June 18th

Excellent follow up to the first in the Reacher series. ( )

Second book in the Reacher series. An okay read, although not exactly a page turner. It seemed to be the typical read for these kinds of fiction books. I like that they didn't portray Reacher as a guy who's never afraid. The best scene was when he was squeezing himself through a tight, underground tunnel. ( )

(K)(1998)Jack Reacher gets caught up by accident in the kidnapping of Holly Johnson, daughter of a high ranking general. It turns out to be part of a militia group's attempt to seize control of part of Montana and bomb the Federal Reserve building in San Fransisco. Another good, well written thriller that, although long, was good right up to the end.(Library Journal) Jack Reacher is in both the wrong and the right place at the same time when FBI Special Agent and daughter of the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Holly Johnson is abducted from a Chicago street. It is the wrong place because Reacher, a former army major drifting around the country, is kidnapped as well. It is the right place because only he has the instincts to foil the complex, deadly plan of the kidnappers, a Montana militia group headed by a charismatic, brilliant, but psychotic leader. Child's tale, very well read by Dick Hill, engrossingly portrays Reacher's efforts to manipulate the captors; the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of the FBI, the army, and the White House; and the many unexpected roadblocks thrown in his path. Child devotes too much time, however, to the predictable rantings of the militia.

Considering Reacher is a mountain of a man whose physique and general demeanor are sufficient to repel any wrongdoer from start it is rather funny (and unbelievably stupid) that the main antagonists in the novel decide to take him up on a ride because he is witness to kidnapping.

I did not know this was second in the series but it shows - Reacher is more one-man army here than in follow up novels (I know, I know but believe me in this novel he is unstoppable).
With all of the above we do come across scenes where Reacher panics but his cool demeanor helps him fight the fear and gain upper hand in conflict.

This might put down some of the readers but I truly enjoyed it. It is standard lone-rider story with Reacher dealing deadly justice to psychotic militia in the wilderness of the USA while being considered to be one of the assailants by the law enforcement (which brings me back to the first statement of this review - man is walking weapon and everybody sees this except kidnappers... hilarious).

Good action thriller. Recommended.

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