I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Persuader
by
Lee Child
It is part of the , series and is a thriller in Paperback edition on May 19, 2009 and has 480 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Killing Floor, Die Trying, "Second Son", Tripwire, Running Blind, Echo Burning, Without Fail, The Enemy, One Shot, The Hard Way, Bad Luck and Trouble, Nothing to Lose, Gone Tomorrow, 61 Hours, Worth Dying For, The Affair, A Wanted Man, "Deep Down", Never Go Back, "High Heat", Personal, Make Me, "Small Wars", Night School, MatchUp, The Midnight Line, Past Tense, No Middle Name, The Hero, Blue Moon, "Cleaning the Gold"
Tenth chronologically in the Jack Reacher thriller series (and seventh publication-wise) revolving around a retired MP roaming the country and rescuing the threatened. What can I say? Reacher just hates “big smug people who think they can get away with things”.
My Take
Reacher is hot for vengeance and talk about TENSION. Sneaky, too. A grand scheme to get Reacher inside the house so he can search for a missing agent. A plan with so many ways it could backfire…and it does in ways expected and not.
Duke’s got some cheek, dissin’ on Reacher just ’cause he killed a cop. I don’t think his record holds up very well. These bad guys are careful, though. All sorts of tests to see what kind of man Reacher is. It was so clever how Reacher and his crew got around their “failsafes”.
Child certainly does give value for money, LOL! The situation inside the house is so twisted. Nothing is as it seems.
Well, that’s certainly something I’ve never considered. The fashion sense of drug dealers with the latest must-have jacket, shoes, or gun. Yeah…why didn’t Reacher ever check out the mechanic?
What does a “big girl’s blouse” mean??
Yet another excellent Reacher tale— even though it’s not my favorite. Whewwww.
The Story
It’s a kidnapping. Smooth, clean until Jack Reacher steps in to interfere, but it all goes to hell when he accidentally shoots a cop. The kid’s safe and Reacher just wants to dump the kid at the nearest bus station as soon as possible. Sooner if he can. He’s gotta get outta town before the cop’s body is found.
Richard, however, panics. He can’t. It isn’t safe. Please. He promises that his father will keep him safe. He’ll help. Just get him home.
Just the way they planned it.
The Characters
Jack Reacher retired from the army a few years ago when they were shrinking it down. He’d never had the opportunity to see the country he protected. Now he hitchhikes or takes the bus wherever his fancy strikes. Always there is someone in need of Reacher’s kind of help.
Richard Beck is terrified of being kidnapped again. Elizabeth Beck is his mother, a housewife with much bigger concerns. His father, Zachary Beck, is a rug importer. Meeting a big player from L.A. which brings him onto the DEA’s radar.
Duke is in charge of the Becks’ security. Angel Doll is more security and more dangerous with his inquiring mind. Paulie is the security on the gate and way bigger than Reacher and no sense of pain. Only, he takes a lot of liberties and doesn’t seem to actually work for Beck. And he has got a hard-on for Reacher. Harley is also security who doesn’t work for Beck. Cold bastard.
Susan Duffy and Steven Eliot are DEA. Tipped off through Reacher’s request for a friend to run a plate. They’d like to make a deal with Reacher to help them rescue a colleague, Teresa Daniels. Terry Villanueva is the member of the team who played cop.
Francis Xavier Quinn was a traitor whom Reacher thought he’d killed. A lieutenant colonel working in Military Intelligence and specializing in the Middle East. Smart. Ruthless. A butcher. Dominique Kohl was a promising sergeant first class. Smart, intuitive. And Reacher refused to sleep with her since he was her CO. Lieutenant Anthony Frasconi is working with Kohl. He’s solid, but not too bright. Gorowski is the traitor they’re watching.
The Cover and Title
The cover is the reader looking through a windshield damaged from a single point of impact. The view is of a long lonely highway, flat land on either side of it, and either a mountain range or a forest in the distance.
The title refers to the gun Reacher and company discover in Beck’s warehouse, a Persuader. And from the sound of it, it only takes one shot.
I love Lee Child! Jack Reacher is one of my favorite characters ever!