Sad Wind from the sea -- The first "Jack Higgins" book published

I have been spending too much time again over at Ben Boulden's excellent Grave Tappings blog site. (Do come back here after) And I read again his review of Sad Wind From The Sea which was the first Harry Patterson (later to be known, and almost exclusively by his most successful pen-name, as Jack Higgins) As a recovering Jack Higgins addict, I was wary and never have been too fond of his very early books. Also I wasn't sure if I had read "Sad Wind" before and forgotten it or if not, did I really want to be such a completist. I finally tracked down an old British library copy and am glad I have now read it. It was surprisingly mature. There were some rough edges, but the early seventies Jack Higgins/James Graham style seems to be mostly in place already. I know he revisited some of his books later, but if this was untouched then it was a remarkable preview of his potential and the possibilities of being an even better and more interesting writer. In some ways, while "The Eagle Has Landed" was his big breakthough to actual best seller status, I don't know if his writing every really recovered. He started recycling prevoius material at an ever more repetitive rate and his treatment of serious topics became less measured. More on that another time.