Past Tense, by Lee Child

This book has four simultaneous threads happening: Reacher investigating his father, Reacher being targeted by the mob, Reacher being targeted by a group of local thugs, and a Canadian couple being held against their will in a strange motel. The last thread takes up maybe half the pages, and Reacher doesn't actually get involved until around chapter 35. A lot of suspense in this part of the story as we don't really understand what is happening to the couple until just before Reacher stumbles (fairly spectacularly) onto the scene. The mystery around Reacher's father is the most interesting of the four threads, and had a fairly satisfying solution. Oddly, the thread with the mob doesn't really get resolved, but everything else does, more or less. While this is one of the weaker Reacher novels, it is still pretty good.

First Sentence:

Jack Reacher caught the last of the summer sun in a small town on the coast of Maine, and then, like the birds in the sky above him, he began his long migration south.

A Wanted Man, by Lee Child

In Gone Tomorrow Jack Reacher finds himself in a NYC subway car with a suicide bomber. In Die Trying he is accidentally kidnapped. Here in A Wanted Man he hitches a ride in a car with three mysterious strangers during a statewide manhunt for a vicious killer. Reacher has some of the worst luck I've ever seen, but it sure does make for entertaining novels!

This is a good story, with virtually everyone the reader meets keeping a secret of some sort. Starting with a bizarre murder in rural Nebraska Child weaves a pretty good tale filled with twists; we know Reacher is in the car with the killers, but as he doesn't the suspense ratchets up well. Initially the storytelling is split between Reacher's POV and the murder investigation, eventually joining up for the second half. There are some pretty unbelievable twists but in the spirit of an action thriller I can let them go. The strangest scene was when Reacher communicates in a fairly ridiculous code using eye blinks and head nods to spell words. I can't imagine trying to drive a car at highway speeds at night while staring in the rear-view mirror and counting eye blinks; even for Reacher this seemed a bit much.

Also included is a short story "Deep Down" that is set in the late-eighties when Reacher was still in the Army. I like these glimpses into the past, and this one in particular tells how he earned his prestigious Legion of Merit award. While it wouldn't be a Reacher story without a few busted heads, the bulk of this is about an undercover investigation into a possible traitor. Workmanlike but entertaining—I can't imagine this story encouraging me to read other Reacher novels, but having already developed a fondness for the character I quite liked it.

As an aside, I recently saw the Tom Cruise movie Jack Reacher (based on the novel One Shot) and quite enjoyed it—but the 5'7" clean-cut Cruise didn't fit my image of the character. "Reacher was a big man, six feet five inches tall, heavily built, and that night as always he looked a little ragged and unkempt." Great movie, but I'm still waiting to see the Reacher I've read about on the big screen.

First Sentence:

The eyewitness said he didn't actually see it happen.

Worth Dying For, by Lee Child

Reacher has become one of my favorite characters over the past few years and Worth Dying For doesn’t disappoint. As usual, he doesn’t go looking for trouble, but it certainly finds him. When he runs into a drunk doctor in Nebraska refusing to treat what is almost certainly a case of domestic abuse, Reacher wades with both fists wailing and changes a county for the better, solving a twenty-five year old child abduction case as well. The ending is never in doubt, but the path from A to B is suspenseful and exciting.

A solid story and great characters are the hallmarks of Child’s novels, but I must admit I was a bit frustrated at the cold open. In the previous episode Reacher was caught in an explosion that he seemed unlikely to survive. Here, we find him simple wandering into a motel for a cup of coffee and cheap bed for the night with no explanation of how he escaped—much less avoiding the aftermath undetected. Didn’t hurt the story at all, but Child needs to figure out if these books are going to be isolated tales of cowboy justice or if they are truly a progression through time.

First Sentence:

Eldridge Tyler was driving a long straight two-lane road in Nebraska when his cell phone rang.

61 Hours, by Lee Child

This Reacher novel has a new gimmick, but one that doesn’t work all that well. An omnipotent countdown runs throughout the novel (hence the title), with most chapters ending on a sentence like, “Thirty-seven hours to go.” I think the idea was to build suspense, but it felt artificial and forced to me. I also thought the identity of the inevitable traitor was entirely too obvious—usually Child does a much better job of obscuring this sort of thing.

That said, I quite enjoyed it. The main puzzle was interesting and the long-distance relationship Reacher builds with the new commander of his former unit hinted at a fascinating new ally in future books. The ending brought another first to the Reacher novels: a cliffhanger. Considering the next book has already been released the fate of Reacher isn’t in doubt, but how he escapes...

First Sentence:

Five minutes to three in the afternoon.

Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child

Jack Reacher is a drifter. While he recognizes that isn’t a widely respected avocation, he believes that everyone deserves a degree of respect. When he visits Despair, Colorado and can’t even get a cup of coffee without being assaulted by the cops Reacher retaliates in the only way he knows how: violently.

This episode was a little different than most of the other Reacher novels in that our hero isn’t trying to help someone else solve a mystery; instead, he stumbles across something that doesn’t ring true and investigates on his own. It builds into seemingly two different puzzles; I really liked that Child didn’t try and tie the two together somehow as most author’s would, but instead has Reacher realize they are unrelated and proceed accordingly. Despite being a bit more preachy than usual and an unrealistic ending (even for Reacher!), I still quite enjoyed this novel—as expected!

First Sentence:

The sun was only half as hot as he had known sun to be, but it was hot enough to keep him confused and dizzy.

Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child

On a nearly deserted New York City subway car at 2am, Jack Reacher spots a suicide bomber. Reacher prevents the bomb from detonating but not the suicide; the resulting investigation uncovers dozens of people that all seem to be lying. And Reacher hates lies—let the mayhem begin!

Reacher has become one of my favorite characters in recent memory. The settings veer wildly between Reacher in the middle of nowhere to the middle of NYC, but they all seem to work. Pure escapist fiction, but perfect for an airplane ride or for a lazy weekend afternoon.

First Sentence:

Suicide bombers are easy to spot.

Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child

I’d mentioned earlier that I was looking forward to a time that some of the secondary characters returned and teamed up. In Bad Luck and Trouble I got my wish! Reacher reunites with half his former MP unit to investigate the disappearance of the other half. The team is as quirky and brilliant as Reacher, but each member unique in his or her own right. You really got the feel this was a group of old friends reuniting, with a rich history only hinted at.

Coupled with the interesting mystery and fantastic personalities, Child’s humor was in rare form. My favorite passage:

“You tell a lot of lies, Ms. Berenson,” he said.
Neagley said, “She’s Human Resources. It’s what they do.”

It is funny because it is true! Escapist fiction of the best kind, Child continues to deliver high quality entertainment.

First Sentence:

The man was called Calvin Franz and the helicopter was a Bell 222.

Running Blind, by Lee Child

This is one of the most conniving mysteries Child has crafted yet. A serial killer is killing harassment victims and Reacher fits the profile of the villain. The FBI first arrests him, and then co-opts him into helping with the investigation. This novel is unlike the other Reacher novels in many ways. We get a periodic view of things from the POV of the killer. Reacher owns a house and a car and is easily found by the FBI. Several large red herrings (normally all threads tie together in a Child novel; here they are all tied up but several are orthogonal to the main plot). Almost no gunfire, and very little in the way of fighting. Highly suspenseful, though, and very brutal in its own right even without the overt violence.

One of the things I really liked was the author gave a plausible reason for Reacher not sharing his theories of the crime. Detectives in books like this never share because that would spoil things for the reader, but here it is explained away due to the rocky relationship with the FBI. Reacher resents being forced to collaborate and thus refuses to talk more than he has to. Simple. The one part of this that didn’t ring true, though, was the poor FBI relationship in the first place. In a chronologically earlier novel Reacher did the FBI a huge solid, saving a Bureau rising star and earning the thanks of the Director himself. Here, Reacher is bullied and blackmailed into helping solve a case by that same organization. Going from gratitude to outright hostility seems unlikely at best, especially for an organization with a long memory like the FBI.

First Sentence:

People say that knowledge is power.

Echo Burning, by Lee Child

Another Reacher novel, another winner. Set in Far West Texas, Reacher gets mixed up with an abused wife that asks him to do her a favor: kill her husband. From there a mystery slowly unfolds that is truly puzzling, leading to the inevitable shoot-em-up at the conclusion. The ending is quite predictable, but the journey there is fun.

I live in Texas, and I love it. Austin is a wonderful city: vibrant, alive, and largely accepting of varying lifestyles. The Texas described in Echo Burning is not at all like that: dusty and dry, filled with cowboys, with bigotry and racism a way of life. Sadly, I know this stereotype still exists in all to many parts of the state (not to mention rural areas everywhere), but I dislike reading one-sided portrayals like this. The only redeeming character other than Reacher was a lesbian, vegetarian, attorney from Harvard—about as far from a southern redneck as you can get. I hope at some point Reacher ends up in Austin where a different sort of Texas can be shared.

First Sentence:

There were three watchers, two men and a boy.

Die Trying, by Lee Child

This is easily the weakest Reacher novel I’ve read yet. It has all the action and mystery of the others, but the villain’s motivation simply didn’t make any sense to me. Painted as a typical one-dimensional right-wing militia crackpot, the bad guy kidnaps a young FBI agent as insurance against his plot to secede. This never seemed even remotely plausible and Child didn’t sell it well. That said, the initial hook was great, with Reacher an accidental kidnapping victim, and when the FBI starts to investigate they decide he is the ringleader of the plot which makes every character in the book against him. Combined with a mole in the FBI feeding information to the militia (and Child’s tendency in other books to kill off major characters), the suspense grows right to the final showdown. While still thoroughly enjoyable and exciting, I’m still glad this wasn’t my first Reacher novel.

First Sentence:

Nathan Rubin died because he got brave.

Without Fail, by Lee Child

Jack Reacher is a badass. This novel opens with him being asked to find the holes in the security detail for the Vice President of the United States by planning a theoretical assassination. In most stories with this plot the attempt actually takes place and the hero is framed for the act, but the author doesn’t fall into this common pit. Instead he is taken into the inner circle of the Secret Service and the action keeps accelerating from there. Without Fail is a real page turner building to a satisfying conclusion. I’ve become a huge fan of Child’s work and look forward to the next one!

First Sentence:

They found out about him in July and stayed angry all through August.

One Shot, by Lee Child

A suburban assassin kills five people in a public plaza in Indiana, but is captured that same day. All he will say upon arrest though, is, “They got the wrong guy. Get Jack Reacher for me.” Child has some great hooks in his Reacher novels, but this one is one of my favorites. The mystery of why a killer with mounds of evidence pointed at him asks for a former investigator instead of a lawyer and the secondary problem of what really happened are both quite compelling. While we clearly know that Reacher is going to be fine at the conclusion, several of his colleagues are placed in real jeopardy and because Child doesn’t use many recurring characters the tension is palpable. It is a shame that Child doesn’t have more people reappear in later novels actually; he rivals Parker (of Spenser fame) for creating interesting secondary personae and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing some of these folks in more than one novel.

First Sentence:

Friday.

The Hard Way, by Lee Child

In The Hard Way Reacher gets involved with a group of ex-military goons running a private investigation into the kidnapping of the group’s leader’s wife and daughter. What started as professional courtesy, though, turns more sinister when Reacher discovers the first wife was also kidnapped five years ago, ending in a murder. Until the exciting conclusion this is less violent than previous outings but more than makes up for it with the puzzles Reacher has to solve during his sleuthing. Intelligent and clever are words that apply to both the book and the hero; Child has another winner here.

First Sentence:

Jack Reacher ordered espresso, double, no peel, no cube, foam cup, no china, and before it arrived at his table he saw a man’s life change forever.

Persuader, by Lee Child

Another Jack Reacher novel, another winner. The first chapter is a roller-coaster ride with Reacher accidentally shooting a cop while foiling a kidnapping, and it doesn’t slow down after that. Child weaves two gripping stories together, one in the present and flashbacks of the past. The two come together with the revelation that the villain in both is the same supposedly already dead man. There were many clues along the way that didn’t appear to make sense, but a twist towards the end neatly explained them all in a way that was truly surprising and not at all contrived. Entertaining and well-written, this is a perfect novel for an afternoon escape.

First Sentence:

The cop climbed out of his car exactly four minutes before he got shot.

The Enemy, by Lee Child

New Year's Eve, 1989 going on 1990. The Cold War is over and the U.S. Military is in limbo, not sure of its role in the new world order. Against this backdrop, a general is found dead in a sleazy no-tell motel 300 miles away from where he was supposed to be. From there we discover the general's wife also murdered and hints at a much, much larger conspiracy. My second Jack Reacher novel, this one was even better than the first. In that novel Reacher was a recently discharged MP; this one is set in his past when he was still at the top of his game. With a breakneck pace and a reasonably believable finish, this was a fun read.

First Sentence:

As serious as a heart attack.

Killing Floor, by Lee Child

This book introduces Jack Reacher, a former Military Policeman that served with the Army’s Special Investigations Unit. After mustering out of the army, he spends his time exploring America, drifting from town to town with no real plan: Rambo without a psychotic break. The story starts with a bang: Reacher gets arrested on the first page for a crime he didn’t commit. The running commentary of everything the officers did correctly and incorrectly for the first couple of chapters was hilarious; it also served to demonstrate just how good Reacher is. The plot was interesting although not terribly complicated. It struck me as overly naive in a couple of places (“They couldn’t prove something had happened if it hadn’t happened.”) and the twist of having Reacher’s brother appear in a middle-of-nowhere Georgia town stretched reason fairly thin. That said, the action rolls along quickly and the characters are quite enjoyable. This is the first Reacher novel, but it won’t be my last.

First Sentence:

I was arrested in Eno’s Diner, at twelve o’clock.