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The Khufra Run
A float-plane pilot becomes involved in fortune-hunting and murder during his island-hopping adventures in the Mediterranean
215 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
24 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
James Graham
7 books3 followersOne of the several pseudonyms of Henry Patterson. See Jack Higgins for more complete information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 10, 2023
If you’re looking for an old-fashioned pulp-style adventure tale to lose yourself in, you can’t do better than this early Jack Higgins novel. A lot of times when a writer becomes as famous as Higgins, earlier stuff that is best left forgotten is repackaged when it might have been better left as a memory. Not the case here, this is fantastic — for what it is. And what it is, for those who’ve read enough to know what I’m talking about, is a modern updating of a Spicy Adventure tale from the pulp magazines.
After reading this — make that devouring this in huge gulps — I have to believe, whether he would admit it or not, that Higgins had been reading Spicy Adventure pulps and watching 1930s and 1940s “B” adventure films when he decided to write one of his own. Though the setting is the 1970s, and one of our heroes has some drug and drinking issues related to having served in Vietnam, this tale could easily have appeared as far back as the early 1930s it is so timeless.
Jack Nelson is the somewhat weary expatriate, using his Canadian floatplane, the Otter, to eek out a living in Spain. As the story begins, Jack is picking up a coffin in Cartagena and flying it to Ibiza. Upon landing, it isn’t long before he almost runs over a very lovely naked girl in the moonlight. Jack immediately rescues her from some very nasty fellows indeed. Turns out, however, that Claire is not only annoying, but she has tunnel vision concerning a religious treasure which went down on a plane with her father in the nearly inaccessible Khufra. And oh yeah, she’s a nun!
You can just about guess the rest. Despite misgivings, something other than the money compels Jack to help her recover them. His old Vietnam pal Harry Turk has a boat which comes in handy when the Otter is sunk, and as long as Turk can keep the supply of - er - medicine flowing so he doesn’t have to dwell on what happened to him over there, he’s A-plus help when the bad guys are around. And there are some very nasty people who would rather Claire Bouvier not take possession of the Lady of Tizi Benou, and all that gold. What would a nun do with that much money anyway?
Higgins gives us some colorful supporting characters to augment the equally colorful locations. A sexy — and insistent that Jack do something about it — faded Hollywood star, a tiny beach hippie named Big Bertha who is as easy on the eyes as she is easy, a very BAD Algerian named Taleb who thinks nothing of torture, and even some Husa horseman in the remote jungles surrounding the treasure keep the pages flying in this fast escapist read.
This is really pulp +; the plus being that it’s being told by someone who can really write. Higgins uses some strange sentence structure to be sure, hopping around as though he’s completely unaware of the Oxford comma, or that a period could be used between thoughts. Despite this, the story is so much fun, and the narrative so fast-flowing, the reader just doesn’t care.
If you enjoy a fast, fun read that you don’t have to think about — and it really is best that you don’t — or you’re a devotee of the spicy adventure pulps of the 1930s and 1940s, then you’ll probably love this as much as I did. If you picked this up because of Higgins’ name on the book and have never read a spicy pulp adventure, and want Sean Dillon, just avoid it, and let the rest of us who enjoy a good adventure yarn with some mild spice revel in it. Pure escapism at its best.
After reading this — make that devouring this in huge gulps — I have to believe, whether he would admit it or not, that Higgins had been reading Spicy Adventure pulps and watching 1930s and 1940s “B” adventure films when he decided to write one of his own. Though the setting is the 1970s, and one of our heroes has some drug and drinking issues related to having served in Vietnam, this tale could easily have appeared as far back as the early 1930s it is so timeless.
Jack Nelson is the somewhat weary expatriate, using his Canadian floatplane, the Otter, to eek out a living in Spain. As the story begins, Jack is picking up a coffin in Cartagena and flying it to Ibiza. Upon landing, it isn’t long before he almost runs over a very lovely naked girl in the moonlight. Jack immediately rescues her from some very nasty fellows indeed. Turns out, however, that Claire is not only annoying, but she has tunnel vision concerning a religious treasure which went down on a plane with her father in the nearly inaccessible Khufra. And oh yeah, she’s a nun!
You can just about guess the rest. Despite misgivings, something other than the money compels Jack to help her recover them. His old Vietnam pal Harry Turk has a boat which comes in handy when the Otter is sunk, and as long as Turk can keep the supply of - er - medicine flowing so he doesn’t have to dwell on what happened to him over there, he’s A-plus help when the bad guys are around. And there are some very nasty people who would rather Claire Bouvier not take possession of the Lady of Tizi Benou, and all that gold. What would a nun do with that much money anyway?
Higgins gives us some colorful supporting characters to augment the equally colorful locations. A sexy — and insistent that Jack do something about it — faded Hollywood star, a tiny beach hippie named Big Bertha who is as easy on the eyes as she is easy, a very BAD Algerian named Taleb who thinks nothing of torture, and even some Husa horseman in the remote jungles surrounding the treasure keep the pages flying in this fast escapist read.
This is really pulp +; the plus being that it’s being told by someone who can really write. Higgins uses some strange sentence structure to be sure, hopping around as though he’s completely unaware of the Oxford comma, or that a period could be used between thoughts. Despite this, the story is so much fun, and the narrative so fast-flowing, the reader just doesn’t care.
If you enjoy a fast, fun read that you don’t have to think about — and it really is best that you don’t — or you’re a devotee of the spicy adventure pulps of the 1930s and 1940s, then you’ll probably love this as much as I did. If you picked this up because of Higgins’ name on the book and have never read a spicy pulp adventure, and want Sean Dillon, just avoid it, and let the rest of us who enjoy a good adventure yarn with some mild spice revel in it. Pure escapism at its best.
June 19, 2016
When freelance pilot and Vietnam veteran Jack Nelson had finished his latest run in his floatplane, he headed out to see his good friend, Lillie St Claire for a few relaxing hours. He and Lillie went way back – their affair was good for them both so they believed. But as he was winding his way over the Ibizan dirt roads between the trees and over the hills, he was startled by a loud shrieking scream. Then a young woman hurtled out in front of his jeep completely naked. Following behind her were three of the most dreadful looking men he’d ever seen…
Claire Bouvier had a wild story to tell and one she didn’t immediately trust Jack with. But when he and his long-time friend Harry Turkovich (call me Turk) had heard it all, they knew they would help her – for a fee. It was a hunt that would be fraught with danger though – the cruel and ruthless Colonel Taleb would stop at nothing to get his hands on what Claire was trying to locate. Heading to the Khufra marshes by sea in the Mary Grant was their answer – but was it the safest? Would they find what they were looking for before it was too late?
The Khufra Run is a standalone novel by Jack Higgins which was originally published in 1972 under the name of James Graham. Out of print for years, it was re-published in 2009 and I recently picked up this 2012 published copy as one I knew I hadn’t read. And in true Higgins style, it is brilliant! The same energy and entertainment of all his books, the mystery and thrill of the chase is such that it is a quick read, and extremely satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed The Khufra Run and have no hesitation in recommending it highly.
Claire Bouvier had a wild story to tell and one she didn’t immediately trust Jack with. But when he and his long-time friend Harry Turkovich (call me Turk) had heard it all, they knew they would help her – for a fee. It was a hunt that would be fraught with danger though – the cruel and ruthless Colonel Taleb would stop at nothing to get his hands on what Claire was trying to locate. Heading to the Khufra marshes by sea in the Mary Grant was their answer – but was it the safest? Would they find what they were looking for before it was too late?
The Khufra Run is a standalone novel by Jack Higgins which was originally published in 1972 under the name of James Graham. Out of print for years, it was re-published in 2009 and I recently picked up this 2012 published copy as one I knew I hadn’t read. And in true Higgins style, it is brilliant! The same energy and entertainment of all his books, the mystery and thrill of the chase is such that it is a quick read, and extremely satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed The Khufra Run and have no hesitation in recommending it highly.
February 19, 2016
You don't often come across pure adventure stories like this anymore. THE KHUFRA RUN (originally published in 1972) is something I would have killed for as a teenager during my Indiana Jones/Dirk Pitt phase. It's drastically underwritten (gotta maintain that blistering pace!), and the plot is a mishmash of other Higgins novels, but such criticisms hardly detract from the overall fun. I love stories about adventurers seeking lost treasure, and few people can do them better than Higgins.
Rarely have 350 pages flown by so quickly.
Rarely have 350 pages flown by so quickly.
December 31, 2023
I have a feeling I read this novel many years ago when we were all less sophisticated and didn't ask too much of our entertainment. But I couldn't remember anything about it so I reread it after browsing our library. It's rather a quickie sort of book as if Jack Higgins was between two super novels and his publishers wanted him to push out something in the meantime.
Having said that there is nothing wrong with this story. It's easy to read and there is plenty of action, so it's a good page-turner for long-haul flight.
However, enjoyable as it was, there was nothing remarkable about 'The Khufra Run' and it contains some glaring errors about the Australian-US relationship during the Vietnam War, but as an Englishman Higgins may just have gone with what he thought was a good idea and most people wouldn't know anyway.
In summary this is a good adventure yarn in an easy-to-read style.
Don't overthink it and just enjoy the ride.
Having said that there is nothing wrong with this story. It's easy to read and there is plenty of action, so it's a good page-turner for long-haul flight.
However, enjoyable as it was, there was nothing remarkable about 'The Khufra Run' and it contains some glaring errors about the Australian-US relationship during the Vietnam War, but as an Englishman Higgins may just have gone with what he thought was a good idea and most people wouldn't know anyway.
In summary this is a good adventure yarn in an easy-to-read style.
Don't overthink it and just enjoy the ride.
August 4, 2016
I believe this was Higgins debut novel (1972) written under the name of James Graham. A relatively short story ( my copy had 189pp), it is set in Ibiza, Spain and it primarily involves two Vietnam vets and a damsel in distress and their search for a plane wreck carrying a wealth of silver & gold. The characters are fairly two-dimensional but I can't say the story is entirely predictable. Turk & Jack are involved in shady dealings such as drug smuggling. Turk harbors a secret that is eating him alive and he uses drugs & alcohol to keep him from receding into the darkness. The damsel in distress is a nun who is being hunted for her knowledge of the location of the plane wreck, and wants the treasure herself to help support a hospital. Jack calls her "the most infuriating woman he has ever met". An entertaining adventure yarn with a small twist at the end.
January 15, 2014
Not one of Higgins' best, which is not particularly surprising since it is one of the first few books he had published. Not a complete waste of time, but it definitely won't be a book I'll remember for very long.
February 24, 2016
By Higgins, Jack writing as James Graham.
Thriller - Adventurer Jack Nelson and his wartime comrade Harry Turk agree to help a nun recover a fortune in church gold from a plane downed in an Algerian swamp. Colonel Taleb, a ruthless French-Algerian, plans to recover the fortune for himself.
Thriller - Adventurer Jack Nelson and his wartime comrade Harry Turk agree to help a nun recover a fortune in church gold from a plane downed in an Algerian swamp. Colonel Taleb, a ruthless French-Algerian, plans to recover the fortune for himself.
February 3, 2017
A fairly light read!
A naked woman runs out into the headlights of Jack's car one night on a lonely coast road.
What follows is a somewhat unlikely tale of treasure hunting, thugs, violence and deception.
I was tempted to give up on it, but it wasn't as bad as that after all!!!
A naked woman runs out into the headlights of Jack's car one night on a lonely coast road.
What follows is a somewhat unlikely tale of treasure hunting, thugs, violence and deception.
I was tempted to give up on it, but it wasn't as bad as that after all!!!
July 16, 2016
I enjoy jack Higgins' style, though I find the grammar awkward at times. That said, this was an absorbing read - not for the idealists of this world, but interesting nonetheless.
March 7, 2021
A rollicking fast read. A real page turner. Just the book if you are looking for a thriller to pass time. Not much subtlety but the action and thrills keep coming fast and kept me engaged.
May 17, 2020
This adventure thriller is set in Ibiza and Algeria during the 1970s, offering fast-paced action in rich scenes of exotic locales during the invasion of free-loving hippies across the Balearic Sea.
There are wonderful characters: protagonist Jack Nelson who is seeking a new start from his life as a smuggler; Harry Turkovich who is a highly decorated yet tortured Vietnam Veteran addicted to drugs and alcohol; washed-up Hollywood actress Lillie St Claire who is the scheming casual lover of Nelson; Colonel Pierre Taleb who will go to any lengths to recover the treasure; single-minded Sister Claire Bouvier who cannot seem to see things from someone else’s perspective; odious Harvey Grauber (or Geronimo or Redshirt), a psychopath who appears as a hippy; nymphomaniac Big Bertha who epitomises hippy ideals.
Personally, I would have loved for Nelson’s escape with Turkovich during the Vietnam War to have been a chapter-long flashback, as is the case in ‘Wrath of the Lion’ (Neil Mallory’s Malay recount), ‘Night Judgement at Sinos’ (Jack Savage’s mission to Pelos) and ‘Touch the Devil’ (prologue of Martin Brosnan’s Vietnam War rescue).
This is a wonderful novel with the classic storytelling style of Higgins manifest from a mile away, with an interesting first-person narrative, yet it seems to be a reworking of Harry Patterson’s first published novel, ‘Sad Wind from the Sea’ (in which the protagonist is Mark Hagen): both stories involve the protagonist following leads from place to place in the hunt for sunken gold within a marsh; Nelson loses his amphibian plane, which is similar to Hagen having his boat impounded (and similar to Jack Savage losing his salvage business in ‘Night Judgement at Sinos’); Sister Claire’s friend Talif is tortured in a similar manner to Rose Graham’s sidekick Tewak (and similar to arms merchant Meyer in ‘The Savage Day’); Taleb, wearing a white linen suit, reveals himself to Nelson, similar to the Russian Kossoff who like Taleb wants the gold for himself; both Nelson and Hagen make narrow escapes from a waterfront warehouse by leaping into the water; both protagonists enter the marshes using a secret entry point but leave via the estuary through a hail of bullets; while in a small canoe, Turkovich is shot in the face but then helps Nelson escape from captivity, in a very similar way to Steve Mason who does the same for Hagen.
There is also much inspiration taken from Higgins’ 1970 novel ‘Night Judgement at Sinos’: Nelson is pinned down underwater by his airhose and lifeline, which are then cut to release him, similar to what happens to Ciasim Divalni in ‘Night Judgement at Sinos’; Turk rises out of the water like a dark shadow to save Nelson, similar to Divalni dispatching Melos from behind in ‘Night Judgement at Sinos’; Turkovich is characterised in a similar manner to the damaged alcoholic Morgan Hughes, as well as to drug addict Chuck Lazer in ‘The Graveyard Shift’.
There are other interesting similarities across the different Jack Higgins novels: Lillie’s clifftop villa is redolent of Frank Barry’s estate in ‘The Savage Day’; the pilot of Bouvier’s plane is called Piet Jaeger, which is the name of one of Sean Burke’s mercenaries in ‘In the Hour Before Midnight’ (or ‘The Sicilian Heritage’) but definitely different people since both die in different ways; Lillie is characterised as a prim-and-proper lady, yet she swears in apoplexy, like villainess Jean Fleming who appears dainty until caught out in ‘The Graveyard Shift’. If you are aware of any other similarities, please leave a comment.
Feel free to read my other reviews.
© François
There are wonderful characters: protagonist Jack Nelson who is seeking a new start from his life as a smuggler; Harry Turkovich who is a highly decorated yet tortured Vietnam Veteran addicted to drugs and alcohol; washed-up Hollywood actress Lillie St Claire who is the scheming casual lover of Nelson; Colonel Pierre Taleb who will go to any lengths to recover the treasure; single-minded Sister Claire Bouvier who cannot seem to see things from someone else’s perspective; odious Harvey Grauber (or Geronimo or Redshirt), a psychopath who appears as a hippy; nymphomaniac Big Bertha who epitomises hippy ideals.
Personally, I would have loved for Nelson’s escape with Turkovich during the Vietnam War to have been a chapter-long flashback, as is the case in ‘Wrath of the Lion’ (Neil Mallory’s Malay recount), ‘Night Judgement at Sinos’ (Jack Savage’s mission to Pelos) and ‘Touch the Devil’ (prologue of Martin Brosnan’s Vietnam War rescue).
This is a wonderful novel with the classic storytelling style of Higgins manifest from a mile away, with an interesting first-person narrative, yet it seems to be a reworking of Harry Patterson’s first published novel, ‘Sad Wind from the Sea’ (in which the protagonist is Mark Hagen): both stories involve the protagonist following leads from place to place in the hunt for sunken gold within a marsh; Nelson loses his amphibian plane, which is similar to Hagen having his boat impounded (and similar to Jack Savage losing his salvage business in ‘Night Judgement at Sinos’); Sister Claire’s friend Talif is tortured in a similar manner to Rose Graham’s sidekick Tewak (and similar to arms merchant Meyer in ‘The Savage Day’); Taleb, wearing a white linen suit, reveals himself to Nelson, similar to the Russian Kossoff who like Taleb wants the gold for himself; both Nelson and Hagen make narrow escapes from a waterfront warehouse by leaping into the water; both protagonists enter the marshes using a secret entry point but leave via the estuary through a hail of bullets; while in a small canoe, Turkovich is shot in the face but then helps Nelson escape from captivity, in a very similar way to Steve Mason who does the same for Hagen.
There is also much inspiration taken from Higgins’ 1970 novel ‘Night Judgement at Sinos’: Nelson is pinned down underwater by his airhose and lifeline, which are then cut to release him, similar to what happens to Ciasim Divalni in ‘Night Judgement at Sinos’; Turk rises out of the water like a dark shadow to save Nelson, similar to Divalni dispatching Melos from behind in ‘Night Judgement at Sinos’; Turkovich is characterised in a similar manner to the damaged alcoholic Morgan Hughes, as well as to drug addict Chuck Lazer in ‘The Graveyard Shift’.
There are other interesting similarities across the different Jack Higgins novels: Lillie’s clifftop villa is redolent of Frank Barry’s estate in ‘The Savage Day’; the pilot of Bouvier’s plane is called Piet Jaeger, which is the name of one of Sean Burke’s mercenaries in ‘In the Hour Before Midnight’ (or ‘The Sicilian Heritage’) but definitely different people since both die in different ways; Lillie is characterised as a prim-and-proper lady, yet she swears in apoplexy, like villainess Jean Fleming who appears dainty until caught out in ‘The Graveyard Shift’. If you are aware of any other similarities, please leave a comment.
Feel free to read my other reviews.
© François
Read
October 4, 2022The thirty-first #jackhiggins #martinfallon #hughmarlowe #harrypatterson #henrypatterson #jamesgraham novel #thekhufrarun published in 1972. Set mostly in Ibiza. featuring two Vietnam veterans with troubled pasts: a pilot/smuggler & a salvage expert, a Hollywood star, hippies and a nun who has such firm resolve she can bring the two hard men into line. The plot involves recovering some treasure lost in a marsh after a plane crash. Remarkable similarities to his earlier novels: his first #sadwindfromthesea and his sixteenth #thekeysofhell so much so that it’s basically the same with slightly different treasure, characters and location. The keys of hell was probably the best of the three. Refreshing change as he didn’t use his regular trope of the protagonist falling in love with the female companion (I told you the nun had strong resolve. so strong it’s off putting for our hero, Despite her first appearance being running across the road in front of the protagonist’s jeep in the middle of the night stark naked). The three main characters were all drawn very well. The Hollywood actress was a great scene stealer which is obviously true to type and shows some good writing.
May 20, 2020
A quintessential page-turner if ever one was written. Has all the ingredients for a good escape from our everyday lives--exotic setting, vivid characters (aging screen star, devoutly driven but attractive nun, retired Viet Nam fighter pilot and his messed up friend, worthy albeit rather cookie-cutter bad guys, and crisp pacing, lots of tension, and a series of plot twists that are all believable and well-executed.
It's rare that I ding a book for being too short, but this one reminded me of Elmore Leonard's work--light on backstory, description, and exposition. I felt like the story was almost over before I'd even settled into the story world. But Higgins did a masterful job of fleshing out his characters with a minimum of words.
It's rare that I ding a book for being too short, but this one reminded me of Elmore Leonard's work--light on backstory, description, and exposition. I felt like the story was almost over before I'd even settled into the story world. But Higgins did a masterful job of fleshing out his characters with a minimum of words.
November 9, 2023
I have now finished all the Jack Higgins novels under all his pseudonyms. Very disappointed even though it was a good story, it was a redo of another story I had previously read. Instead of a catholic nun in Algeria, it was a Chinese Buddhist woman in Southeast Asia. The stories were almost identical.
June 7, 2023
James Graham is one of a few pseudonyms used by Harry Patterson. His best known alias is Jack Higgins an author of which I’ve read the most. A quick read from 1972. Adventurous with a tinge of romance. Loved it.
April 10, 2018
Paperback 1972 as James Graham. Library of Congress 7-92213
July 16, 2020
Splendid!
June 27, 2021
Enjoyed the adventure. Willing to see the movie (if made) based on this fiction.
August 26, 2021
What A Run!
Absorbing tale of gold, human greed, emotions and action-packed adventure wherein every protagonist seems to live and die, moment to moment, page to page.
Absorbing tale of gold, human greed, emotions and action-packed adventure wherein every protagonist seems to live and die, moment to moment, page to page.
December 11, 2021
Excellent story by the master, kept me involved from beginning to end.
November 29, 2024
Typical Jack Higgins thriller. Tight edge of the seats storyline. Just long enough that you can finish over the weekend or a long train journey with India speeding past your train windows.
June 21, 2025
Good quick beach read… nice twist at the end. I’ve only read a few of Higgins’ WWII books- this was a nice change.
February 16, 2017
The story was great, and I also liked the twists at the later part of the novel.
April 29, 2012
Let's see, Harry Patterson, aka Hugh Marlowe, aka Martin Fallon, aka James Graham, aka Jack Higgins. Now-a-days Jack Higgins is widely known and is the name on most of Harry Perrerson's writings (the real person).
This book was copyrighted in 1972 by James Graham. It is a fine example of the author(s)'s writing. All of his books are jam packed with thrills, twists and adventure.
Our less than perfect protagonist, Jack Nelson, sets out to help a young nun retrieve the gold and jewels that her father was trying to get, along with his daughter, out of Algeria when the plane was shot down off the coast in a marshy lagoon. The nun wants to use the wealth to rebuild a hospital and asks Jack to help.
Jack has other ideas about what the treasure should be used for...it isn't a hospital.
This is classic Higgins. A great story.
This book was copyrighted in 1972 by James Graham. It is a fine example of the author(s)'s writing. All of his books are jam packed with thrills, twists and adventure.
Our less than perfect protagonist, Jack Nelson, sets out to help a young nun retrieve the gold and jewels that her father was trying to get, along with his daughter, out of Algeria when the plane was shot down off the coast in a marshy lagoon. The nun wants to use the wealth to rebuild a hospital and asks Jack to help.
Jack has other ideas about what the treasure should be used for...it isn't a hospital.
This is classic Higgins. A great story.
February 12, 2016
A fast paced simple action story populated by larger than life characters and finishing with a little twist in the 'tale'. There is a damsel in distress and a treasure to find -- traditional fodder for macho heroes. Jack Nelson a British pilot (ex-RAF, ex-RAAF) and Vietnam vet now living in Ibiza is the narrator. Other characters are: The Turk - an ex-US Marine Vietnam vet and smuggler and drug addict, Sister Claire Bouvier - a young super missionary to the poor of Bangladesh and Lillie St Claire - a nymphomaniac retired actress.
The story is narrated in the first person by Jack Nelson. Both he and The Turk are super capable, whereas the women take a more secondary role. One woman is unobtainable and the other very much available. I fail to see the significance that both women share the name Claire.
The story is narrated in the first person by Jack Nelson. Both he and The Turk are super capable, whereas the women take a more secondary role. One woman is unobtainable and the other very much available. I fail to see the significance that both women share the name Claire.
February 27, 2009
Higgins is dependable. He always write great tales with lots of action.
Claire rund out into the road, totally nude and barrels into Jack's life. Soon, she has Jack and his best friend Turk helping her retrieve treasure lost in the Khufra marsh. Unfortunately, there is an Algerian security colonel who wants to steal the treasure. He and his goons are not adverse to murdering whoever stands in their path. Meanwhile, the nun wants to pay only a pittance for the treasure retrieval despite the incredible risks as she needs the money to rebuild a hospital.
Claire rund out into the road, totally nude and barrels into Jack's life. Soon, she has Jack and his best friend Turk helping her retrieve treasure lost in the Khufra marsh. Unfortunately, there is an Algerian security colonel who wants to steal the treasure. He and his goons are not adverse to murdering whoever stands in their path. Meanwhile, the nun wants to pay only a pittance for the treasure retrieval despite the incredible risks as she needs the money to rebuild a hospital.
January 13, 2012
I've lost count of how many Higgins book I've read. This is one of his first, and like the many that would follow this is pure, simple and efficient story telling. Higgins is a great easy read - and I mean that as a compliment. You know what to expect from Mr. Higgins - again a compliment - and this one doesn't disappoint. It's also kind of cool to read one his early works. Even at the ster of his career this Brooke could craft a mean thriller.
October 4, 2015
Originally published in 1972 and reissued in 2009. A 'light' book with large font that enables the publisher to pad out the book, which was a little disappointing considering it is a hardback. The story is a Saturday afternoon matinee type story, which for the author, Jack Higgins' ability must have taken him a couple of days to write. It was shallow, with a predictable plot, two dimensional characters and I am glad that I didn't pay for the book - I borrowed it from a friend.
June 11, 2008
I love Jack Higgens books. If you have ever seen my bookshelf at home, you know that i have read many of them (anyone need to borrow one? i am starting to run out of room!)In true Jack Higgens form, this was a good adventure book, although the writing was a little different from his usual style (this was also written under an alias). I reccomend this one.
January 18, 2016
This is a straight forward book. From the first few pages of the book you know who the hero is.
If you read 30 pages, you might as well lay the book down since you don't even need to guess the ending, even who will die.
But if you do put it down, you miss a great travel, bonds of friendship , tribal warriors , and some other great reading.
Overall a great and fun read.
If you read 30 pages, you might as well lay the book down since you don't even need to guess the ending, even who will die.
But if you do put it down, you miss a great travel, bonds of friendship , tribal warriors , and some other great reading.
Overall a great and fun read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews