::AMAZON REVIEWS::

Against the Laws of the Universe
I started The Day of the Jackal with high hopes, and I was just making my way through the first chapter, trying to sort out the characters, when I came across this information: On August 22, 1961, dusk had fallen at 8:10 pm, but on August 22, 1962, dusk fell at 8:35 pm. Those 25 minutes were to change the history of France." Maybe some physicist or astronomer out there can correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that impossible? On the same day of the year, in the same location, wouldn't dusk fall within a few seconds of the time it fell the year previously? Since the failure of the assassination plot depended on this fact, and since I'm not normally interested in plots and chases and assassination attempts, I stopped reading the book.

Creepy, breathtaking, nerve wracking...in other words, a superb thriller
"...The day of the Jackal was over."
As you read the last sentence of the novel, you feel like a marathoner finally crossing the finish line; breathless, exhausted, your head spinning, but also euphoric and feeling you have just participated in a meaningful experience.

The Jackal, a professional assassin, is hired by OAS, a now disbanded real life French militant organization, Organisation de l'armee secrete. His mission is to kill the French President de Gaulle (an actual historical figure). French authorities know of the mission and choose Inspector Lebel to identify and find the killer. The Jackal conducts research on his intended victim and then, despite Lebel's best efforts, relentlessly closes the gap between himself and his target. He uses any methods necessary, seducing and murdering men and women in order to gain shelter on his way to Paris. He is unstoppable.

It is hard to believe that The Day of The Jackal was Forsyth's first fictional novel (originally published in 1971). You realize the writer's mastery when, as you read, you find yourself unable to let go of the feeling of dread and suspense, though fully aware de Gaulle was alive and well in real life, and therefore had to be that way in the book as well. Despite over 350 pages, the novel is a quick read. You forgo meals and become a stranger to your family, all in the effort to find relief in that last sentence:

"...The day of the Jackal was over."

A MUST read
This is the most suspenseful book I have ever read bar none. It is a must read. Most of the nearly 400 pages of the book are one continuous race against time to the ending. The only thing I can think to compare it to is the beginning of Hitchcock's Psycho which builds suspense for the first half of the movie continuously, only this may be even more of a feat. It makes me want to ready all of Forsyth's books. I stayed up until 2 am, reading the last 100 or so pages.

Slow Moving and Tedious at Times
I bought this book on hopes that it would be a gripping read about spies, sabotage, and suspense. This novel moved very slowly and was bogged down with French details, too many acronyms, and weak, uninteresting plot development. On one level, the Jackal's character was interesting, mysterious and somewhat dynamic, but this novel dragged and was such a slow read. Look elsewhere for a page-turner. Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle is a far better choice in this genre; now that was a fantastic, gripping spy novel.

Paramount thriller
The best thriller I have ever read in my life and the book that introduced me to learn to love reading fiction