Jack Reacher brings the fight home! (The Hard Way - Lee Child)

Member Name: david_1967

Product:	The Hard Way - Lee Child
Date:	05/03/08 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast-paced, rugged story-telling with a dark and moody hero

Disadvantages: You're not Jack the Man! Aimed mainly at a male clientelle.

Lee Child is an ex-pat. Traitor! Originally from Coventry he moved his family from their home in Cumbria and relocated across the pond in New York having lost his job in television where he has since become the author of twelve novels - each of them featuring the indomitable Jack Reacher.

In this, his 10th book, Reacher, the ex-military policeman, witnesses a transaction involving the handing over of a million dollars and, as a consequence, is hired by Edward Lane, director of a private miltary company, whose wife and stepchild have been kidnapped. As he searches for any clues as to the whereabouts of the two abductees he learns that the director is keeping a few secrets of his own and is not everything he is cracked up to be. He is aided in his search by a beautiful ex-FBI investigator turned private detective and together they attempt to uncover the truth. Their search leads them across the Atlantic to the quiet, sleepy English countryside where the only dead bodies are usually those left lying in the road.

So, who is Jack Reacher? He is the man all men wish to be! Over six foot tall, built like the preverbial sh*t-house, blue eyes, fair haired loner wandering from town to town, stumbling across murder, mystery and females wherever he goes. He is also the man all women want their men to be! Over six foot tall, strong as an ox, deep blue windows to the soul, fair-haired with a touch of mystery and a smoking gun.

The stories are fast-paced, witty and definately aimed at the '24' generation of men who often dream of themselves as Jack Bauer - the man who, deep on many levels, is all 'it' with the ladies and also has the ability to snap the neck of some marauding terrorist at twenty paces. The book is written in the third person but some of the previous titles featuring the dashing hero have been penned in the first person (which I prefer). 'The Hard Way' is not one of his better books for me but does continue the Reacher tales with enough violence to keep the pages turning.

Every one of Lee Child's stories are very good escapist fun with enough wise-cracks and dead bodies to keep even the hardest to please gentleman happily occupied while the soaps are on for these are definately aimed at a male audience.

It is available in used condition from 0.01p on Amazon which is a great price for an author who does not write a bad book - only better ones.

This review is also on Ciao.

Summary: A fast-paced story written by a consumate author