Persuader (original 2003; edition 2003)

I'm glad I gave this a chance, because I ended up really enjoying it. The story was fast-paced and entertaining, like a good action movie but on paper.
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This first-person tale is a strong entry in the series. Child's Reacher books can always be counted on for hard-ass action, but this one shows a new hard-boiled artfulness to Child's approach, capturing the bittersweet tinge of tenderness that lies in the heart of every tough guy, and serving up some terse prose that, in a couple of action sequences, will make a fan of the genre laugh with delight.

Here's one: "I caught him with a wild left in the throat. It was a solid punch, and a lucky one. But not for him. It crushed his larynx. He went down on the floor again and suffocated. It was reasonably quick. About a minute and a half. There was nothing I could do for him. I'm not a doctor."

Reacher is at his best when his emotions are engaged. Particularly those emotions that require vengeance, and the dark thrill of taking out the baddest guys. The ones who can't be suffered to live. And that's what we get here. Reacher in full avenging mode. ( )

This bad-ass walks around with an anaconda in his pants (apparently, that's a type of revolver but it's still pretty impressive)

He has an AOL device hidden in his shoe. He says nothing a lot. So does everyone else in this novel.

I'm not cut out for crime fiction. It bugs me. ( )

Getting involved in an off the books DEA operation wasn't on Reacher's to-do list, but when he spots a dead man's face in the crowd, he's on board. Undercover, out numbered with his cover unraveling, Reacher's determined to find some answers. And this time make sure the dead man stays dead.

There's no one quite like Reacher for pure bloody - very bloody - determination. ( )

Description from Fantastic Fiction:

Never forgive, never forget. That's Jack Reacher's standard operating procedure. And Francis Xavier Quinn was the worst guy he had ever met. He had done truly unforgivable things. So Reacher was glad to know he was dead. Until the day he saw him, alive and well, riding in a limousine outside Boston's Symphony Hall.

Never apologize. Never explain. When Reacher witnesses a brutal attempt to kidnap a terrified young student on a New England campus, he takes the law into his own hands. That's his way, after all. Only this time, a cop dies, and Reacher doesn't stick around to explain. Has he lost his sense of right and wrong? Just because this time, it's personal?

My Thoughts:

Jack Reacher is such a great character and I wouldn’t say no to him. He is such a sexy guy, and I would want him on my side if there were any trouble.

I have read the first book and picked this one up by chance, number seven in the series and been a stickler for reading in order I felt that this time it wasn’t necessary. This book could have been read as a stand alone as I didn’t get the feel that I had missed anything by not reading the other five inbetween. I did feel however that this book was very much like the first. I have been told that if you have read one then you have read them all. Different scenerio but the main skeleton of the book is the same, Jack Reacher drifting along minding his own buisness, gets into a situation to help out, bang bang, shoot em up, your dead !

The book offers plenty of action, the body count soon adds up very quickly, and there is a love interest along the way. The book has plenty to offer but is very action packed but I can’t help thinking have I now read enough, but part of me wants to see more of Jack. ( )