Khaleel Datay's Blog - Posts Tagged "lee-child"

High Heat by Lee Child

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I've enjoyed every Jack Reacher novel that Lee Child has written. Some more than others. This novella depicts a time where Reacher is 16 going on 17 years old. The story was typical Reacher, stumbling upon some wrong and feeling the need to right it there and then. The kind of knowledge and dialogue the author ascribes to a 16 year old is not always believable though. He dishes out advice and instructions to an FBI agent and clobbers gangsters at every turn. Then again, we are talking Reacher here. Always fun, and a very quick read



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The Affair by Lee Child

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As a confirmed Reacher junkie, it wasn't about if but more about when I read it. Now that I have I can say that I really enjoyed it. Lee Child takes us back to the beginning before Reacher left the army. He is assigned to 'impersonate' a civilian to keep an eye on a murder investigation in a small town in Mississippi. For the first time he isnt the one assigned to the case. Was the murderer a civilian or someone from the nearby army base at Fort Kellum. The army looks to cover its back and the local sheriff, a beautiful woman at that, has a case to solve, but no one is talking. A classic Reacher story where we get to know all the little characters in the town and how he teases out the answers to the murder mystery. A combination of physicality, raw power and way above average intelligence is a potent package for a lead character. If you enjoyed the previous Jack Reacher stories you'll be sure to love this one too.



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Never Go Back by Lee Child

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Reacher is back at his old unit to visit the commander of the 110th MP base in Rock Creek, a woman whose voice he liked over the phone. But when he gets there, Major Turner is missing, locked up on fraud charges and Reacher is accused of murdering someone he interrogated years ago. To top it off he also faces a paternity suit from a woman he can't remember in Korea. He rubs up the new commander the wrong way and before long Reacher finds himself behind bars too. Inevitably he breaks out and in true Reacher style he pulls out all the stops to launch an investigation to clear his and Major Turner's name. Along the way he breaks bones and travels across states whilst uncovering a scheme involving weapons and drugs from the drawdown out of Afghanistan. His persecutors are always one step ahead of him, with seemingly unfettered access to any and every electronic system in the US. Reacher smells the rot at a very high level in the government and the army and chases down his hunters with bone-crushing efficiency. For me it wasn't one of Lee Child's best, but die-hard fans will love it anyway. And to prove it, I just bought the book published before this one, A WANTED MAN.



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A Wanted Man by Lee Child

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I've officially read all Lee Child's novels. All 18 of them. This one puts Reacher in the backseat of a car after catching a lift hitch-hiking in Nebraska. Nearby, someone is found killed. An eyewitness reports two guys fleeing the scene in dark suits. The police launch a manhunt and Reacher works out his lift is not what it seems. The third person is a woman and something isn't quite right with her. The author spends a huge amount of time describing the roadways going through Nebraska and Kansas, that I'm sure should I be lost there someday, this book alone should get me back on track without Google Maps assistance. Reacher eventually finds himself teamed up with a female FBI agent to track down the bad guys. Some twists and surprises as would be expected and Reacher blasting his way through so he could get on his way to Virginia to look up a woman with a nice voice. Classic Reacher, classic Lee Child but maybe a bit off his game.



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Khaleel Datay