In looking through Jack Higgins extensive list of publications, I discovered that I had read another of his novels years ago - The Eagle Has Landed. I literally remember nothing about it, but given the elapsed time involved, that is not surprising. On the other hand, this is not a particularly memorable novel either, and I suspect I will forget it in far fewer years.

Midnight Runner, the sequel to Edge of Danger, sets out to be a classic spy thriller. Kate Rashid, half-wealthy Arab and half-English nobility, is the villain of the piece, along with her cousin Rupert Dauncy. She is determined to have revenge for the killing of her brothers when their evil plans were snuffed out in the previous volume. Dauncy just likes to do nasty things. The list of people Kate Rashid wants to get even with is quite large, including the President of the United States and several of his staff, Senator Daniel Quinn, most of British Intelligence, and, especially, Sean Dillon, the British agent who has been her nemesis.

Kate, the only remaining Rashid, is not 'just' wealthy, she controls the lion's share of world oil production, heads up a large clan of Bedouin tribesmen, and is funding almost every terrorist organization in the world. Indeed, her idea of revenge is to kill of a few people personally and then bring down the world around them. It does not help matters that not only is she wealthy and determined, she is also possessed of a brilliant mind. Small wonder that Dan Quinn and Sean Dillon are determined to see the end of her.

The story has all the right ingredients - menacing villains, roguish heroes, a fast moving complex plot, and the required threat to the free world - but for some reason it fails to sell itself. I found myself unhappy with the sketchy, archetypal characters that Higgins uses to people this story. Everyone is exactly the way you would expect him or her to be, from the President right on down to the Arab servant. Not one character displays a lot of originality, and as soon as anyone gives into weakness, he or she is ushered from the center stage. Almost everyone seems to have an Irish last name, with the exception of Hannah Bernstein (who should get a bigger part) and the Rashid's minions.

Characters such as these can make the plot seem inevitable and predictable. As a reader of suspense stories, I like to be surprised a bit more, and to have the ending be in doubt. I also enjoy exotic locales or intriguing technical details and these too are only sketched in. Higgin's writing style is smooth, but minimalistic. I wouldn't call this a 'bad' book, but a mediocre one. If you are looking for a bare boned spy story to fill an hour or so on a rainy afternoon this may be just your cup of tea. Do not, however, expect anything memorable.

--Marc Ruby