Check it out
by BOB STRAUB

Jack is back and better than ever! Jack Higgins ties The Wolf at the Door to his previous book, A Darker Place, in which Alexander Kurbsky defected to the British. In this novel, Daniel Holley, once a provincial Irish Republican Army terrorist, is captured by the Soviets while training in Algiers and sent to Lubyanka Prison.

While in prison, the GRU (the new KGB), which answers directly to Prime Minister Putin, recruits Holley. Holley’s job is to eliminate General Charles Ferguson and his group, considered the Prime Minister’s private army. Holley calls on an old terrorist cell operating out of a church in Kilburn, London. His contact is Caitlin Daly, a woman who assists Monsignor Murphy. Daly directs a sleeper group and puts an elaborate plan into motion.

Like all recent Higgins novels, the author incorporates all his previous characters, including Blake Johnson, who answers only to the President of the United States, Sean Dillon, his in-house hired gun, and several others whom a Higgins fan would recognize. People are shot at the beginning of the novel, then the book goes back in time to show how the GRU carefully planned it all. If Holley’s efforts fail, he must either go back to prison or run.

In the midst of the action, Captain Peter Ivanov, an aspiring Soviet officer and one of Holley’s handlers, feels that he should be in charge of the operation. Despite orders from his superior, he gets involved and hinders the entire operation. Holley does the best he can, but will it be enough? Will he escape the black hand of Mother Russia or end up going back to Lubyanka?

All of Higgins’ books are fast-paced with no dead spots. I constantly check new book listings to spot his most recent release. I highly recommend The Wolf at the Door to anyone looking for a good action and adventure novel.

Bob Straub is a frequent patron of the Kyle Community Library.