The Day of the Jackal. Frederick Forsyth

I am in the moment. In my sights is the President of France. A legendary general. A man protected by an entire state. I have spent months getting here. New documents. A new name. A new face that will leave no trace in any file.

The secret services are looking for a fanatic. An ideologue. A man with a motive and a fire in his eyes. In vain. I am just an executor. Without a flag and convictions. Without a name that anyone knows. And that is why I am impossible to predict, because I believe in nothing but precision.

Somewhere in Paris right now there is a man who knows that a killer exists. He understands that every step I take is calculated, every detail is checked, and every possible mistake is ruled out before it even happens. He knows that I am watching him, because I have a “mole” in the police. The only question is, can he stop me?

My code name is The Jackal. And today is my day.

“The Day of the Jackal” is Frederick Forsythe’s debut novel, written in 35 days with journalistic precision, and has become a benchmark for political detective and techno-thriller, winning the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972).

The book tells the story of an intellectual duel between the killer Jackal and Commissioner Lebel, where minute-by-minute timing creates almost unbearable tension. The novel is so realistic that it is still studied by all the world’s leading secret services. It was even banned in some countries due to fears that it would become an “instruction” for real assassins. The cult status of the novel is confirmed by numerous film adaptations, where the image of the Jackal was embodied by world cinema stars — Edward Fox, Bruce Willis, and Eddie Redmayne.