The Dark Side of the Island

by Jack Higgins, Harry Patterson

A former WWII intelligence agent searches for redemption in this thriller by the New York Times–bestselling author of The Midnight Bell.  

It’s been nearly twenty years since Hugh Lomax set foot on the Greek island of Kyros. During World War II, British Intelligence sent him there on a mission to take out a high-tech German radar station. Aided by the local resistance, he succeeded—but was also captured and spent the rest of the war imprisoned.   Now, he’s returned. But he is far from welcome.   When he reunites with someone he thought an old friend, the man threatens to kill him. The local authorities make it clear that he should leave and never come back. Because although he thought he had helped save Kyros, Lomax soon learns that his former comrades believe he turned traitor in captivity—a betrayal that cost many lives.  

Unwilling to live with the betrayal, Lomax must delve into the violent past and dig into the unfamiliar present to find the man who stained his name with the blood of his friends. But this secret enemy is still watching his every move, waiting to silence him forever . . .   Written before his novel The Eagle Has Landed took the world by storm, Jack Higgins’s adventure of war and treachery showcases his absolute mastery of combining plot, action, and vividly drawn characters into the perfect thriller.  

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Espionage, Action, World War II

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Jack Higgins was best known of the many pseudonyms of Henry Patterson. (See also Martin Fallon, Harry Patterson, Hugh Marlowe and James Graham.)

He was the New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy thrillers, including The Eagle Has Landed and The Wolf at the Door. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Patterson grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a child, Patterson was a voracious reader and later credited his passion for reading with fueling his creative drive to be an author. His upbringing in Belfast also exposed him to the political and religious violence that characterized the city at the time. At seven years old, Patterson was caught in gunfire while riding a tram, and later was in a Belfast movie theater when it was bombed. Though he escaped from both attacks unharmed, the turmoil in Northern Ireland would later become a significant influence in his books, many of which prominently feature the Irish Republican Army. After attending grammar school and college in Leeds, England, Patterson joined the British Army and served two years in the Household Cavalry, from 1947 to 1949, stationed along the East German border. He was considered an expert sharpshooter.

Following his military service, Patterson earned a degree in sociology from the London School of Economics, which led to teaching jobs at two English colleges. In 1959, while teaching at James Graham College, Patterson began writing novels, including some under the alias James Graham. As his popularity grew, Patterson left teaching to write full time. With the 1975 publication of the international blockbuster The Eagle Has Landed, which was later made into a movie of the same name starring Michael Caine, Patterson became a regular fixture on bestseller lists. His books draw heavily from history and include prominent figures—such as John Dillinger—and often center around significant events from such conflicts as World War II, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Patterson lived in Jersey, in the Channel Islands.

Reviews

[Bob Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

liked the book a typical Jack Higgins book with Nazis, gun play, explosions, spying and women.

[Laura Poppenwimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting plot line where the characters are very interesting and typical of local people with prejudices brought about by false information. In this case, they were against a British soldier who they were given information that he was a spy that gave up information to the Germans in WWII that resulted in many of the residents being sent to concentration camps and many dying. The story weaves around who the traitor really is and was very surprised at the ending. The writing was a little stilted but overall the plot good.

[Oli Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The seventh jack higgins / harry patterson novel published in 1963. 159 pages of pure action and adventure. Quite incredible how so much can happen in such a small number of pages. The modern 400 page thrillers seemed to be packed with filler. This is lean, fast and compelling. Plenty of mystery and intrigue. Some really exciting moments and a fantastic flashback in the middle section of the book. Even on a Greek island Higgins can include some of his usual tropes: a dramatic rain storm and brandy used for medicinal purposes. Marvellous.

[Martin Lesher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something Special

Surprise, surprise- it starts off strong and gets stronger as time goes by
War, murder, mayhem and love seem to follow our hero
Thru hell and high water
As always the author keeps us on our toes looking forward to the next page. A great read, worth reading a second time to see what we missed. My thanx to Jack Higgins

[Joseph Blanchette · Rating 5 out of 5]

To quote Hercule Poirot "It stimulates the little grey cells"

Have never read a James Patterson book that I have not enjoyed and I can't say that for other authors this story keeps you trying to figure out,who really is the traitor?

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

World War II thriller. Vengeance and danger on the embittered Greek island of Kyros.

[Tim Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story

Wow. Wow.........😍 what can be said about someone who is best described as a great and genuinely wonderful story teller

[jake fricker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack at his best

Jack Higgins does it again . A swift read about a man with a ww ll past who came back to make it right

[Raymond Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Standard Higgins novel.GREAT!!

I love Higgins novel and his characters. His stories always hold my interest and my imagination. Can't get enough of it.

[Lou LaFrate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling read

I’ve always likes Higgins’ writings. A master of character development and suspense. I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and suspense

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, and unique

A fascinating tale, very enjoyable and riveting. I hadn’t thought of such things, but now I could see how it could happen.

[John o byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old but still good

I've read most of Higgins books but not this one good storyline but you get an idea of who the real killer was still a good read

[Nik Morton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another early Jack Higgins novel, originally published under his real name Harry Patterson in 1963 and reissued here in 1989.

It’s a pot-boiler and reveals he was still learning his trade.

Seventeen years after fighting in the Second World War Hugh Lomax returns to the Greek island of Kyros. The last time he was here he’d been on a secret mission to destroy a vital Nazi radio station. Betrayal and capture followed and he barely escaped with his life. Now, he was back to find out the truth.

The Greek islanders haven’t forgotten him and indeed blame him for talking under Nazi interrogation and costing many innocent lives…

The book is split into three parts: 1) Lomax’s return and being confronted by antagonistic islanders; 2) Flashback to the actual landing on the island and the sabotage and escape and capture; 3) Lomax’s life threatened by the islanders while he seeks the truth.

There’s Katina, a local girl, who wears a scarf ‘peasant-fashion’. She’d been a teenager when they’d met in the war; now she was a mature woman who believes in Lomax’s innocence. Resident ex-pat Van Horn is a successful author and doctor; he’d been useful doctoring during the war. Van Horn was also an archaeologist and had a valuable collection, some of which was broken by the Nazi Steiner. Then there are the few Greek men who survived the Nazi depredations: Alexias, Dimitri, Nikoli, among a few others – any one of whom might have been the traitor…

The story is fast-paced, workmanlike, but the denouement is no great surprise.

Definitely, one for Jack Higgins completists.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of a murder-thriller and sort of a World War II saga set in the Greek Island of Kyros in the Aegean. British commandos were sent to Nazi-occupied Kyros in 1943 to blow up a monastery containing a very modern German radar station. They succeed but caught by the Germans and some killed while others were shipped off to Crete to be put in a camp. Hugh Lomax, the captain in charge of the raid, escapes the boat ride to Crete via the Special Boat Service. He returns twenty years later only to find that he was blamed by the Nazi's for identifying all of the local resistance who were largely rounded up with their families and sent to internment camps or killed. Even two decades later the locals want to kill him and he leads them on a merry and deadly chase across the island in order to unmask the real traitor. Great story and good characters and scenery.

[Lonnie Mixell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always love finding a Jack Higgins book that I haven’t read before and this one didn’t disappoint.
It was fun to go from ‘modern day’ 1960s, back to the start of the tale during WW2, and back to the 60s again.
Mr. Higgins had me guessing through the story who the traitor was. There were very few clues to point the way until the end, and as always it ended in the sharing of gunfire.
The only thing that I can find wrong with the story is that it needed a continuation in a second book or even an epilogue.
Finding this old treasure really brightened up my early November.

[william martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mm Lomax first character of an Higgins novel

While I enjoyed reading a Jack Higgins novel I found the story a little short but now I understand word Lomax character came from now I'm refreshing my memory when he runs into liam Devlin and another one of them Jack Higgins better books

[Neville · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read. Hugh Lomax returns to Kyros after WWII to visit his "friends", but soon finds his life is in danger. They seem to think that he betrayed the villagers to the Germans, and he has to find out who has placed his life in danger. It is not a long story so you will not find the storyline "padded", as is the case in many books.

[Rolaka Pisarka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Na początku podobała mi się, potem... coś nie zagrało. Mam wrażenie, że autor chciał napisać odgrzewany kotlet, który mu się niekoniecznie chciało pisać. Bohater, który podobno był kiedyś wielkim komandosem, musi być ratowany przez chłopca, idzie bez broni do niebezpiecznych mężczyzn i w sumie... nie wiem nawet po co wrócił na tę wyspę?

[CW Crollard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Higgins revisits the Greek island of Kyros, finds Lomax not welcomed.

Higgins' heroes always get into more than they bargained for. Hugh Lomax returns to Kyros , gets reacquainted with islanders who remember him, but not in a good way. They want to kill him.

[rogie sanchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A not to be missed read book.

I am an avid fan of Jack Higgins and will read any book he has ever written. I like the simple prose and straight to the point manner of writing.I recommend this book to any one who enjoys intrigue and adventure.

[David Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great jack Higgins thrillers , he brings the reader into the story, I've been a fan for years and Higgins never disappoints

The military background always shows through and makes the reader part of the history that was that time and plavce

[Richard Domann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aegean

Kudos to Jack Higgins for highlighting this tale of events on this little discussed area involved in World War Two. The Aegean Sea offers a unique setting compared to tales in Britain, France and Germany.

[Alan Schrader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read with some history thrown in

I love Jack Higgins and he has captured WII heroes in the Greek islands. A sad story of survival during the war with German occupation . Hard to put down mystery.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I had read all of Jack Higgins books years ago, but found that was not the case when rearranging my bookshelves.

This one was action-packed and suspenseful. I didn't figure out who it was until the very end about 2 seconds before it was revealed.

[CartoonistAndre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it.

[Tomika · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best by J.H.!!

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to believe this is the same author who wrote "The Eagle Has Landed". Not much of a story and terrible, choppy writing at about a third grade level.

[Louis Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellbinding

Good read could not put it down. Was very tired after hard working day, but stayed up to 12:35 to finish it

[Martin Larson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, not on Sean Dillons level though. I do enjoy his books.

[Lou Harvey]

There is more to this story that appears

Getting off a boat in the Greek Islands brings many surprised then you find yourself back in the war. A good read, many twists and turns.