Jack Higgins Trivia

1. Who was the Krug champagne drinking, RADA educated, ex-IRA enforcer, who ended up working for Brigadier Charles Ferguson in "Thunder Point", after having been captured by the Serbs?

From Quiz Jack Higgins Books

Answer: Sean Dillon

Sean Dillon appeared in many books by Jack Higgins, but begins working for Charles Ferguson in "Thunder Point". He attended RADA before giving it up for the "Theatre of the streets" when his father was gunned down in a firefight between the IRA and British Paratroopers. He lost faith with the cause due to the bombing campaign killing many innocent people, and worked as a mercenary for the PLO, the Israelis and many more. He ended up working for Ferguson after he was captured by the Serbs flying medical supplies into the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, "a good deed in a naughty world", but was unaware there are Stinger missiles hidden underneath. He was blackmailed by Ferguson to join him in order to save himself from the firing squad. He was an educated killer who drank Krug non-vintage Champagne (because of the grape mix) and Bushmills Whiskey by preference, played the piano, spoke several languages, and was a master diver and pilot.

From Quiz Jack Higgins Books

Answer: An attempt to assassinate Winston Churchill

The "Eagle has Landed" is the story of an attempt to assassinate Winston Churchill. Following a joke from Hitler about kidnapping Winston Churchill, Himmler does a feasibilty study on whether in would be possible with the help of Max Radl of the Abwehr. It is deemed to be possible and they find the perfect man to lead it. His name is Kurt Steiner, educated in England and fluent in the language, but, following a court-marshall (for trying to save a Jewish girl), he and his unit are imprisoned on a penal colony in the Channel Islands. The main protagonists in the book are Colonel Kurt Steiner and his men and Liam Devlin, an IRA activist. They are dropped in the town of Studley Constable where they masquerade as Polish soldiers training in the area (and Devlin as a Marsh Warden). The attempt fails when one of Steiner's men dives into a river to save a small child; when he gets stuck in a water wheel, his German uniform becomes visible under the disguise and their cover is blown. Steiner and his second in command escape from a firefight in the church in which all the other German paratroopers are killed, and sets off to complete his mission. In the end Steiner kills the man he thinks to be Churchill, who is in fact a cabaret artist who is one of Churchill's doubles. The real Churchill is in Yalta meeting Stalin and Roosevelt.

From Quiz Sean Dillon

Answer: 19

Dillon's mother had died when he was a baby, and he was at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art when his father died.

From Quiz Jack Higgins Books

Answer: Grimshaw

Atkinson Grimshaw is one on Liam Devlin's favourite artists despite his English background (he was from Yorkshire). The Grimshaw hanging in Devlin's living room is commented on by numerous characters visiting his house in Kilrea for information from the "living legend of the IRA." Grimshaw paintings also appear to be liked by Sean Dillon, a friend of Liam Devlin's in the past. In fact, Dillon has a Grimshaw, which was a present from Devlin, in his house in Stable Mews.

From Quiz Sean Dillon

Answer: Gunned down by British troopers in Belfast

Dillon's father was caught in the crossfire between British troopers and the IRA in Belfast and killed by a British soldier. This led Dillon to give up a career in acting and join the IRA.

From Quiz A Prayer For The Dying

Answer: Angel of Death

The group, January 30, is supposedly named after the date of the British "Bloody Sunday" massacre in Belfast. Whilst their targets appear to be random and indiscriminate, they are carefully crafted hits that are all part of a cleverly designed plot by Rupert Lang. Lang proves to be a Russian spy who has managed to work his way into being a vital member of the Prime Minister John Majors' cabinet, and is seeking to usher in a new Communist regime. The Prime Minister calls in his elite team, Group Four, which includes their own actor and terrorist Sean Dillon, when he gets word that January 30 are planning to hit a prominent US senator who is visiting Ireland with the aim of brokering a peace deal.

From Quiz Jack Higgins Books

Answer: Jake Cazalet

Jake Cazalet appears in many of the Sean Dillon books and is a regular character. His daughter is even kidnapped in one of Higgin's books, "The President's Daughter", and he plays a role in many of the books about Sean Dillon and the Prime Minsiter's Private Army. He also breaks the news of his ex-wife's death to Blake Johnson in "The Day of Reckoning". He served in Vietnam along with Blake Johnson, and since then has smoked cigarettes. He is frequently reminded by his staff about how many votes he would lose if the voters knew. Cazalet generally appears when the story involves U.S territory, along with the head of the Basement (a security outfit which answers only to the President of the day), Blake Johnson. Cazalet also often appears with his favourite security guard, Clancy Smith. Simon Carter is the head of the security services in Britain in many of Higgin's books and we later find out he is also the infamous Broker. George Bush was actually President of the United States, not a fictional character.

From Quiz Sean Dillon

Answer: Eye of the Storm

'Eye of the Storm' (also known as 'Midnight Man') is the first novel Sean Dillon appeared in. It involved him taking part in a failed mortar attack on the Houses of Parliament during the Gulf War. 'Thunder Point' is the sequel to 'Eye of the Storm'. Sean Dillon did not appear in 'Sheba' at all, and 'Dark Justice' is the second most recent Dillon novel.

From Quiz A Prayer For The Dying

Answer: Flight of Eagles

When his father is killed in a car accident Max is taken to Germany by his mother who is looking to climb the social ranks amongst the Nazi elite. Harry remains in the United States under the care of his grandfather. Inspired by the memory and the deeds of their father, an ace pilot during World War I, both of the brothers become pilots. Max joins the Luftwaffe and Harry enrols with the Royal Air Force. When Harry is shot down over France, Max is blackmailed by Himmler to take Harry's place, escape to England and assassinate General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

From Quiz Jack Higgins Books

Answer: Mini Cooper

Sean Dillon has a taste for the finer things in life, such as Krug champagne, and could afford a flashy sports car, like the Bentley driven by the Salters or a classic E-Type Jag. He actually chooses to drive a red Mini Cooper, probably because it fits in more easily in general traffic and is therefore less conspicuous, which is useful in his line of work.

From Quiz Sean Dillon

Answer: Brigadier Charles Ferguson

Dillon was arrested in Croatia after smuggling weapons in (which he was not aware of, he thought he was just carrying medication into the country) and was due to face a firing squad. However, Ferguson struck a deal with him; come and work for his special British intelligence outfit and he would be released.

From Quiz Jack Higgins Books

Answer: Kim

Kim is the Brigadier's Gurkha manservant at his home in Cavendish Square, who appears in several books, usually in very small roles. In one of Higgins's books, Kim leads the General and Sean Dillon on a deer hunt. He is an able tracker, good at surveillance when needed and, as a Gurkha, he is useful with a firearm when the situation necessitates one. He is also an excellent cook as well as a manservant, and is clearly a man of many talents.

From Quiz Sean Dillon

Answer: CIA

Over the years, Dillon became known as a 'hired gun' with no allegiances. Often he would work for opposing sides at different times (e.g. the Israelis and the PLO)

From Quiz Jack Higgins Books

Answer: Jack Fox

Jack Fox has Blake Johnson's ex-wife Katherine murdered after she gets too close to finding out the truth about him at the beginning of "The Day of Reckoning". Jack Fox's mother was the niece of Don Marco Solazzo, but he is a decorated war hero (from the Gulf War) and a respected Harvard-educated lawyer. He is the new, seemigly more legitimate, face of the Mafia, but as the book develops you realise that description could not be more wrong. Blake Johnson and Sean Dillon then set out to destroy him with the help of Brigadier Ferguson, Hannah Bernstein, Major Giles Roper as well as Harry and Billy Salter. They find out that Fox lost millions in the Asian market crash, using money from the family without the Don's permission. Blake Johnson and Sean Dillon methodically ruin all his chances of making that money back, while Jack Fox digs an increasingly big hole for himself. In the end Blake is kidnapped by Jack Fox and Dillon finishes off Fox and his cronies, saving Blake Johnson from a dire fate at the Cornish property called "Hellsmouth". Max Santiago is the villain in "Thunder Point". Aldo Russo is a Mafoiso working from Ibiza who helps Dillon and Billy track Dermot Fitzgerald, an IRA gunman who has fled from the U.K in the book "Without Mercy". Falcone is one of Jack Fox's assisstants, but in the book is not called Giovanni.

From Quiz Sean Dillon

Answer: 'As ever was'

In each novel, there is at least one terrorist who recognises Dillon from the days he fought alongside him, and is shocked to see him. They will usually ask the above question or one similar to it, to which Dillon always replies, 'As ever was.'

From Quiz Jack Higgins Books

Answer: Murchison

Murchison is a flat coated retreiver owned by President Jake Cazalet. He is an unusually intelligent dog, which is commented on by numerous characters, and he even saves Cazalet from assassination by members of the Rashid family (The Lairds and Lady of Loch Dhu). He loves the runs through the marshes with the President (although they also seem to be an opportunity for the President to have a cigarette) in his brief getaways to Nantucket. Murchison loves splashing around in the salt water, which the President regularly comments is not good for his skin.

From Quiz A Prayer For The Dying

Answer: Sheba

The lost temple of Sheba is said to have been buried in the sands of the Rub' al Khali, the dreaded Empty Quarter. It is the largest sand desert in world, and a haven for death and outlaws. Kane needs to call upon all his ingenuity if he is to survive in this environment. To complicate matters, the only clues he has are the unorthodox scribblings of an ancient Greek adventurer called Alexias. To cut a long story short, Kane and Ruth do find the temple, but they've been beaten to it by the Germans who have set it up as the base for their operation to destroy the Suez Canal.

From Quiz Sean Dillon

Answer: Billy Salter

Billy Salter was a gangster in the East End with his uncle, Harry, before going into business and owning many property developments along the Thames. However, he still had many qualities from his past life which were recognised by Dillon, and has since joined him on many adventures.

From Quiz Jack Higgins Books

Answer: Martin Bormann

The plot of "Thunder Point" is based on the many stories that Reichsleiter Martin Bormann escaped Berlin in the last days of the Third Reich and ended up in South America. As an important member of the leadership of the Third Reich, he is entrusted by Hitler with the "Windsor Protocol" and the "Blue Book". The "Windsor Protocol" is an agreement signed by Edward VIII (later the Duke of Windsor) to take over as King of England in the event of a successful German invasion of Britain. The "Blue Book" contains the names of high ranking people in Allied society who are sympathetic to the Nazi cause, including two rather important ones in the story. In the story, Bormann travels by submarine to the Virgin Islands where he goes ashore, and the submarine containing the Windsor Protocol and a list of important Nazi sypathisers sinks in a storm. When the submarine is found by a local diver, Henry Baker, who is subsequently killed, there is a race against time for Dillon and Ferguson to recover the documents lest they fall into the hands of the evil Max Santiago.

From Quiz Sean Dillon

Answer: Katherine Rose

Lady Katherine Rose was an old lady by the time Dillon met her, and, understandably, he showed no real interest in her.

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