Die Trying

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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. I have also been following the “Women’s Murder Club” series by James Patterson and, fortunately, each story follows on from the previous one and it is fairly easy to keep up with the changes. It's one thing to suspend belief, it's another thing to suspend disbelief. I would have kept the story line about the process of dealing with a hostage to be more realistic. I don't care if you supported Bush I, Clinton, Bush II or Obama (the book is from the 90s, but in some ways is timeless), the reaction of political and military leaders in the plot is beyond belief and totally incompetent. 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. 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.

Reacher doesn’t agree to those terms and even tries to escape, but eventually decides to at least look into the situation. It’s a decision that could cost him his life. I very much appreciated that the female character featuring in this story (Holly) was a strong, brave, intelligent woman, totally badass in her own right. She played a good supporting role. As part of his punishment, Reacher and Holly are sent into the woods to bury the body of the undercover FBI agent. Reacher warns Holly that the militia is planning something big and it is to take place on the Fourth of July. At the same time, the FBI and Holly's father have set up a command post a few miles from the camp, despite the fact that the President has refused to allow them to take a rescue party into the camp. That night, Reacher escapes from the punishment cabin and begins to explore the camp. Reacher finds the abandoned mine where the militia keep their vehicles and discovers that they have stolen a military caravan transporting missiles. I enjoyed this a little less than book one ( Killing Floor) in terms of plot, but that's mostly due to the fact that the whole dangerous militia group thing annoys the shit out of me as a rule. Spying/Terrorism Thriller - Yes Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: - kidnap/rescue Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult BookI 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 Christmas Scorpion: Reacher is spending the holidays in the California desert. It’s Christmas Eve and he finds himself in a roadhouse with a bartender, an elderly couple, and two members of the British Royal Military Police. The officers tell Reacher they were escorting a VIP to a top-secret meeting, but have since lost their charge. The threat is coming from a notorious assassin known as the Christmas Scorpion. It will take a Christmas miracle to save their charge and Santa brought Reacher.

A series of books can be a daunting prospect. Do you have to begin at the beginning? Which book is the first one? Which book is the best one? Are there sub-plots or sub-series to tap into first? The questions are many and the answers are not always straightforward, but we’re here to help bring some clarity to this confusion. The evidence points to a soldier from a local military base who has someone powerful friends that could help to cover up something like this. Reacher meets with the local sheriff who is looking for justice in this case, but the two are uncertain if they can trust each other. As Reacher looks to uncover the truth, there are others trying to bury it forever. He’ll end up uncovering a conspiracy that threatens his faith in his mission and turns him into the scary man that readers know well. Then there was the bad guy. He is apparently the leader of a cult. What do all cult leaders have in common? They are charismatic. Child paints this guy like a cross between Bo Radley & Hannibal Lector. Who would follow such a person? Most would cross the street at the sight of him.

Nothing to Lose: Like the singer in the classic Suicidal Tendencies song just wanted a Pepsi, Reacher just wants a cup of coffee. Just one cup of coffee, but he ends up finding himself in a world of trouble. Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. One of those men is John Kott, an American marksman who went rogue. Kott is out of prison and unaccounted for, likely headed for the G8 Summit to take out other world leaders. Reacher is the man who stopped him before and now he’ll have to do it again. What she has to tell him is a story of a man they served with’s brutal death and the killer isn’t finished. Reacher gets together with the other survivors of his elite team as they try to put together the pieces of this puzzle. Their trail leads them to more missing comrades, the city of Las Vegas, and the dark world of international terrorism. The message is what draws their attention as the courier states that an American wants one hundred million dollars. They don’t know who is asking, who they are asking from, or what they are giving in return; and this group is tasked with finding all that out. Time isn’t on their side and all they know is that they need to find this man before an epic act of terrorism is committed. Their mission will send them from Langley to Hamburg, Jalalabad to Kiev as they try to stop this act of terror.

I thank you for your time in reading my comments – please feel free to publish them if you feel that this would be of some use to other readers – otherwise, this communication is for your eyes only so that you do not receive further criticism. This is told in the third person, which is necessary, as there are times when Reacher isn’t with the kidnap victim, and we need to know what’s happening with her. 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.After Reacher fails to takes 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. Under normal circumstances, Holly would be well-equipped to handle herself. She is one of the strongest female characters to appear in this series, but with her bum knee, which she injured in a soccer game, she could use a little help. Reacher, of course, is there to provide it, and he and Holly together will have to struggle mightily both to defend Holly's virtue and to prevent the militiamen from accomplishing their objectives. His journey will take him through small towns, the middle of nowhere, and the Wyoming wilderness. As he digs deeper into his search, things get more dangerous for him. The ring is just a link on a chain that leads Reacher to a vast criminal enterprise. It is so far fetched that you can't even pretend any of the events could possibly be remotely true. 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.