I have another copy that Spike1972 sent me but the book gremlins have hidden the book from me! So DH got this copy. I'll read this copy and send it onto VH-50.

Imagine a mob family having IRA connections and gang affiliations in England to create a multinational enterprise comprising both legal and illegial operations. This is the Cosa Nostra and it's headed by the Solazzo family. In an attempt to keep their under-the-table dealings secret, the family has a journalist murdered. It is her death that begins this three hundred page tale of revenge by her ex-husband, ex-FBI agent who has friends in high enough places to bring down the family by bankrupting Cosa Nostra and killing those who participated in his ex-wife's death.

There is a lot of potential to this story but it bogs down with the sheer number of characters all taking advantage of the situation to play out their own long dreamed of plans of revenge. There are some interesting pieces like the way in which they close the casino but there aren't enough of these scenes to keep the story going.

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailing to VH50 to complete a relay offer.

Came yesterday . . . not sure how I missed this one when it came out in 2000, but the plot rings absolutely no bells.

When he started writing about ex-IRA gunman Sean Dillon, Jack Higgins settled into a comfortable (and lucrative) literary groove. His stories have become the literary equivalent of the first James Bond movies: slick, formulaic stories in which an invincible, multi-talented hero and a "stock company" of assistants take on vast criminal/terrorist conspiracies and win without breaking a sweat. _Day of Recknoning_ is a good example of the series . . . a fast read that entertains while you're in the midst of it but doesn't stick with you long afterward.

If you've read and enjoyed any of Higgins' other books about Dillon, you'll likely enjoy this one, and long-time fans of the series may appreciate the slightly darker hues in Dillon's character and the relative absence of the "stage Irish" voice that he adopts in some of the other books. Newcomers, on the other hand, may be a bit overwhelmed by getting to know four major supporting characters and nearly a dozen walk-ons . . . not counting the bad guys!

Recommended for thriller fans looking for the literary equivalent of popcorn.

RELEASE NOTES:

Left on pump #8