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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
One of the most atmospheric books in the series, 61 Hours places Reacher in a freezing South Dakota town, protecting a witness from a dangerous cartel. The countdown structure adds a unique tension, making every moment feel urgent. The ending is a shocking cliffhanger, which leads directly into the next book, making it one of the best-connected entries in the series. A definite favourite so far!
There presumably comes a time when, having written about the same guy for some 14 books (when 61 Hours was published) that a formula would become apparent to the ardent fan.
It certainly did with James Patterson, who was already treading water when London Bridges finally pulled the plug on what had started off as a great thriller series.
But not with Lee Child and Jack Reacher.
Not yet.
Aware that the character is well established, introductory paragraphs have long since fallen by the wayside — but also aware that a new reader could dive in at any stage, each book finds new ways and new places to introduce to the hero.
Something that, in this episode, actually made me smile.
Yes, I knew how he was going to be described, but man it was lovely to read.
The other credit that Child deserves is how each adventure is different, albeit within the same tight premise of Reacher being in a place he never planned on being, doing a thing he never planned on doing.
Like a fine wine, or in Reacher's case a good beer, yes you know what you're going to get, but each bottle is subtly different with fresh notes and a slightly different taste.
To further mutilate an already tortured analogy, 61 Hours is a particularly cold beer with a clean crisp finish.
For this journey, Reacher finds himself in South Dakota in the depths of winter. And before long he's helping the local police protect a witness and find the mole.
All standard stuff for the man with no luggage.
And all this showcases Child's skill as a thriller writer.
One tense moment (the initial bus crash), leads to a more tense one (the police situation), leads to a more tense...
You get the idea.
But the skill, and the joy for the reader, is the pace at which this all unfolds.
The story builds slowly, takes hold of you gently, and just when you think you'll put the book down for a bit you realise you can't because you're hooked.
And it's not just the narrative that takes hold — the descriptions of the freezing conditions are so intense, so effective, that every time I stepped out into the cold, winter weather of the real world I was pleasantly with how warm it was given not half an hour before I was attempting to drive through frozen snow in sub-zero conditions.
On one occasion I genuinely wondered why Reacher was struggling so much because the roads seemed to actually be quite clear...
Child has given the world one of the most endearing characters of the modern age, and time spent with Reacher is always time well spent.
My one regret is not reading this particular volume the day it was published, as the stunning ending would have had more impact at that point.
It certainly did with James Patterson, who was already treading water when London Bridges finally pulled the plug on what had started off as a great thriller series.
But not with Lee Child and Jack Reacher.
Not yet.
Aware that the character is well established, introductory paragraphs have long since fallen by the wayside — but also aware that a new reader could dive in at any stage, each book finds new ways and new places to introduce to the hero.
Something that, in this episode, actually made me smile.
Yes, I knew how he was going to be described, but man it was lovely to read.
The other credit that Child deserves is how each adventure is different, albeit within the same tight premise of Reacher being in a place he never planned on being, doing a thing he never planned on doing.
Like a fine wine, or in Reacher's case a good beer, yes you know what you're going to get, but each bottle is subtly different with fresh notes and a slightly different taste.
To further mutilate an already tortured analogy, 61 Hours is a particularly cold beer with a clean crisp finish.
For this journey, Reacher finds himself in South Dakota in the depths of winter. And before long he's helping the local police protect a witness and find the mole.
All standard stuff for the man with no luggage.
And all this showcases Child's skill as a thriller writer.
One tense moment (the initial bus crash), leads to a more tense one (the police situation), leads to a more tense...
You get the idea.
But the skill, and the joy for the reader, is the pace at which this all unfolds.
The story builds slowly, takes hold of you gently, and just when you think you'll put the book down for a bit you realise you can't because you're hooked.
And it's not just the narrative that takes hold — the descriptions of the freezing conditions are so intense, so effective, that every time I stepped out into the cold, winter weather of the real world I was pleasantly with how warm it was given not half an hour before I was attempting to drive through frozen snow in sub-zero conditions.
On one occasion I genuinely wondered why Reacher was struggling so much because the roads seemed to actually be quite clear...
Child has given the world one of the most endearing characters of the modern age, and time spent with Reacher is always time well spent.
My one regret is not reading this particular volume the day it was published, as the stunning ending would have had more impact at that point.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Once again a lot of fun and action. I'm also positively surprised by the "romantic story line" in this one. It's also pretty ridiculous (like Reacher hearing the breast size of the woman by voice alone, which is just... sure thing, that totally happened), but I always feel like the romantic situations for Reacher are some of the weakest points of the book (maybe because I also don't read Reacher for that), so I actually thought it was nice this time around that all the relationship happened just by phone and Reacher and the woman were actually pretty similar in some ways, since she was his successor, so better than some of the other books (in my opinion) even though I wouldn't have needed the romance to be there at all.
Story itself was also pretty solid. The usual Reacher-stuff, with some things pretty easy to predict and some things not so much. Wasn't really surprised by a lot of things, but also never bored, and there wasn't really a point where I felt like somebody was just stupid on purpose, so that was nice as well. Had a good time!
Story itself was also pretty solid. The usual Reacher-stuff, with some things pretty easy to predict and some things not so much. Wasn't really surprised by a lot of things, but also never bored, and there wasn't really a point where I felt like somebody was just stupid on purpose, so that was nice as well. Had a good time!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Reacher is in good form here, but the story is fairly dull. There was a nice phone-only relationship between Reacher and an Army officer in Virginia — Reacher is stuck in frozen South Dakota for the whole 61 hours of the book, and he reaches out to the person in his own former command post because he needs someone inside the military to do some digging for him. Their phone calls are very enjoyable.
Otherwise, we have a powerful bad guy based in Mexico City, a bunch of police officers in a strangely large department (for such a small South Dakota town), a huge prison, some bikers, a witness to a shady deal, and a mysterious locked building on the outskirts of town. Finding out how they're all linked is the plot. Reacher hardly beats up anyone. The suspense part at the end is super-short.
So, not among the best — but still readable.
.
Otherwise, we have a powerful bad guy based in Mexico City, a bunch of police officers in a strangely large department (for such a small South Dakota town), a huge prison, some bikers, a witness to a shady deal, and a mysterious locked building on the outskirts of town. Finding out how they're all linked is the plot. Reacher hardly beats up anyone. The suspense part at the end is super-short.
So, not among the best — but still readable.
.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Near perfect Reacher. Probably my favorite mystery yet of the series - clear, concise, and twisty. I guessed some of the reversals, but it was still satisfying when they came. A little more action in the middle would not have been misplaced, but that wasn't detrimental to the story. Added bonus for having two great female characters with Janet Salter and Susan Turner that Reacher has a real relationship with.
Welcome to South Dakota! Another exciting read + an education on meth.