Passage by Night
by Jack Higgins
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A quest for vengeance leads a man into the deadly underworld of the Cold War in this thriller from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Midnight Bell. Before Fidel Castro and his revolution, Harry Manning had a prime ocean salvage operation in Batista's Cuba. Now, he's just scraping by as a charter captain in the Bahamas, with not much to worry about except where his next drink is coming from, and how long his beautiful lady, Maria, is going put up with his careless ways. His idyll show more is destroyed in one terrible instant when Maria's plane is blown out of the sky, and Harry's descent into misery changes into a burning desire for revenge. His first step: Find the man who put a suitcase bomb onboard the plane. The next step? Survive. Harry's personal vendetta has put him in the middle of a silent war between the superpowers in which there are no prisoners and no mercy. And he's going to have to decide how far he's willing to go for payback—and how much of the world he's willing to risk. Before The Eagle Has Landed became a blockbuster New York Times bestseller and turned him into a global phenomenon, Jack Higgins honed his skills with no-holds-barred thrillers such as this, one of his earliest works featuring his trademark combination of gunplay, adventure, and men of action. Thriller. Fiction. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
3.5*
A fun action thriller set in the early Castro days, just after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The hero, Manning, is a regular guy who had been using his boat to work a 'salvage' business (similar to John D. McDonald's Travis McGee) in Cuba. The revolution put an end to that and he finds himself bumming around in the Bahamas when he becomes enmeshed in an adventure involving revolutionaries, a C.I.A. agent, Greek divers and more.
A fun, fast paced read--I read the entire 140-ish pages in one day (an unusual feat for me, even with slimmer books).
A fun action thriller set in the early Castro days, just after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The hero, Manning, is a regular guy who had been using his boat to work a 'salvage' business (similar to John D. McDonald's Travis McGee) in Cuba. The revolution put an end to that and he finds himself bumming around in the Bahamas when he becomes enmeshed in an adventure involving revolutionaries, a C.I.A. agent, Greek divers and more.
A fun, fast paced read--I read the entire 140-ish pages in one day (an unusual feat for me, even with slimmer books).
Not a bad little thriller. I just never know how to approach these books that are thirty to forty years old to know whether they really feel like you're immersed in the culture, since the plots always seem simplistic compared to today's books. The characterization is fine and the characters are fleshed out nicely considering the shortness of the book, but how seriously can you take the sort of adventure where people bust out of prison cells three and four times? I just can't buy it, but if you can suspend your disbelief it's a fun read, and of course thepaperback is small enough to stick into a bag or pocket and pull it out to read when there's time.
Passage by Night - Jack Higgins ****
Harry Manning charters his boat to tourists in the Bahamas, barely scraping a living. However his girlfriend is killed by Cuban terrorists in an aeroplane explosion. Revenge is on his mind and he sets out to make those responsible pay.
Set during the cuban missile crisis the plot interweaves with real day events, and as usual with Higgins he has manged to create an air of mystery with a few suprises thrown in for good measure.
Harry Manning charters his boat to tourists in the Bahamas, barely scraping a living. However his girlfriend is killed by Cuban terrorists in an aeroplane explosion. Revenge is on his mind and he sets out to make those responsible pay.
Set during the cuban missile crisis the plot interweaves with real day events, and as usual with Higgins he has manged to create an air of mystery with a few suprises thrown in for good measure.
### Review
'Open a Jack Higgins novel and you'll encounter a master craftsman at the peak of his powers ! first-rate tales of intrigue, suspense and full-on action.' Sunday Express 'Higgins is a master of his craft.' Daily Telegraph 'A thriller writer in a class of his own.' Financial Times 'The master craftsman of good, clean adventure.' Daily Mail
### Product Description
The classic bestseller from the master of the game Harry Manning had fled the Cuban revolution, sacrificing everything for freedom and seeking solace on the tranquil waters of the Bahamas. For a time he found solace in the arms of the beautiful Maria and oblivion in alcohol. Then once again his life is shattered when a terrorist bomb claims the lives of those he loves show more and suddenly his descent into desitituition is replaced by a deep seething desire to avenge his friends. But unknowingly his lust for retribution has unearthed a deadly conspiracy that threatens to bring the world to the brink of the ultimate war. show less
'Open a Jack Higgins novel and you'll encounter a master craftsman at the peak of his powers ! first-rate tales of intrigue, suspense and full-on action.' Sunday Express 'Higgins is a master of his craft.' Daily Telegraph 'A thriller writer in a class of his own.' Financial Times 'The master craftsman of good, clean adventure.' Daily Mail
### Product Description
The classic bestseller from the master of the game Harry Manning had fled the Cuban revolution, sacrificing everything for freedom and seeking solace on the tranquil waters of the Bahamas. For a time he found solace in the arms of the beautiful Maria and oblivion in alcohol. Then once again his life is shattered when a terrorist bomb claims the lives of those he loves show more and suddenly his descent into desitituition is replaced by a deep seething desire to avenge his friends. But unknowingly his lust for retribution has unearthed a deadly conspiracy that threatens to bring the world to the brink of the ultimate war. show less
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211+ Works 33,038 Members
Jack Higgins is a writer and educator, born in Newcastle, England on July 17, 1929. The name is the pseudonym of Harry Patterson. He also wrote under the names of Martin Fallon, James Graham, and Hugh Marlowe during his early writing career. He attended Leeds Training College and eventually graduated from the University of London in 1962 with a show more B.S. degree in Sociology. Higgins held a series of jobs, including a stint as a non-commissioned officer in the Royal House of Guards serving on the German border during the Cold War. He taught at Leeds College of Commerce and James Graham College. He has written more than 60 books including The Eagle Has Landed, Touch the Devil, Confessional, The Eagle Has Flown, and Eye of the Storm. Higgins is also the author of the Sean Dillon series. His novels have since sold over 250 million copies and been translated into fifty-five languages. His title's The Death Trade and Rain on the Dead made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Passage by Night
- People/Characters
- Harry Manning
- Important places
- Caribbean Region; Puerto Rico; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Spanish Cay
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Statistics
- Members
- 149
- Popularity
- 220,272
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.23)
- Languages
- Czech, English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 32
- ASINs
- 7
