The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

2nd book voted for by you folks for the Jun/ Jul Group read is a classic thriller by Frederick Forsyth, also an excellent movie. Your moderator for this read is Flash Beagle. Enjoy!

Thanks Bill! I read The Day of the Jackal years ago and immediately became a fan of conspiracy, espionage. It's a memorable book and now in the midst of a re-read!

Oh, good choice, Flash Beagle.

I have a copy of this here at home... lemme finish the book I'm reading now and I will start this one.

Cool! I don't re-read many books but this is great!

I've never read before, I will have to find a copy as I enjoyed the movie very much.

The movie was good...

I'll have to see the movie!

This is so good and so believable. It plays out across a broad canvas, international scope, with all the players moving toward a resolution. It's in 3 parts, Anatomy of a Plot, Anatomy of a Manhunt, Anatomy of a Kill. The detail and descriptions are amazing. It's hard to believe it is fiction. Very impressive.

Just started and in the first 10 pages there was a great history lesson and some very good story set up.

It is hard to believe that this is fiction. Is there no historical basis at all for this?

I will be plugging slowly along, so will check back in from time to time.

its actually a brilliant book
sometimes u wonder whether all this could have happened in reality
a great history lesson is also to be learnt from this book as pointed out by Hayes

happy reading

Funny thing: there was a real assassin named Carlos the Jackal, (Ilich Ramírez Sánchez) who got "the Jackal" nickname when they found a copy of The Day of the Jackal with his other belongings while authorities were looking for him.

a bit of useless trivia, I know, but I have a head for that sort of thing. LOL

That's really interesting, Nancy!

Enjoying this, but it's slow going... don't know why the print in these books keeps getting smaller and smaller

8-) (That's me with yet another pair of glasses!)

Hayes wrote: "Just started and in the first 10 pages there was a great history lesson and some very good story set up.

It is hard to believe that this is fiction. Is there no historical basis at all for this?
..."

It's very much historical fiction. Given the way he describes the climate around de Gaulle, it seems like there would be historical basis, but no one would ever admit it or admit that an assassin was from their country, unless it was so obvious it could not be denied.

Interestingly it's set in 1963, the year of the Kennedy assassination, and there is a comment that in retrospect the French security did not think too much of the way Kennedy was protected. Since 2013 was the 50th anniversary there were a number of documentaries about Kennedy and it made me cringe to see how exposed he was, the location of the book depository building. And then seeing films of Oswald in custody and Ruby in among the police and just walking up and shooting Oswald, the lack of security again was really shocking. Compare that to the French security (fictional setting, true, and in hindsight), but it still is sobering; the only word I can think of.

Hayes wrote: "That's really interesting, Nancy!

Enjoying this, but it's slow going... don't know why the print in these books keeps getting smaller and smaller

8-) (That's me with yet another pair of glasses!)"

It is interesting and there were times reading this when I thought the detail approached maybe not a how-to manual but easily gave a lot of material that I would not want to see end up in the hands of some crack pot, monkey-see monkey-do fanatic.

Once Claude Lebel enters the scene, The Anatomy of a Manhunt, the pace increases. It's very much a contest of wills and who can outwit the other.

I love the detail of the whole story. It gives the reasons and background of all the people involved and what brings them to where they are. Many new emphases, ranging from references to Algeria and the fanaticism around it, to the details of a certain type of rifle and all the planning that went into it by the Jackal and then the dogged step by step pursuit by the detective Lebel - at all came down to police work. I would love to read another with Lebel as the detective.

Interestingly it's set in 1963, the year of the Kennedy assassination,

I didn't catch that... interesting indeed.
Kennedy was exposed, but no one thought that it would or could happen. I mean look at 9/11... everyone knew that it might or could happen, but it happened anyway.
I have heard that this kind of thing gets stopped mostly because there are anonymous tip offs.

I meant slow going because at night I literally cannot see the small font in my book, not for the content.

And I would have to agree that it does look like a recipe that a crack pot could use... times are very different, of course.

Hayes wrote: "Interestingly it's set in 1963, the year of the Kennedy assassination,

I didn't catch that... interesting indeed.
Kennedy was exposed, but no one thought that it would or could happen. I mean loo..."

9/11 - yes! How to sort through intel? What to pay attention to and what not to? The Challenger. If they had called it off being the faulty tiles were known about ahead of time, the disaster would not have happened, the person calling it off would not have been validated and probably been called an alarmist and fired. What a catch-22.

Post 9/11 gave this story a different perspective in terms of motivation and what drives fanatics: the strong feelings around Algeria and de Gaulle leading to terrorism and eventually to the Jackal. This has led to some nonfiction history reading on my part! One good book often leads to another.:)

For me ''Day of is an object lesson of the fact that it is not always a good idea to see the film before reading the book, as when I did read it, I could think only of Edward Fox as the Jackal (who is awesome in a very good movie). I also got side-tracked into comparing how crucial scenes had been filmed (or indeed, not). I will re-read it to see if that remains true. By the way, as there has been talk of Algeria, folks might want to check out Gillo Pontecorvo's film The Battle of Algiers.

Phil wrote: "For me ''Day of is an object lesson of the fact that it is not always a good idea to see the film before reading the book, as when I did read it, I could think only of Edward Fox as the Jackal (who..."

Thanks for the tip on the movie The Battle of Algiers!

The international law enforcement dynamics were so well-described, various police methods, both admitted to and not admitted to, and he writes with such authenticity. Here is a note on Forsyth - ..."A former Air Force pilot and print and television reporter for the BBC . . ." Has anyone read anything else by him?

I don't read many spy/espionage/assassin kind of thrillers, but I started in and it is enjoyable so far.

What I notice is how much detail the author puts into setting the scene for what is to come. Forsyth really knows his stuff. Like the depths of how much the Jackal is preparing for this assignment. And, then the other party's attempts to identify who is out there. So much inside information into this world.

I'm not too familiar with the author and his books, but I heard that he wrote this in 35 days or something. That's pretty incredible!

This was a great story,but one thing I did not know was that he wrote it in 35 days.Thankyou for sharing that.

I read this book many moons ago when it first came out. I was young, impressionable. It has never left me

Me either Georgia:)Hubby really liked the movie.

Nancy wrote: "Funny thing: there was a real assassin named Carlos the Jackal, (Ilich Ramírez Sánchez) who got "the Jackal" nickname when they found a copy of The Day of the Jackal with his other be..."

Good to know Nancy. I've always wondered what the connection was.

Finished a few days ago. Very impressive thriller. I like how the author alternates so well between the Jackal's movement and the police's attempts to identify and track him, especially in the latter parts. Great building suspense all the way to the finish.

I saw the 1973 "The Day of the Jackal" film also and it really holds up perfectly to the book. Very faithful adaptation and I think Edward Fox is about how I pictured the assassin to look.

By the way, did anyone ever see the film from the 90s that was loosely (very loosely) based on this story. It is called "The Jackal" and has Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. I remember watching it when it was released and thought it was pretty lousy. There is a bizarre (and violent) scene between Bruce Willis (the Jackal) and Jack Black that stands out in my mind.

I agree, Franky... Edward Fox made the perfect Jackal.

I just heard about the Bruce Willis movie the other day. I was reading on the bus and struck up a conversation with the man standing next to me. He didn't like the remake either, although he loved both the book and the original.

I can't seem to move ahead in the book, mostly because I have no time. June and July are my busiest months at work. I will plod on, a few pages at a time. Really enjoying it, however.

I think I caught the end of the Bruce Willis version (bloody and protracted ending?) and would not have connected it with the book except someone mentioned "Jackal" and even then it didn't seem at all like it; pretty forgettable movie.

I didn't know Forsyth wrote it in 35 days. It's written with a sense of purpose and the way it keeps driving forward, I can see him doing that.

I remember reading this one years ago. It's stayed with me as a fantastic example of an author's ability to create a character. I found myself wanting the assassin to succeed - basically pulling for the villain!
Must re-read - but then again, what if if doesn't stand up to adult expectations...

Cathy wrote: "I remember reading this one years ago. It's stayed with me as a fantastic example of an author's ability to create a character. I found myself wanting the assassin to succeed - basically pulling fo..."

I felt the same way, Cathy, when I read it many, many years ago. I was young and it might have been one of the first "adult" books of this type I read. I do wonder if it stands up now. Maybe I shouldn't find out, and just keep the good memory of a story and character that stuck with me.

Steve wrote: "I felt the same way, Cathy, when I read it many, many years ago. I was young and it might have been one of the first "adult" books of this type I read. I do wonder if it stands up now. Maybe I shouldn't find out, and just keep the good memory of a story and character that stuck with me. "

I'm thinking the same thing, Steve. {eyes mountain of books in the To Read pile.} With so many other books to enjoy maybe Jackal should remain a great memory.

I have just read the long and intricate part about the Jackal's purchase of his gun and all the preparations. Usually this kind of thing is boring, too many details, not enough action.

Forsyth does such a good job of keeping even this really suspenseful. There are a lot of details, but not one word is wasted. Really enjoying this.

I am so behind on group reads. I got this. but have not gotten to it yet. I thought about skipping it, but you all make it sound so good. The synopsis makes it sound good also.

READ THIS BOOK. It is a very good thriller based on real events. The Jackal was caught some 20? years after the events in the book.

I don't know about that Bob... are you mixing up with Carlos the Jackal (who is not a character in this book)? [see message 11 above]

The Forsyth book has a description of an attempt on de Gaulle's life at the beginning, but the rest is a work of fiction.

I don't read many spy thrillers either, but this is a perfect example of the genre, an excellent "spider & fly" plot.
It is true that the security around De Gaulle was very tight. Emotions ran very high at the time - he was revered as the leader of the Free French ( this was less than 20 years after WW2) and reviled as the man who "gave up" Algeria in 1962. It was well known that there were assassination plots, planned by very experienced people.
I have been reading a series by Adrian Magson - police procedurals, very well written, set in that era. The police officer is Lucas Rocco, a military veteran, based in Northern France. He's a very compelling character.

I finished this while I was on vacation last week and really really liked it. Thanks again for nominating it, Flash Beagle and for hosting last months group read.

It fell down, ever so slightly, right at the end, but not so as you'd notice. I felt the denouement was a little contrived, but it kept the pace all the way through, good twists and turns, etc. A good book written a while ago that definitely did not suffer from "old age". Highly recommended.