Book
The Day of the Jackal
First published 1971
France, 1963. After earlier attempts to kill President Charles de Gaulle fail, leaders of the Organisation de l’Armée Secrète hire an anonymous English professional known as the Jackal. The OAS regards de Gaulle’s acceptance of Algerian independence as a betrayal and gives the assassin complete freedom to choose his method. He constructs false identities, commissions a concealed rifle and moves through Europe while keeping even his employers at a distance.
French security learns that a new plot exists but has neither the assassin’s name nor a reliable description. Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel coordinates a police and intelligence search across several countries as the Jackal advances towards a public ceremony that de Gaulle refuses to cancel. The novel turns the real political violence surrounding French decolonisation into a procedural contest between meticulous preparation and an equally methodical manhunt.
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