Reacher - Serialisation on Amazon Prime

There have been three TV series to date and they don't follow the books precisely but this is quite normal. Series one was based on the first book, Killing Floor, series three was based on book seven (probably my least favourite of the Reacher books I've read so far - too much action for me but others may prefer it).

Whereas the books seem to be in chronological order, the series are random. I'm not even sure which book the second series is based on, as I haven't read it yet.

Did I enjoy the series? Yes, mostly. I like the character's strengths, even if does take things to the extreme and has to have a bed-mate everywhere he travels. I say extreme because the character is very physical whereas I'm weedy and also a pacifist - why fight with fists or weapons when you can keep your distance and try to work out what to do? Reacher is not quite a vigilante but he will, very effectively, sort things out his way, rather than hand matters to an over-stretched, bound-by-rules police force.

However, those would be different stories, such as Ludwig or Patience, who like solving puzzles.

Reacher Series - books 3, 4, 5.

Having reviewed the first book - Killing Floor - and the second book - Die Trying - I thought I should continue with the next three books in the Reacher series by Lee Child. 

Book 3: Tripwire

The book begins with Jack Reacher in Florida Keys but events lead him north to the New York area, where he has an unexpected reunion at the funeral of a friend with whom he worked in book 2. Also, Reacher falls in love.

As usual, Reacher becomes embroiled in dealing with criminals and their gratuitously violent tortures. Other than that, the book is a page turner and the story telling is more fluent plus there's a nice plot twist reveal towards the end of the book. 

Book 4: The Visitor

The murders in this book are less graphically violent, more chilling, indicating a different kind of killer rather than organised crime. Reacher is staying with his girlfriend from the previous book when approached by the FBI to assist with identifying and catching a serial killer which, eventually, he does.

Not sure if I liked the story but, once again, it was compelling reading.

Book 5: Echo Burning

I think that this is the best of the books, so far, in that it deals with the story and leaves out the unnecessary torture and love-making details that I previously found wearing. Reacher's on the road again and this adventure finds him in Texas. 

There are several murders but without the graphic violence from earlier books. The way the author brings together the many elements of the story is excellent. Of the likely suspects, I'd narrowed it down to two until near the end when the person behind these will become obvious.

Conclusion: I always felt that Texas was a place I would never want to live (although I have visited once and I know a couple of 'normal' people who live there). This book brings home how vast the state is and confirms that I would not be comfortable living there.

About the Author.

Lee Child is a Brit, born James Dover Grant in the midlands, almost 70 years ago. He worked in TV from 1977 until 1995 when he was made redundant and began writing. Both he and his younger brother, Andrew, also an author, live in the U.S.A. with their American wives.

I found this interesting (Wikipedia): "In January 2020, Child announced that he would be retiring from writing the Jack Reacher series and handing it to his brother Andrew Grant, who would write further books of the series under the surname Child. He intended to write the next few books together with Grant before passing the series entirely over to him." Andrew Grant writes under the name Andrew Child.

Note:

p.s. Please bear in mind that these are my opinions of how good I feel the books are and are not meant to be a synopsis of the stories. As such, feel free to agree/disagree in the comments.

Book Review: Reacher - Die Trying

'Die Trying' is the second Reacher book which I have also finished reading in a day. Fast-paced, it's difficult to put down so "well done" to author Lee Child. I preferred the switch to third person, too.

The question is - is it too action-packed? It's certainly exhausting to read about people who are tireless heroes who seem to function with virtually no sleep and almost no food or drink and who have also survived physical damage. In real life, many people can't even crawl to work if they catch a cold but maybe, at least in our heads, we aspire to be heroes. Most of us can't do it ourselves so we read about it because - who wants to read about lives as ordinary as our own?

The story involved 'great minds' including POTUS, the head of the FBI and the head of the US Military yet, sometimes, they overlooked the obvious for a few pages. However, Reacher saves the day. Again. He's dependable, logical, with a strong sense of 'right' and 'wrong'.

Good news - although there were still passionate scenes, they were not clumsy (as they were in the first book) and there was still wanton torture by the 'baddies' but the author was not so fixated on it. More good news - there was an absence of unnecessary gratuitous swearing, the sign of a competent wordsmith.

Next week, it's on to the third Reacher book. I'll keep you posted.

Review of Reacher - Killing Floor.

Book Review: Reacher - Killing Floor

Having watched and enjoyed the first two seasons of Reacher with Alan Ritchson, I began to read the books by Lee Child. The first book, Killing Floor, was written in the first person. It must have been a while since I watched series 1 because I didn't really recognise most of the story in the book - I'll need to re-watch the series again, soon. 

Lee Child writes well. I found the book gripping and finished it within 24 hours. However, a couple of niggles were: the detailed graphic violence from people who were enjoyed torturing their victims and the romance scenes. Regarding the violence - it seems that either the author is obsessed with genitals or he thinks his readers will be. Regarding the romance, the scenes felt like carbon copies of other middle-aged authors, who think that perfection in love-making is something they wish to achieve.

I think I preferred the TV adaptation but it was a good book and well worth reading.

I've just started the second book, Die Trying. I was surprised to find that he had switched to writing in the third person, which felt more comfortable to read.
Review - Die Trying.