Die Trying (Jack Reacher, Book 2)

Product Information

Sort of reminded me of John D. MacDonald’s 1979 Travis McGee novel The Green Ripper, and there are similarities between Reacher and McGee, but obliquely and MacDonald is the more thoughtful writer. While Child has Reacher making some astute social and cultural observations, this is nowhere near the level of subtly intellectual commentary MacDonald was able to pull off. There’s also plenty of writing surrounding marksmanship and Child does some nifty work describing the ballistics in a technical fashion that is fun to read. A suspenseful, professional-grade north country procedural whose heroine, a deft mix of compassion and attitude, would be welcome to return and tie up the gaping loose end Box leaves. The unrelenting cold makes this the perfect beach read. This was so bad. I started out really enjoying this series, but I'm losing interest. It's disappointing.

Add to this Child's punchy, staccato writing style, the deep thought analysis of Reacher calculating situations and the excellent action sequences I can easily rate this five stars very happily. The sniper sequences in his books I've always enjoyed and in Die Trying there is an absolute doozy. On the other hand . . . the plot is bonkers. Really bonkers and if you put your plot hole pedant's hat on you will be like a pig in the proverbial rolling around for hours before you are finished. I can also well imagine some finding the narration a bit monotone even though I think it just fits perfectly. Besides, accepting just made Reacher look stupid. He's supposed to be the tough, logical operator. Time is wasting. Take care of business, have tender moments & take care of nerves afterward. I did like this one a lot more than Killing Floor. It helped that Reacher is thrown into a scenario more fitting of an action hero rather than splitting time trying to play detective. Switching from the first person narrative to third person here is also a big improvement s because rather than the main character telling us how awesome he is we get to either see it or have it relayed from an outsider’s perspective.The series has been highly praised by Stephen King and Jeffery Deaver – the best endorsements a thriller writer can get Awaiting Holly is a psychotic killer who is referred to as the commander by his followers. He is also building a room from which nobody can escape. How many girls will he meet over his lifetime, and he is already late thirties, so being the impatient person that I am, I am unable to stay in the moment and am fast forwarding quite rapidly. Reacher will always save the day, if he stuffs up he realises straight away and will always know how to right the wrong. The author knows a lot about weapons and military, I find this is interesting. I know nothing about this stuff but I feel I am in safe hands. Holly specializes in finance and has a resume to die for, but she feels like she is always walking in her father's shadow, a high ranking member at the white house and her Godfather is the president himself. So, Holly makes a very nice bargaining chip.

NATHAN RUBIN DIED because he got brave. Not the sustained kind of thing that wins you a medal in a war, but the split-second kind of blurting outrage that gets you killed on the street. he’d lived and served all over the world most of his life. Outside the United States. It had left him knowing his own country about as well as the average seven-year-old knows it. So he couldn’t decode the subtle rhythms and feel and smells of America as well as he wanted to.” Still, the flaws here are the kinds of things you’d expect from the genre and not the pure stupidity of the first book. That makes me think that maybe this series is worth a read after all. This time around Reacher is at the wrong place at the wrong time (and I’m guessing this will be a ubiquitous narrative device moving forward) and gets mixed up in some domestic terrorist assholery that also involves high levels of government. There’s plenty of fists and lead flying, blood and gore and big explosions.To be honest, I don’t know how to write this review without giving the story all away, so I think I’d better stop right here. This is a book that you need to read it for yourself. After Reacher fails to take advantage of an opportunity to escape during the night, Holly insists that he let her handle things. However, she ends up owing him when, during another stay, one of the kidnappers, Peter Bell, tries to rape her. Reacher breaks free of his restraints, kills Bell, hides his body, and re-restrains himself before the others become suspicious. Holly finally and reluctantly accepts his help after this.

The thing I love about Lee Child's writing is that it matches his protag to a tee. Short and snappy offerings, says what needs to be said without fanfare, and delivered with wit and a smoothness that only Mr Reacher can get away with. Smooth as a whistle. As cool as a cucumber. But he delivers cooler word usage than this, that's for sure. The handgun was a nine-millimeter automatic. It was brand-new. It was oiled. It was held low, lined up right on his old scar. The guy holding it looked more or less like he knew what he was doing. The safety mechanism was released. There was no visible tremor in the muzzle. No tension. The trigger finger was ready to go to work. Reacher could see that. He was concentrating hard on that trigger finger.b>The heroine(s): Holly - a young FBI agent from a well to do family. She works at the Chicago FBI Office doing forensic accounting. She is important to the people she works with because her efforts were putting away a lot of people that were previously hard to get. She recently hurt her knee playing soccer and walks with a crutch. I can wholeheartedly say that this book totally went above and beyond my expectations. It is a brilliant and intense mystery/thriller story with tons of action and several heart-stopping moments. If compared to the first book in the series, the plot is more complex and the characters have more depth. Surprisingly good! I can’t remember the last time I felt like my heart was going to burst from excitement while reading a book. Die Trying kept me on the edge of my seat the entire way through.