The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, #10)

by Lee Child

Late at night in a New York cafe, army-cop-turned-drifter Jack Reacher orders coffee in a cup made of foam, not china, so that he can move on at a moment's notice. He owns nothing, carries less, has never encountered a female colleague he can't bed, or a case he can't solve. But now, Reacher is confronted by a situation so disturbing and deceptive that the truth eludes him. Has he painted targets on the good guys' backs? So Reacher starts over at square one. He sweats the details and works the clues. As they used to say back in the service, he's doing it the hard way. Until, what started on a busy New York street explodes three thousand miles away in the sleepy English countryside with Reacher striding alone in the shadows, armed and dangerous, and invincible.

• ISBN10: 1607758822
• ISBN13: 9781607758822
• Publish Date: 1 March 2009 (first published 1 January 2006)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Findaway World
• Duration: 12 hours
• Language: English

Reviews

[zooloo1983]

And Jack is back!
I think this book is one of my favourites so far (I said that a while ago on another book of Lee Child’s) and the reason for this is for one humble minute Reacher admits he was wrong, showing that our favourite action hero is fallible at times. I loved that, the remorse he went through, and the lengths to rectify his mistake.

This story we have a woman who has been kidnapped with her child and her husband wants her back, and then there is Jack. Jack is very happy, sitting in a coffee shop drinking his much-loved coffee when an English man approaches him to discuss the events of the previous night. (Jeff’s accent here was perfect, I loved it!) He follows the clues, and I actually figured out something before Jack, am I just learning to think how he does now? Working for the husband, Edward Lane a mercenary, of the missing wife we learn this is not the first time he has had a wife kidnapped….well it didn’t end well the first time! As usual, Reacher gets involved and something again does not sit well with him, so this means it does not sit well with us!

This book was more graphic this time around, and some of the things that the “bad men” said had my jaw dropping and cringing with terror that they might actually follow through on these threats, I mean they really couldn’t….could they? Surely Jack would not let it happen. Near the end of the book, there is a scene where a coat hanger was discussed and what they would use it for. (I don’t want to really explain much more) I started to panic and really hoped it didn’t play through. It was uncomfortable to listen to, the pure evil of this man was just horrifying. Thank god I will never have to meet him!

Also, learning the story of Hobart and Knight and the torture they went through in an African prison. It broke my heart because it probably does happy, and again the graphic detail was at some points just too much. For the characters to live through, well there are no words. These two scenes affected me, normally I can handle most things, but these scenes were hard to listen to.

Again, Lee Child has brought a fast-paced book, to keep you hooked every minute, and Jack literally doing everything the hard way. The one man action army but with a new partner (and new bed partner) for the book, and I loved their relationship, would be nice if Jack would just stop once. Everything he does is never for him, he is selfless in a respect, he just wants the truth and his version of justice.

Will it be a happier story next time??