A Darker Place – Jack Higgins

Ever since Master C came along I just haven't got back into the swing of writing about all the books I've been reading here on my blog and that's actually making me surprisingly sad. I love reading and I love keeping track of all the books that I read and I've found myself regularly going back onto my blog to look up a book that I can't quite remember the title of, or to see which ones by a particular author I have read. There's even a huge pile of read books next to my bed waiting to be blogged.

One of the mums at Little Miss C's school is setting up a book group and I'm hoping that this might finally be the kick I need to get back on track with my book blogging. I should add that unless I say otherwise, all the adult books reviewed on Being Mrs C are books that I have paid for, or been given by friends or relatives, and that I have chosen to read for pleasure, rather than them being a "formal" review. 

So, with all that preamble over – on to the books!

Let's start with the one that's freshest in my mind that I finished only a couple of days ago – A Darker Place by Jack Higgins. Now, I'm not entirely sure where my Mum first picked up this book, but I've got a feeling that it's one of a few Jack Higgins books that she's read recently. He's not an author that I've come across before, but it seems that he's written a huge number of books in the "Sean Dillon series" even though this particular one didn't seem to feature much of him.

Russian Alexander Kurbsky, a writer and former paratrooper, decides that he's had enough of Russia and Putin's Government in particular and he wants to move over to the West and work for them instead. Defections aren't unheard of and one like this would be a big coup for the British Government. Or at least it would, if Alexander wasn't also still working for the Russians. Or is he?

This fast paced book follows Alexander's "defection" and how he tries to balance working for the two Governments at once and how he has to remove anyone who gets in his way – regardless of who they are. 

Now, as much as I enjoyed this book, there were moments when I found myself wanting to shout "but hang on, didn't anyone think to check XYZ???" It was really frustrating in parts as I was left somewhat gobsmacked at some of the things that British Intelligence seemed to completely overlook or not consider at all. If sleep deprived me, lying in bed reading at the end of a busy day with two little kids could spot holes in what they were doing then you'd really hope that the people who were supposedly the best in the country, with the nation's security in their hands would also spot these things!

I did thoroughly enjoy this book with all its twists and turns, but it also seemed like a quick and light read if you know what I mean. Even just the way it was published with huge amounts of white space on every page meant that you seemed to read it much faster than you expected.

I will be looking out for further Jack Higgins novels, but they're definitely quick, light reads rather than deep meaningful texts.

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