From 'Day of the Jackal' to 'The Deceiver': Top 10 Frederick Forsyth novels that remain priceless thrillers

The mastermind behind characters like 'The Jackal' and 'Sam McCready' passed away on June 9, aged 86. Here are 10 of his finest novels:

The Day of the Jackal

This gripping thriller features a professional assassin, known as 'The Jackal', hired to kill the French president. The story unfolds as law enforcement agencies engage in a race against time, determined to stop the Jackal's meticulously planned plots.

The Odessa File

This novel takes you through the exciting adventures of a young German journalist and his attempts to uncover a chilling conspiracy: a secret organization made to protect Nazi war criminals in Europe.

The Dogs of War

A ruthless British tycoon discovers platinum in the fictional African nation of Zangaro. To get the country’s government out of the way, the tycoon hires traditional mercenaries to stage a coup d'état and install a puppet regime: a brutal, brilliant exposé of neocolonial greed dressed up as strategy.

The Negotiator

This crime thriller follows Quinn, a retired CIA negotiator, who is called back to action when the son of the American president is kidnapped. The story unravels to reveal a larger conspiracy, where two powerful men are planning to assassinate the president and control the Middle East’s oil wealth.

The Deceiver

A retiring British SIS agent, Sam McCready, is pushed into a risky situation. Known for his unorthodox methods and valuable intelligence, he suspects a plot to destabilise the SIS and decides to fight back, leading to a cat-and-mouse game with his superiors and a secret enemy.

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Igor Komarov, a Russian politician set to become the president, leads the novel. As the story moves further, a stolen manifesto revealing Komarov’s fascist and racist ideology surfaces, prompting ex-CIA agent Jason Monk to prevent Komarov’s rise to power.

The Veteran

This novel is a collection of five short stories on crime, each with a unique plot. The titular story focuses on the murder of an elderly man, who is later revealed by a lawyer to be a former SAS soldier.

The Kill List

This modern-day thriller sees an intelligence operative known as 'The Tracker' given the task of tracking down a terrorist known only as 'The Preacher'.

The Art of the Matter

A young employee at a prestigious auction house comes across an unidentified masterpiece. Later, when the powerful CEO of a company claims to have discovered it on his own, the appraiser gains revenge by teaming up with the original owner of the piece.

The Devil’s Alternative

While the Soviet Union is facing a famine, their only hope is help from the US. However, the rescue of a Ukrainian “freedom fighter” from the Black Sea leads to a turn of events that only two lovers can fix.