Bad Company (Sean Dillon Series, Book 11)

by Jack Higgins Narrated by Jonathan Oliver

Overview

Wartime secrets threaten to topple a President - in heart-stopping adventure from the incomparable Jack Higgins.

In the waning days of World War II, Hitler entrusted his diary to a young aide, Baron Max von Berger. Over the years, von Berger has used his inheritance to become one of the richest men in the world, developing a secret alliance with the Rashid family - long-time foes of Major Ferguson of British Intelligence, his undercover enforcer, Sean Dillon and their American colleague Blake Johnson.

Now the ultimate confrontation is drawing near. The diary and its explosive revelations of a secret wartime meeting between emissaries of Hitler and Roosevelt will destroy the US President Jake Cazalet...unless Dillon can find it first.

The book, a bestseller, is a testament to Higgins prowess as a Sunday Times bestselling author. The fiction genre is enriched by his thrilling narratives and suspenseful storytelling.

For fans of David Baldacci (The Edge), Ken Follett (The Modigliani Scandal), Frederick Forsyth (The Deceiver), Mike Maden (Tom Clancy's Firing Point), and Alex Gerlis (The Swiss Spy).

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Humdrum company would be a more accurate title. This sequel to Higgins's last, ripsnorting yarn, Midnight Runner, is mostly a by-the-numbers effort, though the numbers do speed by. The novel, the author's 35th, begins promisingly, playing to Higgins's greatest strength, WWII action. Young Baron Max von Berger, entrusted by Hitler during the last days of the Third Reich with his diary as well as the key to a vast fortune in Swiss banks, makes a daring and exciting escape from the F hrerbunker. But once the narrative leaps toward the present, it begins to flag, with a second setup (including a nifty Saddam cameo) explaining why and how the baron inherits the wealth and power of the Rashid family, the Arab oil kingpins destroyed by Higgins's customary antihero, Sean Dillon, in the last book. Problematic is Higgins's use of von Berger and his thuggish son as villains here; they lack the evil charisma of the Rashids. To avenge the death of the Rashids, von Berger targets Dillon and his master, British black ops commander Gen. Charles Ferguson, who fights back with the help of the usual crew of "hard" men, including computer whiz Major Roper, White House black ops chief Blake Johnson, London tough guys Harry and Billy Salter, et al. Matters pick up a bit when von Berger's son kidnaps General Ferguson to Germany, but Dillon's rescue attempt whips by much too quickly, as if Higgins were hurrying to finish this book and get on to number 36. The author's fans will find enough gnarly action and sentiment here to make them anticipate his next, but this entry is sub par and the series as a whole could use a kick in the spine. (July 7) Forecast: Higgins always hits the lists, and this one will, too, though if his next isn't up to snuff he may find his numbers fading la Stephen King and John Grisham. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The Higgins thriller-engine revs up for its 32nd, with Hitler's "secret diary" the McGuffin. Berlin, April 30, 1945, and that is one bleak and blasted bunker in which Sturmbahnführer Max von Berger makes a command appearance. A diminished Adolph Hitler, his fate sealed, has a final mission for the decorated young officer: to be keeper of the "holy book," his diary, to guard it closely until the day arrives when it can be used "to advance our cause." Flash forward to the present. Fortune has smiled on Baron von Berger, propelling him into the loftiest echelon of high-rolling entrepreneurs (munitions, oil) and yet, at the core, he remains as he always was: just a simple soldier for whom the laws of loyalty are immutable. Loyalty to his cherished Führer, of course, but also to the beautiful Kate Rashid, late the half-British, half-Arab countess of Loch Dhue. It was British superagent Sean Dillon, series hero (Midnight Runner, 2002, etc.), who helped render the lovely but lethal Lady Kate deceased, an act of self-preservation if ever there was one. To von Berger, however, there's no such thing as an extenuating circumstance with loyalty the issue. He'd been half in love with the seductive (and willfully wicked) chairperson of multinational Rashid Investments-partnered her in a variety of clandestine ventures-but over and above this he credited her with once saving his life, of having wrested him from the clutches of some murderous Iraqi thugs. In behalf of Lady Kate, then, von Berger commits himself to "a Jihad," with Dillon and his ever on-call irregulars the announced target. At this point, Hitler's diary (and the revelations therein) becomes what everyone wants and is ready to kill for,setting the stage for the obligatory Higgins bloodbath. "It's like a bad novel, the whole thing," someone says, admittedly in another context. The Higgins thriller-engine sputters.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173599568
Publisher:	HarperCollins UK
Publication date:	06/01/2017
Series:	Sean Dillon Series , #11
Edition description:	Unabridged

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