Pay the Devil

A very different offering from Higgins, originally written in the early 60’s under the name Harry Patterson, it has been rereleased.

The plot is set at the end of the American civil war. Colonel Fitzgerald is on the wrong side of the battle and must accept defeat. However he has been left a millionaire and property in rural island.

With the war still fresh in his mind he leaves for Ireland with his black servant Josh. When he arrives things are far from the idyllic surrounds he was hoping for. He becomes disgusted at the way the English landlords are treating the peasants and is soon forced to take sides. Under the cover of darkness and dressed as the elusive Captain Swing he decides to make an example of the local gentry. However show more things soon take a disastrous turn of events…

Not one of Higgins best, and the plot was at times repetitive. Worth a look, but try others before this. show less

Originally penned in 1962 this book was printed once in the UK then fell out of sight until 1999 when it was restructured and reprinted in a revised format. Depending on your interests (there's no spy action here) this is one of the better Higgins books.

The story follows a US Civil War veteran who migrates to Ireland only to find himself morally drawn into a conflict between an some English landowners and their Irish tenants. The characters aren't terribly deep and filled out but it is an quick and enjoyable read nonetheless about two topics which often aren't linked together.

### Review

'Higgins is the master.' TOM CLANCY 'A compulsively readable storyteller.' Sunday Express 'Higgins makes the pages fly.' New York Daily News 'Higgins is a master of his craft.' Daily Telegraph

### Product Description

In his first new paperback for HarperCollins, master storyteller Jack Higgins displays all his customary skills in a heart-pounding adventure with a less familiar setting -- 19th-century rural Ireland -- and featuring a swashbuckling new hero. At the end of the American Civil War, Confederate Colonel Clay Fitzgerald escapes to Ireland, where his uncle has left him an estate, only to find that Ireland is caught up in a civil war of its own. The struggle between the wealthy landlords and the impoverished tenant show more farmers is growing in intensity, and having just fought and lost a terrible war, Clay wants to avoid the coming conflict. But after witnessing the atrocities that the landowners visit upon the people, Clay is unable to stand by. Taking the guise of a legendary night-riding outlaw, he joins the fight against the landlords -- and wages a rebellion of his own! show less

La acción ocurre en dos épocas. 1985 en la que roban un camión con lingotes de oro (50 millones de libras esterlinas) que se hunde junto con el barco (Irish Rose) que lo transportaba y 1995 en el que ocurren acciones para sacar el oro del barco hundido.

Todo está relacionado con la guerra en Irlanda entre los católicos y los protestantes. Se menciona el IRA (Ireland Republican Army) que son los católicos y los Legitimistas que son los protestantes.
Michael Ryan (Legitimista) es quien planea el robo del oro junto con su sobrina Kathleen y un infiltrado de los católicos llamado Sean Dillon. El oro va en un camión de seguridad pero Ryan tiene otro camión igual para que sirva de señuelo para la policía. Suben el camión al barco show more pero en el trayecto el capitán del barco quiere apoderarse de todo el oro y ofrece a Ryan y su comitiva una lancha motorizada para que abandonen el barco a cambio de su vida. Ryan antes de abandonar el barco pone un explosivo; cuando van a cierta distancia del barco, este explota y se hunde. Ryan trae un aparato en el que se registran las coordenadas del lugar del hundimiento. Al llegar a tierra, se separan Ryan y su sobrina y Dillon.

Como Ryan no trae dinero, asalta un banco, hay un tiroteo, mata un policía, lo atrapan y lo sentencian a 25 años de prisión. Ryan está enfermo del corazón y se requiere que periódicamente lo trasladen a un hospital para hacerle varios tratamientos. En este momento Ryan tiene 65 años de edad y le faltan 15 años más de prisión.

La novela tiene un desenlace inesperado.

Comentario Final.- Este libro de 247 páginas lo leí en 7 días. Bastante entretenido y adictivo; lo que quería era ver el desenlace final. show less