83. Title & Author: The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth (495 pages)
Genre: Fiction--Suspense
Completed: 26 March 2009
Summary & Review:
After several unsuccessful assassination attempts on the French president, the OAS resistance group decides they need to hire a foreigner with unsurpassed ability to get the job done and to keep their movement alive. They scour the world and hire a mysterious Englishman who insists on working completely alone. As the day of the assassination nears, the French authorities get wind of the forthcoming attempt and they race the clock to find the Jackal before the Jackal's deadly crosshairs find their target.
This was Forsyth's debut novel and I really enjoyed it. The plot was interesting and Forsyth's style is intelligent and fast-paced. Unlike the other book by Forsyth on this list (The Afghan (#32)), the intriguing plot didn't lead up to a short, unsatisfying climax. Here, Forsyth built the suspense and then delivered an excellent culmination. I do wish, however, that Forsyth hadn't alluded to the fact that the Jackal was unsuccessful so early in the book. It would have been fun to be able to read the book without the knowledge that the Jackal would be caught.
Rating: 8.5
No comments:
Post a Comment