I doubt I can contribute any insight into this fine novel beyond the thousands of reviews already out there. I read a few of Higgins' books ages ago, hadn't taken one up in decades, but saw 'A Prayer for the Dying' listed somewhere as being an underappreciated gem so I thought I'd seek it out. I'm glad I did..... excellent story in a concise package, good character development, fine writing, fast pace, a very flawed but sympathetic 'hero'..... the stuff on which great thrillers are built! Next step: find the movie version. ( )

SUMMARY:
The classic bestseller from the master of the game.No one becomes a contract killer and expects to hang around to collect a pension. Sooner or later, even the best in their field make mistakes. Even Martin Fallon, the most ruthless hitman of them all.Fallon was the best you could get with a gun in his hand, but his first mistake was to cross powerful crime boss Jack Meehan, and his last, to seek redemption for his soul'? ( )

Jack Higgins was, in the late sixties and early seventies, a journeyman writer of paperback-original thrillers about hard men in dangerous situations. He learned his craft in these books, and the later ones -- including "A Prayer for the Dying," which first appeared in 1973 -- are as good as anything he ever wrote.

"Prayer" exemplifies everything that's good about them. It's a taut, lean story in which three major characters (ex-IRA gunman Martin Fallon, crime boss "Dandy Jack" Meehan, and decidedly unorthodox priest Father Michael da Costa) carom off one another in the grimy streets of an unnamed city in northern England. The action is exciting without straining credulity (much), the motives (including a seemingly inexplicable choice by Fallon that sets the three on a collision course) are plausible, and the three main characters are interestingly complicated. Religion, specifically Catholicism, is not simply a plot device here. The characters who are devout Catholics not only act like it but -- a considerably tougher thing to achieve, especially in a plot-driven thriller -- *think* like it.

In the end, this is just a sub-200-page paperback thriller: An example of a type of writing that, for better or worse, is all but extinct today. It is, however, a finely crafted one -- and fine craftsmanship, even in the service of modest goals, is a thing worthy of appreciation. ( )

First of all you have to ask yourself what you would like from an action book? Whatever you decide, I'm fairly confident you can find in A Prayer for the Dying.

The book starts off with the main character (Martin Fallon) trying to escape the country to make a new start in Australia. We discover that he was IRA but left the cause after a mistimed bomb killed a number of schoolchildren. This results him becoming a wanted man by everyone, including his previous employers....

He has been promised a new passport and spending cash to help him on his way, but when Fallon turns up to collect he is told the only way to get what he wants is complete one last execution. Reluctantly he agrees.....

What follows is a page turning ride that involves all of Higgins trademarks. We are introduced to commando priests, thugs, grudge holding detectives and, of course, shooting and kneecappings galore. Higgins has always been a master of creating great villains, but even he has surpassed himself with the extra creepy Meehan Brothers.

Fallon is a methodical killer, with every aspect of the kill worked out so nothing is left to chance. However, there is an unexpected twist to the plot when there is a witness to his kill. He is soon forced to re-examine his life and where his loyaltys are placed.. with devastating results.

This book has to be the ultimate introduction to Higgins, with its mixture of politics, religion and death it really doesn't let up the pace. ( )

Okay