A Devil is Waiting

By Jack Higgins

The President is coming to London, but not to an entirely warm welcome. A fanatical mullah is offering a blessing to anyone who will assassinate the President, and though most London Muslims think the mullah has crossed the line, a few think otherwise.

Urgently, Sean Dillon, General Charles Ferguson, and the rest of the small band known as the “Prime Minister’s private army” are called in, augmented by an extraordinary new recruit, an intelligence captain and Afghan war hero named Sara Gideon. She has her own deep contacts, but the more she investigates, the more she discovers herself in a very dark place indeed.

For the assassination plan is only the beginning…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Jan 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9781101554050

Jack Higgins

Jack Higgins lived in Belfast till the age of twelve. Leaving school at fifteen, he spent three years with the Royal Horse Guards, and was later a teacher and university lecturer. His thirty-sixth novel, The Eagle Has Landed (1975), turned him into an international bestselling author, and his novels have since sold over 250 million copies and been translated into sixty languages. Many have been made into successful films. He died in 2022, at his home in Jersey, surrounded by his family.

Reviews for A Devil is Waiting

[johnwbeha · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I have not read a Jack Higgins book since "The Eagle Has Landed" and I have never read any of the Sean Dillon series. Having finished this I can confidently say I won't be reading any more of either. This type of "heavy on the hardware" adventure thriller is not my cup of tea. The plot is Ok, but the writing is purely functional; it cannot be compared to the Daniel Silva series or "I Am Pilgrim". The characterisation is fairly wooden and the dialogue could appear in "speech balloons".
Definitely not for me, but he sells so what do I know?

[deaconbernie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The saga continues. This is not Higgins at his best. Climatic events occur with little preparation while a failed event has considerable preparation and detail. Still, I liked it because Higgins is broadening the cast. There is still the element of blood, some of which in this case is richly deserved, but the overall pace seems to be slowing. More volumes to be read.

[jfe16 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Terrorists abound in this tale spun around the possibility of someone assassinating the president of the United States when he visits London. Sean Dillon, General Charles Ferguson, and the Prime Minister’s Private Army, ably assisted by war hero Sara Gideon, are called in to thwart the mullah’s nefarious plan. But is the assassination of the president [or of any other Western leader] the ultimate goal, or is it merely a stepping stone to something even more sinister?Although this quick read offers plenty of fast-paced action, the less-than-insightful storyline of this nineteenth Dillon/Ferguson tale offers little more than a superficial view of the political climate in which such terrorism occurs. While most of the expected cast of characters appear in the story, Dillon is often absent from the action, an unfortunate situation that may disappoint those who are regular readers of the series.

[bridgey_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A Devil is Waiting - Jack Higgins ***The usual gang are back in the 19th Sean Dillon 'Thriller'. Expect much of the same as the previous novels. This time we are still battling Al Qaeda.There is a new character brought in the form of Sarah Gideon.... she has the customary Jewish roots (Hannah Bernstein anyone?) and Higgins introduces the will they, won't they plot when her and Holley get close.I have read nearly all of Higgins works and have to say he is easily my favourite author, but even I found this latest offering a tired rehash of characters and plots he has used several times before. I wish he would now kill off or retire the whole cast (Ferguson must be pushing 100 by now....)All in all, I did enjoy the book, but that is mostly because of the respect I have for JH as a brilliant author. Hope his next one is a lot better.... fingers crossed.

[tomwheaton · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good read but, nothing special. The last few Sean Dillon books seem to be similar in storyline.