Reacher: Persuader

"Persuader" has everything you want in a Jack Reacher novel: tense action from page one; a satisfyingly twisty plot; sadistic, violent bad guys; an honourable, violent good guy; beautiful, competent women who need to be revenged or saved and lots and lots of detailed descriptions of guns.

This is the seventh book in the series and I think it is the best so far.

The "Persuader" title seems to be a reference to a shotgun that appears in the book and which has tremendous go-through-walls destructive power. The novel shares the destructive energy of the shotgun. The action explodes off the first page with an opening scene that will surprise and trouble Jack Reacher fans. After that, the clock is ticking and the pace doesn't let up until what show more needs to be done has been done.

Of course "Persuader" also refers to Jack Reacher himself, who also has the ability to bring destruction and death to those around him. In "Persuader" Reacher's body-count is almost as high as in the first book, "Killing Floor" but it's OK because they all deserve to be dead, "No doubt about it" as Reacher would say.

Two things make this book more interesting to me than some of its predecessors: the first is the writing. It is more confident and precise than before. The action scenes (and there are lost of them) are very well done, sometimes literally blow-by-blow. I enjoyed the way Lee Child establishes Reacher's silence as an act of will and an indicator of potential violence by constantly repeating the phrase "I said nothing." This normally goes something like

EVIL BAD GUY: spits out offensive comment
REACHER: I said nothing
EVIL BAD GUY: gloats and lears
REACHER I said nothing
EVIL BAD GUY: challenges Reacher's manhood and threatens beautiful and practical woman.
REACHER I said nothing. Then I cigarette punched him in the mouth and broke his jaw.

The second thing that makes this book stand out is that it tells two, connected, Reacher stories that happened ten years apart. The integration of the two plot lines is a skilful piece of story telling that also gives us the chance to see Reacher thinking about who he used to be.

If you have never read a Jack Reacher book, "Persuader" would be a great place to start. If you've read and enjoyed the previous six Reacher novels then you're in for a treat because something good just got better. show less

I continue to be astonished—but no longer surprised—by how good the Jack Reacher books are! This one, like the others, is taut, gripping, intense, and a hell of a page-turner. I ended up staying up far too late to finish the second half of this book all in one go, as I found it by that point impossible to put down.

It's been about a year since I read a Reacher book, so it may be that my memory is faulty. But a couple things surprised me because they at least seemed different from the others I've read. One is the heavy use of flashbacks, in which Reacher doles out pieces of the story that connects him to a person he meets by chance in the street, setting in motion all the events of the present. We expect, based on Reacher's reaction show more to that meeting, that the flashback story doesn't end well, and as we watch the present-day story unfold with lots of parallels, anticipation of that ending just ramps up the tension.

Another surprise to me was just how violent Reacher is. He kills a lot of people, deliberately and with prejudice, barehanded, with knives, and with guns. Some of them are clearly evil, others criminals who've escaped justice, but a few seem like nothing more than hired goons who went to work for the wrong guy, and could just as easily have been disarmed and knocked out. I think there's only one instance here of Reacher leaving someone alive when getting them out of his way. Is that how he acts in the other books, or is it caused here by the events in Reacher's past that make this a very personal story for him? I guess I'll find out when I read the next one.

One thing that did not surprise me, but which I'll mention because it recently came up in conversation with a friend, is Reacher's fallibility. There is apparently a thread of Internet criticism of the Reacher movies that complains that the movie character is nothing like the book, because (among other things) Reacher in the books is "perfect", and never makes mistakes. People with that claim must have read different books than I have (there are a lot in the series, after all), because Reacher definitely screws up. In this one, Reacher mentions "questions I wish I'd answered differently", and "Mistakes coming back to haunt me" starts to sound like a mantra in the second half of the book. What Reacher is, though—and this is a big part of the series's appeal to me—is competent. He's good at what he does, knows what he's not good at, and doesn't make the sort of nonsensical mistakes that only occur in order to generate plot in bad thrillers. Even the main bad guys are competent, with their main flaw tending to be underestimating Reacher. These books are great to dive into when you are tired of idiots.

To sum up, this isn't the kind of book I expect to ever read again, but man it was a good one to read, and I'm glad I did. show less

Did all kinds of chores around the house today, including taking an old toothbrush to the space between the tiles in my bathroom. I'm not very fond of housecleaning, but once in a while I get a fixation on a certain specific task and get it done as if it was an Olympic event. I also did lots of stuff around the kitchen which involved hours of pureeing foods and washing dishes. Anyhow, all that gave me ample time to finish listening to my latest serving of Lee Child, Persuader, which is the 7th book in the Jack Reacher series. I've come to expect lots of gripping, violent action and unputdownable thrills-a-minute from this series, along with more flirting an sex than any Sex and the City episode used to offer up, but somehow I found this show more one quite boring. Here, Reacher goes undercover within what is already an undercover 'off the books' government agency operation, presumably to rescue a female agent gone missing, but also to avenge the brutal murder of one of his former work colleagues (who happened to be a very attractive young woman and would-be lover) by killing a sadistic ex-military official gone rogue. Lots of gun descriptions, which were a yawn-fest for me, though obviously essential to the story since arms dealers played a large role, and somehow not all that much action, save for two major scenes which I guess made the price of admission worth the expense. I should make the effort to count how many times Child mentions 'he/she said nothing' in any one of his books. But I guess the music is in the space between the notes, or at least, that's what I remember reading somewhere. All the same, it took me just two days to finish this 14+ hour listen, and it did get me to do a lot more chores than I normally do in a six-month period, so it couldn't be all that bad, or at least, it won't keep me from moving on to the next book in the series, to which we get a free 20-minute preview presenting the next case in which a two star General is found dead from a massive heart attack with an empty condom still stuck to his appendage in a two-bit motel a few steps away from a sleazy girlie bar. Just right for when this old maid needs her next dose of testosterone-driven action.

My rating (2.75 stars) is based on my rating system in which three stars means 'enjoyed it (good)' and two stars mean 'it was just ok'. show less

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 show more 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. show less

I think this has to be my favorite Reacher story simply because it takes place, for the most part, outside of Portland, Maine. The ocean is always present so right away you can bet Reacher has to tangle with it at some point in the story. Of course he does. But, back to the plot. Reacher gets sucked into a compromising position, this time by his own accord. Ten years ago, a critical investigation went sideways and someone under Reacher's military command was horrifically murder. Up until present day Reacher had thought the killer was dead by his own hand. He witnessed a demise he thought no one could survive..and yet ten years later here is proof the nemesis not only survived, but is thriving. Revenge is Jack's motive.
Of course, show more Reacher wouldn't be Reacher without an eye-roll inducing romance. This time it's with a federal agent and I agree with other reviewers when they say it feels like Child threw in the relationship with Duffy because it is simply part of the formula for Reacher's modus operandi. It was short lived and kind of silly. show less

Certainly not a great novel, but one of the better Jack Reacher books. An entertaining page turner. As usual, lots of violence but always with that Reacher calculation and determination for justice. Enough plot twists (based on human quirks) to keep things moving. This one has a strong righteous vengeance theme.

Persuader is the seventh book in Child's series about a wandering, ex-MP (Military Policemen) named Jack Reacher. And this book made me fall in love with Reacher all over again. While the mysteries Reacher encounters are always stellar, it's Reacher that really makes these books worthwhile. He's a force for good, but he doesn't always play by the rules. He's one of the few vigilantes that I root for.

Persuader is another great addition to the Reacher series. The mystery is well-developed, plausible, suspenseful and interesting. It builds and builds into a violent but just showdown between Reacher and an old enemy. The solution to the puzzle is laid out in clues along the way, and Reacher has to put them together in order to find and kill show more his old enemy.

I'd tell you more about the mystery, but it's hard to say anything without giving a lot away. It's part of the charm of these books. You learn what's going on along with Reacher. Personally, I dislike books that treat everyone except the detective like an idiot. (I'm talking to you, Agatha Christie.) show less