Lee Child kicks butt! He has created a real oddball loner hero named Jack Reacher [note: I was not influenced by the similarity in name], a former Army Military Police officer who comes across crimes which he helps solve. I was so caught up by 61 Hours that once I finished it, while I was yet again traveling, I ducked into a bookstore in Martinez, California, and bought another, One Shot, which turned out to be the one just before.

Child’s writing is gritty and his style is, in his own way, reminiscent of Hemingway and Chandler. He’s an Englishman by birth who’s also been in the movie business, and I think that latter helps him strike good scenes. His stories take place in America: for example, 61 Hours in South Dakota, of all places! Full disclosure: I grew up in South Dakota, but I didn’t know that was the setting until I began reading. Jack. South Dakota. I know you don’t believe I’m unbiased.

So, in terms of junk-food, brain-candy, airplane books, Lee Child just jumped to the top of my list. I’m withholding starting another for a while, in order to savor it when I do. In fact, I’ll probably buy a few as Kindle books to read on my iPad when I travel to Taiwan next month. And I’m not alone in my newfound pleasure. So far, I’ve run across three others who are totally stoked on Lee Child. The last one was a young English guy I met on the Bolt Bus to New York the other day. [Bus to New York? It wasn't bad, but if my pleasure and satisfaction are of any interest, I took Amtrak back to Boston.]