G.P. Putnam's Sons (Hardcover),
ISBN 0-399-14489-7
In The White House Connection as in real life, the Irish peace process must be nurtured and protected. As a result, British Intelligence destroys files documenting murder, torture and treachery lest the victims' relatives scream for justice. But when a dying man eases his conscience by sharing a copy of one of these files, he lights the fuse that ignites Jack Higgins's explosive new book. 

Someone is killing the Sons of Erin, a small group of men chosen by "The Connection" -- a high-ranking U.S. Government source -- to murder and maim. And the killer isn't Sean Dillon, the British Prime Minister's special operative.  

Sean's license to kill may be suspended but that doesn't prevent him from checking up on a murderous Irish thug. On a rain-swept wharf, hunted by a mad man, Sean's foot slips, and he meets the person I'll call "Revenge." 

From there the story speeds from New York to London, Washington to Ulster. Sean and Blake Johnson, the President's special operative, chase "Revenge" to learn the identity of the American "Connection." But they also seek to prevent "Connection" or "Revenge" from destroying the fragile Irish peace process.  

Jack Higgins writes classically clear, unadorned prose. Each elegant word and sentence moves this fast-paced, but richly described story along. Higgins's plain, matter-of-fact descriptions of inexplicable evil shock all the more, because he isn't verbose. And Higgins's ability to draw complex, multi-layered heroes and bad guys fascinates me. Sean can kill without conscience, whereas an evil character respects his nemesis. Yet you never lose sight of who's who. 

The White House Connection is a must-read book -- fast-paced, thrilling, with action that never stops and characters that never quit.

Suzanne Frisbee

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