A Wanted Man
Ratings78
Average rating3.7
Vacation reads #4
Book 3 of the Virginia miniseries. Lovely setup. A couple of Reacher tropes.
Just a note: the main character has a broken nose throughout the book, the audiobook version does all his dialogue as though he has that broken nose. While technically accurate it's not the most pleasant vocalization to listen to for 14hrs. The narrator definitely has mad skills though for being able to do it.
This is a fairly good story, but some logical problems spoil it a bit. Unfortunately, it is far from the best Jack Reacher novel.
just OK Reacher novel. I'm working my way through these randomly and this one was probably the weakest one that I've read so far.
I'm not kidding you. If you only reads books from one author, only read one series, it should be this one series by Lee Child.
Jack Reacher is one of the best fictional badasses that has ever graced a page. He's freaking scary smart, can't stand someone being wronged (especially women and children, but men too - at least good men). He kicks ass. Literally. And he gets revenge. He gives people what they deserve. But what I really love the most about him? He has morals. He can't just walk away when he knows he can do something about it. The best example of that:
“It gives me some kind of chance to survive the night.”
“How are those better odds? If you come back with me, you're guaranteed to survive the night.”
“No,” Reacher said. “If I come back with you, I'm guaranteed to die of shame.”
These books are getting funnier as well. The longer Reacher is out of the military, the more his dry humor comes out.
‘Reacher had no patience for people who claimed that y was a vowel.' For some reason that struck me as funny.
My favorite lines had to do with an annoying motel clerk.
“It's the FBI, for the man with the broken nose. That would be you, I suppose.”
Reacher said, “Pretty soon it could be either one of us, if you don't stop yapping at me.”
and
‘She hadn't shot the fat man. She was clearly a person of considerable patience.'
The story is fast and there is almost always something important happening. And there's always this big conspiracy or crime going on (of course, otherwise what would be the point?), but it's almost like a backstory. The story is not about the crime or the mystery to be solved. The story is how Reacher reacts to that story and the hell he brings upon the criminals.
It's truly a sight to behold.
Despite the fact that I'd written 2 paragraphs of this while writing it, I had a really hard time coming up with something to say here. This is about the most reliable series I know – how do you say something new and/or interesting about Old Faithful? Every 60-110 minutes it goes off, you can count on it. Every year or so, Lee Child let's Jack Reacher go off. This is not a problem at all for the reader – far from it – but it's a pain in the rear if you're trying to write about it.
The greatest strength of this series is how different each novel/adventure is, totally unlike the rest – and yet each is quintessentially Reacher. There's an unmistakable feel to reading about everyone's favorite nomadic ex-MP.
This time out, Reacher's still hitchhiking his way to Virginia – the same trip he started shortly after 61 Hours, and is picked up by two men and a woman on their way back from a corporate retreat (he assumes). He starts to notice a few things not quite right about the way they're acting, but on page 33 he says, “Not my problem.” Which pretty much guarantees we'll be spending the next 400 pages dealing with these people.
So what makes this one different from all the rest? It's the twistiest, turniest Reacher in ages (if not ever). Like any good suspense writer, Child specializes in throwing a good curveball or five at you in the course of a novel – but (again, this is common with the best) usually you can look back at what's come before and see where that plot twist came from. But there were a couple of turns in this one that took me totally by surprise. Not that Child cheated at all, or used a Deus ex machina, or the like. Just honest, out of the blue, surprises. I would've enjoyed the novel without those touches, but having them was a pleasant bonus.
I'm really looking forward to this next adventure – Reacher's worked harder to get to Virginia this time than we've seen him before. He's had a goal longer than we're used to. I expect a humdinger of a read next time – and who knows?* Maybe it'll be worth more than just one.
* who knew? Actually got to use the word “humdinger.”
The Jack Reacher novels are always enjoyable, and this one was no exception. Once again he finds himself thrown into a situation where it's kill or be killed. I wonder though how much longer he can live this life. He's not getting any younger.
I always enjoy a Reacher read, but this one lost me in the middle. Maybe I was just distracted, thinking of Tom Cruise as Reacher...yechhh.