The Day of the Jackal

The 50th anniversary edition of one of the most celebrated thrillers ever written.

'A year-zero genre reboot that defined the modern movement toward detailed, procedural narrative, where the intrigue is about how, not just what.' - Lee Child

'Utterly compelling ... And they say genre fiction can't be art.' - The Times (Our favourite 50 novels of the past 70 years)

'As gripping now as it was 50 years ago.' - The Times

50th Anniversary Edition with a new introduction by Lee Child

One of the most celebrated thrillers ever written, The Day of the Jackal is the exhilarating story of the struggle to catch a killer before it's too late.

1963. An anonymous Englishman is hired by the Operations Chief of the French terrorist organisation O.A.S. to murder the French president, General Charles de Gaulle. A failed attempt in the previous year means the target will be nearly impossible to reach.

Only one man could do the job—a notorious assassin known only as The Jackal. This remorseless and deadly killer must be stopped. But he is a man without a name, without an identity; a lethal spectre.

How can you stop an assassin nobody can identify? The task falls to the best detective in France—and the price of failure is unthinkable.

'Masterful suspense . . . The Day of the Jackal changed the shape of popular fiction from the moment it was finished.' - Ben Macintyre, The Times

'In a class by itself. Unputdownable.' - Sunday Times

'Very clever and immensely entertaining.' - Daily Telegraph

'A perfect example of the adventure story . . . well written, entirely believable, with this intriguing, enigmatic character at its centre.' - Robert Harris

'A year-zero, game-changing thriller, one of the most significant of all time.' - Lee Child

'Wonderful and way ahead of its time.' - James Patterson

'An extraordinary book.' - Nick Robinson, BBC Radio 4 Today Programme

'A masterpiece.' - Marcus Scriven, Mail on Sunday

'I was spellbound . . . riveted by this chilling story.' - Guardian