10 Must-Read Jack Higgins Thrillers

As a shipwrecked American in Nazi-occupied England, Colonel Kelso poses a serious threat to the Western Allies. If taken hostage and interrogated, would Kelso spill the beans on their planned Normandy invasion? In Nazi hands, such information would turn the tide of the war—and not in the Allies’ favor. Harry Martineau, a covert British operative, is sent to put out the fires before they’re lit. The plan: pose as a Nazi officer and infiltrate German headquarters. The goal: bring home Colonel Kelson—dead or alive.

The Nazis have hatched their most daring scheme yet. Under the leadership of Kurt Steiner and Liam Devlin, an IRA gunman, they’ll kidnap Winston Churchill and cripple their Allied enemies. Once their raid is set into motion, however, the residents of an English town threaten the entire operation. The Eagle Has Landed was the world’s first introduction to the now-famous action hero, Liam Devlin, and was adapted into a film starring Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, and Donald Sutherland.

A real-life mystery sits at the center of this fast-paced thriller, as a journalist investigates the disappearance of Hitler’s secretary, Martin Bormann. With the Allies closing in and the Nazi regime in tatters, Bormann escaped Germany in 1945—but how, and with what help? Told through flashbacks, Higgins slowly unveils the missing pieces of the puzzle: alliances with POW prisoners, a tangle of conspiracies, and the things one man is willing to do for freedom. 

Like The Valhalla Exchange, To Catch a King takes a page out of the history books—namely, the plotted kidnapping of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. As they gear up for their invasion of Britain, the Germans try to apprehend their royal targets, hoping to install them as puppet monarchs and curry favor with the conquered Brits. However, the interference of a bartender and a Billie Holiday-style crooner throws a wrench in their plans. They’re ready for a Nazi takedown, but will the heroics of two unsuspecting misfits be enough to save the Windsors or England itself?

When the IRA steals your country’s gold, who are you gonna call? For the British Army, the obvious choice is Simon Vaughan: a Korean War vet, an ace gunrunner, and an ex-convict. With such a glowing resumé, the Brits believe he’s their best shot at recovering the stolen cache—and if he dies, well, it’s no skin off their back. Soon, Vaughn finds himself thrust into war-torn Ireland, where even his military mettle may not get him out alive... 

Solo is a Taken-esque thriller set on a more even playfield: both of the male leads are like Liam Neeson's character. While fleeing the scene of a high-profile mission, assassin John Mikali kills a bystander to protect his identity. That bystander was none other than the daughter of Asa Morgan—a special forces officer with a bloody, but seemingly spotless, track record. So begins an international chase as Morgan seeks his revenge on Mikali. But in a game where it’s killer against killer, the prey can become the predator faster than a sniper’s bullet...

Sarah Talbot is a powerhouse lawyer in New York City. Sean Egan is one of the British Army’s most valuable killing machines. The unlikely duo is united by the murders of their loved ones, who were the victims of a vicious drug cartel. Together, they’ll hunt the monsters responsible—an enigmatic villain known only as “Mr. Smith”—even if it means traveling to the depths of hell.

Meet Sean Dillon: a master of disguise and a terrorist in cahoots with Saddam Hussein. He’s just been hired to take out Margaret Thatcher, though a betrayal will spare the Iron Lady of Dillon’s killshot. Thwarted, but no less to determined to carry out his orders, Dillon and a sexy KGB partner turn their eyes towards the British War Cabinet itself. Picking off government officials is never an easy task, but with his enemies in hot pursuit—including Higgins’ other famous character, Liam Devlin—Dillon may be in over his head.

Nearly 20 years after Eye of the Storm was released, Sean Dillon—the former IRA terrorist now working for British intelligence—is still going strong. While attending a dinner party at the president’s Nantucket home, Dillon witnesses a botched assassination attempt. A scary enough event in itself, it's another discovery that will send a greater chill down Dillon’s spine: the culprit is his greatest nemesis—and they’re out for more than the president's blood.

Higgins' final installment in the Sean Dillon series plunges the action hero into a web of seemingly unrelated catastrophes. A woman is killed by a drunk driver in Northern Ireland. A London government agency receives threats from a riled al-Qaeda group. Meanwhile, the CIA moves forward with an anti-terrorism initiative despite receiving no greenlight from the president. A mysterious figure named the “Master” will connect them all—and Dillon’s team of operatives may get caught in the crosshairs.