Years ago I read and enjoyed quite a few books by Jack Higgins, but then he started writing a series about a character I didn’t care for (Sean Dillon) and I got out of the habit of reading his books. Plus his writing seemed not as good, much like Alistair Maclean in the later stages of his career.
But I found myself in the mood to read one of his books, and I’m a sucker for
books about gangsters, so I gave LUCIANO’S LUCK a try. The plot is an
intriguing one: During World War II, a British intelligence agent arranges for
Lucky Luciano to be released temporarily from prison so that they can parachute
into Sicily and try to make an alliance with the capo of the Mafia there
to assist the allies in their upcoming invasion of the island. So it’s a
gangster book and a World War II book. Right up my alley.
And I enjoyed it, too, although it’s not without its faults. It was published
originally in 1981, about the time Higgins’ books started to get not quite as
good. This one is still pretty well-written. The main problem I have with it is
that the plot takes a long time to really get going. The mission in Sicily
doesn’t actually begin until the book is half over. Before that there’s a lot
of assembling the team stuff, including the introduction of a lot of supporting
characters and several Nazi bad guys. That results in not much action, which
continues even after the scene switches to Sicily.
Ah, but the last 50 or so pages! That last section is a whirlwind of action
with unexpected plot twists that really had me galloping along to find out what
was going to happen. If the whole book had been like that, LUCIANO’S LUCK would
be a classic, and also exhausting. As far as I’m concerned, it redeems the book
overall and makes me glad I read it. I think I need to go back and catch up on
some of the earlier Jack Higgins books I haven’t read. I have quite a few of
them. Meanwhile, if you want to give LUCIANO’S LUCK a try, it’s still available
in both e-book and paperback editions.
4 comments:
This is a good one. You can pick up any of Higgins' other novels from the same period--THE VALHALLA EXCHANGE, TO CATCH A KING, SOLO, TOUCH THE DEVIL, and NIGHT OF THE FOX--and feel you've gotten your money's worth. If memory serves, some of the WWII background and incidental details were recycled from an earlier novel, A GAME FOR HEROES. Higgins tended to do that a lot; DILLINGER used material from THE WRATH OF GOD.
I’ll second The Wrath of God as a great read. Higgins peaked with The Eagle has Landed, but he wrote a ton of brisk, quick action thrillers before that you should track down.
S.Wagenaar
Fun review. I'm tempted to give the book a try. For some weird reason, I haven't been able to feel much of a spark with the books of Jack Higgins. A PRAYER FOR THE DYING is the only one I've ever managed to finish.
Thanks, guys. I'm pretty sure I have some of the books mentioned above. I'll check my shelves for them this afternoon.
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