This Higgins book has a female assassin who uses a motorcycle
as her means of helping with her killings. In real life our
master assassin is Grace Browning an actress. She is in the services of a group called September 30. Their goal is to use the assassinations to create chaos and install a Communist state.
Her superior is an old KGB agent who is on Prime Minister John Major's staff. Of course it falls on our hero Sean Dillon to stop this group. He comes through as usual.While this is an

interesting book it is no where close to the caliber of "Eye of
The Storm".

Sean Dillon was once the most feared soldier in the Irish
Republican Army, until one day he had enough of the destruction.
Now he works for the other side, the most successful agent in the
British government's fight against terrorism. But when he is
rescued from an ambush by a member of "January 30," the newest
and most dangerous terrorist organization, he has to wonder who
his friends and enemies really are.

This is the nucleus of Jack Higgins' Angel of Death. And this
novel is as well done as all of Higgins' other works. It has
interesting characters, plenty of action, and well-written
dialog.

Part of the fascination in this particular book is the inside
view we get of "January 30." Instead of the typical politically
motivated fanatics, this group is composed of four persons - a
Russian spy, a member of the British government, a college
professor, and a young actress - united by the excitement of the
hunt. For the spy, the purpose of their activities is a chaos
that will ultimately yield the collapse of the British system,
but the others are much more interested in the action than in the
results.

When the group saves Dillon, therefore, it was not out of any
hidden loyalty to the government. When he becomes involved in the
government's attempt to achieve a stable peace in Northern
Ireland, they know he will have to die. The struggle between the
two is a major part of this novel, and Higgins is quite skilled
in showing us both points of view and yet maintaining suspense.

But there are a number of other plots intertwined. At one point,
for example, Dillon goes to the Middle East to deal with the arms
dealer who had set up the ambush that opens the novel. He is
there for only a few hours when he is recognized and captured by
one of the many factions that are at war there. You know he is
going to escape - it's much too early to kill of your main
character - but I think the way it's done will surprise you.

Higgins also involves the United States in the story. In order to
maintain the cease fire that is in existence in Ireland, the
British Prime Minister requests President Clinton to send Senator
Patrick Keogh (a modern JFK) to mediate between the two factions.
But extremists on both sides are determined to prevent any real
peace, so Dillon is selected to act as his body guard. And now
"January 30" comes back into the picture.

This is a true page turner; I began it one Saturday morning and
finished it before I went to bed that night. I had to know how it
turned out before I could go to sleep!

This is a classic. A superb and unique story that shows the reader just how great a book can be.