunately, Higgins seems to be sleepwalking his way through the novel: the book opens, for example, with a clumsy scene in which one character tells another character something she already knows, purely for the benefit of the reader. The characters in the novel feel lifeless, even the ones whom the author has been writing about for years (there are more than a dozen Sean Dillon novels), and Higginsβ decision to reveal the Russian writerβs secret agenda at the beginning of the novel seems ill-considered: the story would have been more interesting, and certainly more surprising, if readers were left to wonder what this fellow was up to and whether he was keeping secrets. Higgins retains a large if shrinking fan base and that should ensure interest in the novel, but itβs definitely not one of his best. --David Pitt