The Day of the Jackal

A deadly Assassin is on the trail of one of the greatest Statesman of the

era......
And no Intelligence Agency in the world knows about the Killer.
Only one man stands between the Assassin and the Statesman...the best
Detective of France.
This man should succeed where the entire Police might of France could not!!!
In the 1960s, France was in political turmoil as the French granted independence
to Algeria, its African colony. OAS (Secret Army Organization), the anti-decolonisation
faction fought a brutal war against the government and tried to assassinate their
President Charles de Gaulle six times without any success. This is history and Forsyth
blends the fact with fiction beautifully to weave a stunning detective thriller.
Part One: Anatomy of a Plot
After the unsuccessful assassination attempt, the OAS top leadership are arrested
and the infiltrated organization is in shambles. Their deputy chief hires a high profile
British Assassin with a code name Jackal. He acquires three false identities. The French
get wind of the plan but nothing about the assassin except the name Jackal. Their
foremost priority is to identify the assassin which is the job of a detective. The onerous
job of saving the President falls on Lebel, the best detective of France and now the
manhunt begins.
Part two: Anatomy of a Manhunt
Lebel inquires about the top notch assassins thro various sources and gets
rumours from Scotland Yard Detective Thomas about a British assassin. Back in France,
the OAS has a mole in the house of one of de Gaulles staff which helps Jackal to be
always one step ahead of Lebel. Thomas finds out Jackals primary false identity. But
Jackal switches identities, escapes every traps by his ingenuity and by the vital info from
the mole. Now, he is closer to Paris and to his prey.
Part three: Anatomy of a Kill
Not believing in Jackals Luck, Lebel taps the phone calls of all council members
and blows out the mole. In London, Thomas identifies the Jackals secondary false
identities. In Paris, Lebel finds out that of all days, de Gaulle will be in Paris without fail to
attend the Liberation of Paris day on 25th August and that is the day of the Jackal.
While the clock is ticking, the police launch a massive manhunt but once again Jackal
evades and it seems he has vanished into thin air... Now it all comes down to Lebel to
catch Jackal before he gets the President in the crosshairs...literally.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This novel should NOT have been a success!

Because Charles de Gaulle, the President of France and one of the greatest
Statesman of the post war Europe was not assassinated but died of natural causes well
before the release of the book. Then, how do the readers get glued to the book when the
climax is already known? What is the reason behind the irresistible magnetic pull of this
book which creates exhilarating thrill even when its end is history?
The plot and the detailing are the reasons behind the success of this trendsetter.
This brilliantly laid plot starts slowly but steadily and builds up great momentum as it
goes on. As the D-day approaches, the events explode in frenzy and it becomes a race
against time! The plot makes you believe that the events never go beyond the realm of
possibility. Its like reading about a real incident or still better, watching a real incident.
And the phenomenal narration of the planning phase sets this book apart from others.
The way Jackal changes his appearances and identities, the way he plans
everything to detail, the way he gets ahead of Lebel every time, the way Lebel breaks
thro every hurdle, the way Thomas finds out Jackals identities, the way Lebel
coordinates the manhuntall these take the story to a different level. The one
dimensional characterisation actually gives an edge to the ruthless, cold hearted Jackal.
Theres not much bloodshed but youll never fail to realise youre riding with a cold
blooded killer. It is more brain than brawn.
The renowned aspect of Forsyths writing is his penchant for details. The way
Jackal acquires the British passport, his ingenious rifle design, his chameleon like mastery
at disguises, the way he smuggles the rifle thro Europe, his practice session with the
new rifle, his clear understanding of the way Europe Customs officials work, his
knowledge about underworld weapon industry, the way Lebel & Thomas find out the false
identities of Jackal, the inner working details of OAS & French Security Services..you
can go on and on.
Also, Forsyth makes sure the narrative never loses steam, the suspense never
broken and the plot very difficult to guess. Of course, what else can you expect from the
master storyteller and the ex-spy of MI6, the British Intelligence Agency?
Does this book not have any flaws? Actually it may have. But the fact that youve
to look with microscopic eyes to find them is the biggest compliment for the author.
Some of the readers may be sceptical when the Killer who is a Crack shot misses de
Gaulle at his first attempt. But I feel that is just pragmatic. You may find some morebut
will appreciate the difficulty of doing that!
Every time someone asks about a good book to read, this is the one that comes to
my mind in a flash. This is not just a pastime reading. This is an entirely spell binding
experience! Dont miss it!

One final argument to seal the deal is, you wont believe that this book was the
authors first work of fiction and he finished this magnum opus in 35 days!!!