Jack Higgins; [Henry Patterson] — In the Hour Before Midnight

New York, The Crime Club by Doubleday and Company, 1969. First edition. Cloth. The first US edition of Jack Higgins' novel about a man escaping a life of violence, only to fall in with another group of violent people. The first US edition of this work. In the original unclipped dustwrapper. 'In the Hour Before Midnight' is a novel set in Sicily, following Stacey Wyatt, who knows the dark and savage side of the city. Unable to accept the violence his grandfather tried to make him follow, Stacey runs away to Africa, only to be dominated by another violent man. Written by Henry Patterson under the pseudonym Jack Higgins. Patterson also wrote under the pseudonym James Graham. He is best known for his novel 'The Eagle Has Landed&apos. With a bookplate to the recto to the front endpaper, 'Madison Mauze&apos. In the original publisher's cloth binding, in the original unclipped dustwrapper. Externally, near fine, with light bumping to the head and tail of the spine and to the extremities. Bookplate to the recto to the front endpaper. Dustwrapper with some loss to the head and tail of the spine and to the tail of the rear wrap, with some light marks to the wraps. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean. Very Good Indeed . Ill.: None. Very Good Indeed/Very Good.