Reader's Digest Select Editions 2005 v04 #280

Very solid action thriller with some good mystery elements. I'm glad I read this before the film came out. I'm not sure why everyone is getting so hung up on Jack Reacher's size in contrast to Tom Cruise. Most of what makes Reacher unique is his attitude and skill set, not his size. He's a cop, almost a cop-machine. And he's nigh unstoppable, when he's motivated.

In this book, he's definitely motivated. And as usual, he's motivated by his sense of justice. What also stands out for me is the author's style. Direct. Precise. Efficient. Sort of like Reacher. I actually saw the ultimate destination of the story from the very beginning. It is a story afterall. I didn't have all the details, but I had the gist. But the unfolding of the story show more and the skill in telling it still made it a very enjoyable read. Recommended. show less

One Shot by Lee Child about a sniper who was caught with so many points of evidence that Jack Reacher, who knew him in Desert Storm, found an underlying plot that revealed a ruthless Russian gang in the city. Pretty good
Bait by Karen Robards. It was full of the vulgarity that seems to be necessary in today’s novels, and had some illicit sex, but a rather interesting plot about a killer who is taunting an FBI agent.
Mosaic by Soheir Khashoggi. It’s about an Arab family: Husband Muslim from Jordan; wife Lebanese Christian American. They have a son Jordan and younger twins. After 9/11 the father decides to kidnap the children and raise them in Jordan. He has already rejected his older son who had announced he is gay, for which the show more father blames the mother. The distraught mother tries to get them back, finally resorting to a professional kidnapper and a plan to get them. But it fails and then surprisingly, the father offers the daughter to go back with her and he keeps the son. She accepts, but then the son runs away to find his sister and it gets really confusing. However it is pretty well resolved at the end. The author is Egyptian who is also an aunt to Dodi Fayed, killed in the car crash with Diana. Her life has been eventful. show less