I suppose at the time the controversy over the French pulling out of the war in Algeria much to the disgust of French “patriots” was intriguing. The setting is interesting, but also feels very dated. I am a fan, but I found this to be very slow and overly verbose with too many plot holes. You probably have to be a huge fan of the spy/espionage thriller genre to really enjoy this book.

The only obstacle in his path is a small, diffident, rumpled policeman, who happens to be considered by his boss the best detective in France: Deputy Commissaire Claude Lebel. Step by painstaking step, we follow the Jackal in his meticulous planning, from the fashioning of a specially made rifle to the devising of his approach to the time and the place where the general is to meet the Jackal's bullet. His code name was Jackal, his price half a million dollars, and his demand total secrecy, even from his employers. This novel dramatizes the seventh, mostly deadly attempt, involving a professional killer for hire who would be unknown to the French Police. One of the most celebrated thrillers ever written, The Day of the Jackal is the electrifying story of an anonymous Englishman who in, the spring of 1963, was hired by Colonel Marc Rodin, operations chief of the O.A.S., to assassinate General de Gaulle.įrance was infuriated by Charles de Gaulle's withdrawal from Algeria, and there were six known attempts to assassinate the general that failed.

Forsyth day of the jackal