A DARKER PLACE

BY JACK HIGGINS
Submitted by:
Denisse Castro
 Jack Higgins
Jack Higgins was born Henry Patterson on 27 July 1929 in ​Newcastle upon
Tyne​, ​England​.When his father abandoned them soon after, his Irish mother returned with
him to her home town of ​Belfast​, ​Northern Ireland​, to live with her mother and her
grandfather on Shankill Road.Raised amid the religious and political violence of Belfast,
Patterson learned to read at the age of three, when he was tasked with reading ​The
Christian Herald​ to his bed-ridden grandfather. At night, he would crouch beneath a
window and read by the light of the street lamps.When his mother remarried, the family
moved to ​Leeds​, ​West Yorkshire​, England, where Patterson attended the ​Roundhay
Grammar School for Boys​. He proved to be an indifferent student and left school with
few formal qualifications. In 1947 he began two years of ​National Service​, at first with
the ​East Yorkshire Regiment​, and later as a ​non-commissioned officer​ in the ​Royal Horse
Guards Regiment​ of the ​Household Cavalry​ doing security work on the ​East
German​ border.During his military service, Patterson discovered that he possessed both
considerable ​sharpshooting​ skills and considerable intelligence.After leaving the army, he
returned to London to study ​Sociology​ at ​London School of Economics​ while supporting
himself as a driver and labourer at night. He chose the school for its "history of
nonconformism". He received his third-class degree after three years of study. After
getting a teaching qualification, he took a job lecturing in Social Psychology and
Criminology at Allerton Grange Secondary School Leeds.He taught Liberal Studies
at ​Leeds Polytechnic​ and Education at James Graham College, which became part of
Leeds Polytechnic in 1976.

Henry Patterson​ (born 27 July 1929), known by his pen name ​Jack Higgins​, is a British
writer and novelist. He is one of the best-selling authors of
popular ​thrillers​ and ​espionage​ novels. His breakthrough novel ​The Eagle Has
Landed​ (1975) sold over 50 million copies and was adapted into a successful film ​by the
same title​.
 A Darker Place
The veteran author of political thrillers turns in another lackluster performance. As usual,
the story contains the raw material for a first-rate novel: a Russian writer makes
arrangements with Sean Dillon, the IRA terrorist turned British intelligence agent, and his
colleagues in the Prime Minister's private army to leave Russia and come to Britain.
However, as Higgins reveals very early on, the writer is actually working for the
Russians, and his deadly mission could wreak havoc at the top levels of the international
intelligence community. Unfortunately, Higgins seems to be sleepwalking his way
through the novel: the book opens, for example, with a clumsy scene in which one
character tells another character something she already knows, purely for the benefit of
the reader. The characters in the novel feel lifeless, even the ones whom the author has
been writing about for years (there are more than a dozen Sean Dillon novels), and
Higgins' decision to reveal the Russian writer's secret agenda at the beginning of the
novel seems ill-considered: the story would have been more interesting, and certainly
more surprising, if readers were left to wonder what this fellow was up to and whether he
was keeping secrets. Higgins retains a large if shrinking fan base and that should ensure
interest in the novel, but it's definitely not one of his best.

CHARACTERS
 SUMMARY
The novel is about a famous Russian writer and ex-paratrooper named Alexander
Kurbsky, who is fed up with the Putin government and decides he wants to "disappear"
into the West. He is under no illusions, however, about how the news will be greeted at
home. Having seen too many of his countrymen die mysteriously at the hands of the
thuggish Russian security services, he makes elaborate plans for his escape and
concealment with Charles Ferguson, Sean Dillon, and the rest of the group known
informally as the Prime Minister's private army. However, Kurbsky is still working for
the Russians and intends to infiltrate the highest levels of Western intelligence.

REFLECTION
A famous Russian writer and ex-paratrooper named Alexander Kurbsky is fed up with the
Putin government and decides he wants to “disappear” into the West. He is under no
illusions, however, about how the news will be greeted at home, having seen too many of
his countrymen die mysteriously at the hands of the thuggish Russian security services,
so he makes elaborate plans with Charles Ferguson, Sean Dillon, and the rest of the group
known informally as the “Prime Minister’s private army” for his escape and concealment.

It’s a real coup for the West except for one thing: Kurbsky is still working for the
Russians. The plan is to infiltrate British and American intelligence at the highest levels,
and he has his own motivations for doing the most effective job possible. He does not
care what he has to do or where he has to go or who he has to kill.

Filled with suspense, driven by characters of complexity and passion, A Darker

Placeproves that,“When it comes to thriller writers, one name stands well above the
crowd—Jack Higgins.”