Books like The Day of the Jackal
Looking for a book like The Day of the Jackal?
Try Terminal Rage by A.M. Khalifa. Frederick Forsyth’s classic is a duel between two professionals, the assassin and the detective hunting him. Booklist called Terminal Rage “a rousing cat-and-mouse game between two broken men.”
What they share
Two professionals, one duel
The Jackal and Claude Lebel are matched opponents who never stop thinking about each other. Terminal Rage pits a retired negotiator against a hostage-taker who seems to know him better than he knows himself.
A clock that never stops
Forsyth counts down to the moment the Jackal strikes. Terminal Rage runs on the hostage-taker’s deadline.
Real places, real politics
Forsyth built his thriller on real history and real places. Khalifa never writes about a place he hasn’t been, from Manhattan to Cairo, Rome and Naples.
Where they differ
The Day of the Jackal is a cool, procedural manhunt told from both sides. Terminal Rage is more personal: the man in the tower asked for Blackwell by name, and the reason why leads to a conspiracy at the highest levels of government.
A.M. Khalifa is an Egyptian writer based in Rome, raised in a diplomatic corps family across more than fifteen countries, and the only Egyptian writing commercial espionage fiction in English. More on that.
Terminal Rage received a starred review from Booklist, has sold more than 500,000 copies, and is narrated on audio by Scott Brick. It contains violence and sexual content, and is meant for adult readers.
More books like The Day of the Jackal
- Terminal Rage by A.M. Khalifa: a negotiator and a hostage-taker locked in a duel against the clock.
- The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth: a reporter on the trail of a hidden network of former SS officers.
- Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett: a German spy in wartime Britain and the hunt to stop him.
- The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum: a man with no memory and a skill set he can’t explain.
Questions
What books are like The Day of the Jackal?
Terminal Rage by A.M. Khalifa, which Booklist called “a rousing cat-and-mouse game between two broken men.” Other classic picks are Forsyth’s own The Odessa File, Ken Follett’s Eye of the Needle and Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity.
Is Terminal Rage like The Day of the Jackal?
Both are duels between two professionals against a deadline. Terminal Rage is contemporary and international, with a hostage standoff at its heart.
Is there an audiobook?
Yes. Scott Brick narrates the unabridged audiobook, about 10.5 hours long.