Persuader

Jack Reacher #7

by Lee Child

Jack Reacher, the ultimate loner. Reacher lives for the moment. Without a home. Without commitment. But he has a burning desire to right wrongs, and rewrite his own agonizing past. An elite ex-military cop who left the service years ago, he's moved from place to place, …without family, …without possessions, …without commitments. And without fear. Which is good, because trouble, big, violent, complicated trouble, finds Reacher wherever he goes. And when trouble finds him, Reacher does not quit, not once, not ever.

Never forgive, never forget. Never apologize. Never explain. That's Jack Reacher's standard operating procedure. And Francis Xavier Quinn was the worst guy he had ever met. He had done truly unforgivable things. When Reacher witnesses a brutal attempt to kidnap a terrified young student on a New England campus, he takes the law into his own hands. That's his way, after all. Only this time, a cop dies, and Reacher doesn't stick around to explain. Has he lost his sense of right and wrong? Just because this time, it's personal. So Reacher was glad to know Quinn was dead. Until the day he saw him, alive and well, riding in a limousine outside Boston's Symphony Hall.

So, some unfinished business has now found Reacher. And Reacher is a man who hates unfinished business. Ten years ago, a key investigation went sour and someone got away with murder. Now a chance encounter brings it all back. Now Reacher sees his one last shot. Some would call it vengeance. Some would call it redemption. Reacher would call it...justice.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Action, Suspense, Audiobook

352 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Lee Child was born October 29th, 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an eighteen-year career as a presentation director during British TV's "golden age." During his tenure his company made Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect, and Cracker. But he was fired in 1995 at the age of 40 as a result of corporate restructuring. Always a voracious reader, he decided to see an opportunity where others might have seen a crisis and bought six dollars' worth of paper and pencils and sat down to write a book, Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series.

Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.

Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.

Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.

Reviews

[carol.]

Please add this book to the tv series asap so I don't have to read any more words.

"The cop climbed out of his car exactly four minutes before he got shot. He moved like he knew his fate in advance. He pushed the door against the resisitance of a stiff hinge and swiveled slowly on the worn vinyl seat and planted both feet flat on the road. Then he grasped the door frame with both hands and heaved himself up and out. He stood in the cold clear air for a second and then turned and pushed the door shut again behind him. Held still for a second longer. Then he stepped forward and leaned against the side of the hood up near the headlight."

Thank god most of the book is dialogue.

"I need money," I said.
"Why?"
"I'm going to need to travel."
"When?"
"Right now."
"Is that wise?"
"Not reallly. I'd prefer to wait here a couple of days until the initial panic is over. But I don't want to push my luck with you."
"How much money?"
"Five thousand dollars."


Well, nevermind.


There's a nice initial twist to that opening scene that I appreciated, but this writing... Wait... is that a John Connolly book over there?

Reacher, honey, I'll wait for Netflix.

[Alp · Rating 5 out of 5]

People were depending on me. I had been beaten many times. But I had never just quit. Not once. Not ever.


This book! OMG, my heart is still beating so fast as though it's going to jump out of my chest! What an adrenaline-pumping ride!

Ok, take a deep breath...

Alright, I will keep this short as I know that there's no way I can write this review without going into detail, in which will ultimately give the story all away. So, no spoilers here.

Once again, Lee Child dazzles me with this top-notch story, filled with the thrill of the unforeseeable events and dangerous situations that Reacher had to face. This installment contains strong elements of mystery, suspense, and thriller, all rolled into one. The book started off great, with a heart-pounding abduction scene, which had me hooked right off the bat. As the story went on, there were so many thoughts and questions racing through my mind and every exciting turn of events made my head spin. I can tell you that this book kept me on the edge of my seat for almost the entire story.

And as always, Jack Reacher has yet to fail me. With his intelligence, fearlessness, confidence, toughness, determination, and competence, he’s definitely made himself one of the most kick-ass alpha heroes I've ever read. And the best part of this book was the scene where he finished the unfinished task, which should have been done ten years ago. It was one hell of an execution! Quick and certain. No room for mercy here!


I stood up. Water sluiced off me. I staggered a couple of steps. Heard Leon Garber in my head: What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.


All in all, this was an engaging read that gripped me and didn’t let go until the very last page. I enjoyed it immensely.


**Persuader is the seventh installment in Jack Reacher series. It can be read as a standalone.

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Reacher is often found minding his own business when something happens right in front of him that propels him into another mission. In this case, he's walking down a street in Boston when he sees a dead man--or at least a man who is supposed to have been dead for ten years. And if anyone should know that the guy is supposed to be dead, it's Reacher.

The man in question, a particularly nasty character named Quinn, had crossed paths with Reacher back when Reacher was still in the army. Reacher supervised an investigation of Quinn which went horribly wrong and left Reacher with some deep emotional scars. To see Quinn now, obviously alive, stuns Reacher and he now feels obligated to clean up some unfinished business.

It's otherwise somewhat difficult to review this book, or even to describe the setup, without giving away something that occurs early on and that readers would be best left to discover for themselves. Suffice it to say that, like most of the books in this series, the action is hard-hitting and Reacher will literally be pushed to his limits before all is said and done. The setting is particularly good; the villains are particularly villainous, and all-in-all, this was a great book to reread while in social isolation.

[S. ≽^•⩊•^≼ I'm not here yet · Rating 5 out of 5]

2025April
This time (third tv season) was good... could have been worse... or better with more of my favorite couple... maybe!


****

2024Feb update:
Yaay, my favorite book is going to be the next season!!
Who the hell is going to be Paulie??

2024Sep update:


****
2023March

مثل همیشه معمایی، پرتشنج و خفن بود ولی اینبار چه توصیفات باحالی از کشتن، اسلحه و غرق شدن داشت!
بعد تعطیلاتم وقت دکتر می‌گیرم...

دیگه تو کدوم کتاب راوی اول شخص خود ریچره؟؟!


Second Son (Jack Reacher #0.15) 7.5⭐ (13 years old Reacher)
High Heat (Jack Reacher #0.25) 7.5⭐ (17 years old Reacher)
Deep Down (Jack Reacher #0.5) 6.5⭐ (was crazy sniper girls?!)
Small Wars (Jack Reacher #0.75) 9⭐ (Joe Reacher, dead rich military woman)
The Enemy (Jack Reacher #1) narrator
The Affair (Jack Reacher #4) 8⭐ (Narrator and military police, the county sheriff and the beautiful women killer)
Die Trying (Jack Reacher #6) DC
Running Blind (Jack Reacher #8) 9.25⭐ (Military women serial killer)
Without Fail (Jack Reacher #10) DC
Persuader (Jack Reacher #11) 9.75/10⭐ (Narrator, old unfinished business)
One Shot (Jack Reacher #12) 9.5⭐ (Sniper terrorist)
The Hard Way (Jack Reacher #13) outside USA
Nothing to Lose (Jack Reacher #15)
James Penney's New Identity / Guy Walks Into a Bar (Jack Reacher #15.5) 8.5⭐
Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher #16) 9.25⭐ (Narrator, suicide in New York metro)
Good and Valuable Consideration: Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller (Jack Reacher #20.1) 8⭐
Personal (Jack Reacher #21) 8.75⭐ (A sniper shot at the president of France, and Reacher's mission to find him in London) outside USA
Make Me (Jack Reacher #22)
Reacher's Rules: Life Lessons From Jack Reacher 7.75⭐

read in order:
61 Hours (Jack Reacher #17) 8.5⭐ (freezing, 1.5m tall, cops and dungeon)
Worth Dying For (Jack Reacher #18) 9⭐ (Worth sneaking around for a nose and try not to Dying For a messed up small town conspiracy of 3 brothers and a son)
A Wanted Man (Jack Reacher #19) 8.25⭐ (in a suspicious car, 2 men a woman)
Never Go Back (Jack Reacher #20) 7⭐ (holes, back to 110 and have to run)

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am totally loving this series. (Although I think it must be best NOT to read them back to back because then the formula wears through.) This is a good one -- tense, claustrophobic, and non-stop action. Two quibbles -- the romance between Reacher and Duffy seems...unmotivated. Like the author says to himself, "And this is the place where I start the romance," and proceeded to have Reacher make out with the nearest available female character. Also, the last 20 percent of the novel seems unduly long...and a bit confusing. Some tighter editing would have sharpened it up nicely.

I love it when a plan comes together.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-stars, perhaps a bit more.

This and "Echo Burning" are by far Child's best books in the series (so far). The pacing is terrific, mostly. The dialogue and action are very good, mostly. The climax is good, but too drawn-out in parts. The plot is very, very clever. This would have been 5-stars if not for Child's momentary returns to excessive detail and repetitive prose.

As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.

Lots and lots of guns in this one.

The book opens with Reacher wearing a Colt Anaconda, which is a huge stainless steel revolver chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge. It was thirteen and a half inches long and weighed almost four pounds.

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Agent Duffy to Reacher:
"You’re going to be my very own long-rod penetrator.”


Duke's machine pistol, Steyr SPP

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Angel Doll's old Soviet PSM, with the rare ammo

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Paulie, the gatehouse guard, is like this guy



An NSV is more than five feet long and weighs more than fifty-five pounds. It uses cartridges four and a half inches long and a half-inch wide. It can fire twelve of them in a second. It has no safety mechanism. The combination of [the giant] Paulie and an NSV would be nobody’s idea of fun.
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Zachary's gun, Heckler & Koch MP5K

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Nice quote. True for politicians, today, too.
... the British Army in India, during the Raj, at the height of their empire. Young subalterns trapped in junior ranks had their own mess. They would dine together in splendid dress uniforms and talk about their chances of promotion. But they had none, unless a superior officer died. Dead men’s shoes was the rule. So they would raise their crystal glasses of fine French wine and toast bloody wars and dread diseases , because a casualty further up the chain of command was their only way to get ahead.


Zachary's gift to Reacher, Beretta M9 Special Edition

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An English expression I'd never heard before I moved to the UK. Reacher says it to goad Paulie:
- - “You’re a big girl’s blouse,” I said.
It means you're a coward, a weakling, a wimp, etc


The title character, the Mossberg M500 Persuader

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.

[Suz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first 3 star rating for all of Mr Reacher's titles thus far. This one I didn't love quite so much. I have listened to seven books in just under two months so I would be safe in saying they are keeping me company. Good, solid, comfortable, reliable and strong company at that.

I probably only gave this a 3 as I was a little more distracted than normal, it depends if I'm listening while working or otherwise busy and may not be concentrating as much as I should be.

I found this storyline a little less engaging, but he does rectify a double crosser to some dealings from ten years ago, from a case while he was still employed as a MP. It was good to hear him talk about his work, he mentioned his desk, told his subordinates not to use formalities with him, I got to see he was still cool calm and collected on the job. I hadn't heard first hand until now in his military times, we have only had past references. It was also good to hear clichés that Garber had used, and these would spring to mind in tight life and death situations.

And of course, he has a tiny dalliance.

The segue is Miami, so Miami here we come!

[Karin Slaughter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that put Lee Child on my must-always-read list. I hated Killing Floor because (1) obviously Lee had never been to Georgia when he wrote this and (2) I wasn't yet published when it came out, so I had to be a jealous hater.

Both were remedied by the time I read Persuader, and I could love this book for the pure reading pleasure that it is. Also, I had met Lee by then and he is so handsome and dreamy that it's hard not to see his beautiful, sensitive eyes whenever I think of Jack Reacher.

Of note: Lee told me that his research for Killing Floor was watching My Cousin Vinny over and over again and I figured that was punishment enough (and it's set in Alabama, so that makes more sense that people would be so stupid; haha, I'm playin' you, big AL. War Eagle!)

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me this was the best of the series after Killing Floor.

[smetchie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This bad-ass walks around with an anaconda in his pants (apparently, that's a type of revolver but it's still pretty impressive)

He has an AOL device hidden in his shoe. He says nothing a lot. So does everyone else in this novel.

I'm not cut out for crime fiction. It bugs me.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Jack Reacher book I’ve read. Maybe I should have started with the first one in the series, but I picked up this one used. For fifty cents. Reading some of the Goodreads comments about the varied quality of the Reacher series, I was probably better off starting with this one.

The tricksy misdirection at the beginning of the book aside, this was a decent read. Reacher, reminded me of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser, big, tough, smart, can handle himself in any situation. But he’s not a private investigator and he has fewer scruples than Spenser.

Plot summary: Things go awry, people die. Usually the bad guys. In creative ways.

I should read something cheery and positive next.

I probably won’t.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its always such a treat to read a Reacher book and definitely a good way to start 2022. I love this series so much.

At this point I feel like I know Reacher extremely well so I spent the first chapter of this book thinking, this isn't the Reacher I know. Why is he behaving like this? He felt very out of character. Chapter two cleared that up nicely and I felt reunited with my literacy love.

In this instalment Reacher sees someone he saw die a decade ago which leads to an abduction of a college kid and then the fun begins.

As always Lee Child has me on the edge of my seat, wanting to look away but unable too. He is also the only author I will read paragraphs upon paragraphs about bullets and not be bored stiff. Such a great storyteller. I love his writing style.

Another fantastic book in the series.

Easy five stars.

Now excuse me while I go find me a real Jack.

[iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was very good.

It was different from the usual Reacher book I’ve read so far, instead of the usual being a nomad, jack reacher was out to investigate and get in with a crime family.
From the start his main aim is to get in on the inside.

He needed to reach a man who 10 years earlier thought was dead .
As usual Lee child is very competent and complete on weapons and tactics.
Very informative on all things, very descriptive.
This has been my favourite book of jack reacher so far.

[Krycek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gigantic hobo detective Jack Reacher once again wanders into more trouble than any happy-go-lucky wanderer would reasonably expect. This time, after encountering a ghost from his past, a man named Quinn who should be dead, Reacher gets involved in an undercover DEA operation to take the man and his smuggling operation down. Reacher poses as a gun-for-hire in order to infiltrate Quinn's operation. The DEA wants him to go in and recover an agent who went missing and is presumably held captive. Reacher is going in for personal reasons. Quinn was supposed to be dead and Reacher is going to make sure he stays that way. 

Child's Reacher series is fairly reliable. After reading a couple, you pretty much know what you're going to get, and you keep reading more because what you want is what Child delivers. That is, action, thrills, a little sex, despicable villains and a big-ass juggernaut of justice willing to crack skulls and shoot people until all the bad guys are dead. Persuader is no different, and that's a good thing. Replace any of the items above with Reacher learning to crochet or taking a yoga class and…no I would not want to read that. The Reacher novels are, as Zwolf says over in The Mighty Blow Hole, the literary equivalent of a BDAM, or "Big Dumb Action Movie. I have to agree (and, by the way, he also thinks that Dolph Lundgren would be an awesome film Reacher). Persuader is a BDAM, that's for BDAM sure, and it's a heck of a lot of fun. 

You do have to be able to overlook a certain amount of goofiness, however. This goofiness is stuff that's pretty consistent with Child's other Reacher books. For example, dialogues often have that rapid-fire back-and-forth Dragnet quality that is sometimes unintentionally hilarious. Child doesn't write convincingly about army life, cop life or guns. During his investigations, Reacher often seems to just stumble through it pulling some of the most far-fetched subterfuges, like flipping a car over to simulate a car wreck, which is not in itself far fetched, but he still had to keep the car looking somewhat okay, so he put coats on the pavement to keep the roof from scratching! And he almost couldn't get the car flipped back over… and his investigative methods often include such subtle "techniques" as breaking a guy's neck and shooting a guy in the head. I often wonder if Reacher really thinks thing through first.

So if you're looking for a clever, delicately nuanced thriller with a plot as tangled a spider's web, Persuader ain't it. Persuader is about as subtle as a six-feet-five, two-hundred-and-fifty pound ex-military policeman can be. It does, however, offer a good amount of effective suspense thrown in with the action, and Child is quite good at pacing his novels.

Ultimately, the most satisfying aspect of Persuader (and the Reacher novels overall) is the fact that Child has a talent for creating some of the most evil, repulsive, despicably vile bad guys, all who receive suitably brutal comeuppances courtesy of Jack Reacher. It may be a bit of wish-fulfillment on my part but I like seeing bullies put in their place, and so does Reacher:

I don't really care about the little guy. I just hate the big guy. I hate big smug people who think they can get away with things.

Persuader's an effective thriller and a long as you don't take the minor gaffes too seriously it's a lot of fun. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

[AB · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome Novel.
My RATING: 4.4/5

The Novel is in full throttle. The flashback story line is awesome and the twist in the flashback is great. The novel is fun and intriguing. Back to awesomeness !
See u guys at next, Thank you.

[Bill Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reacher at his best. Undercover in a small area (no crisscrossing the country) on a mission of vengeance. Forced to outwit the enemy through quick thinking and ingenious tricks.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of action to the very end. One of the best in the Jack Reacher series.

[Cameron Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have to rank this as one of my favourite Lee Child books, even if I thoughs the start was dubious. For the first chapter or two, I worried this might even be a Reacher novel of a standard to rival the disaster that was Nothing to Lose. Then, of course, we got a little farther into the book and I was able to reassure myself that no book could be as bad as Nothing to Lose. I think if Lee Child were to write another book as bad as Nothing to Lose, I'd have to give up on him. Anyway, Persuader was a terrific novel, definitely up there with the best of Reacher.

The book begins with Reacher witnessing and intervening in a kidnapping. Immediately, we know something about the situation is not quite right. Reacher is acting in ways that we know are not congruent with his character. For instance, Reacher doesn't stroll around with two huge revolvers in his pants on any normal day, and (this was the most alarming) he most definitely does not drive a van. Also, without giving anything away, his reactions to certain events do not fit with what we know of the character.

For these reasons, I feared that Child may have, for some unknown reason, decided to disregard everything we know about the character, just so events would fit the story. But I should have known better than to doubt Child. Soon enough, we were back to the Reacher we know and love.

Soon after the chaotic events of the first two chapters, Reacher is working undercover, infiltrating a heavily guarded mansion in an attempt to rescue a DEA agent held hostage by a ruthless criminal. Reacher's motives in taking part in this operation are slowly revealed throughout the book, as we learn that he is trying to settle an old score with an old enemy figure from his past, one long thought dead.

One of the main reasons I found this book to be one of my favourite in the series was that this role had good deal of character building for Reacher. His desire for justice and the lengths he will go to achieve it play a huge part of the story, particularly in the final chapters.

The other reason I like it is that Reacher comes up against a situation we very rarely (if ever) see. In most instances, Reacher is the biggest and strongest guy in the room. He's able to knock down enemies with only one or two blows, easily defeating those who get in his way. However, in Persuader, there is (get ready for it) someone bigger than Reacher! Our hero comes up against a huge mountain of a man, a four-hundred-pound, seven foot tall, steroid using thug with arms that look as though they've had basketballs stuffed inside of them. This is a guy who makes Reacher feel as Reacher makes most other people feel. This scenario reveals a completely new side of the character. Not many people could take one of Reacher's kicks and stay standing.

However much I enjoyed this book, there is one or two little problems I had with it. First of all, the romance seemed rather pointless. I didn't like the character Duffy in the first place (she seemed rather dim witted) and it appeared to me that the romance between her and Reacher was placed only so Child could have a sex scene in the book. It didn't really seem to mean anything, and both characters acted as though it had never happened afterwards. Saying this, I did, however, enjoy the scenes between Reacher and Kohl (a character I liked much better than Duffy). This romance was actually relevant to the plot, and it seemed more meaningful than the Duffy-Reacher romance.

My second minor problem was was that there was a sequence of scenes towards the end of the book that seemed drawn out and pointless. Basically, it involved a few of the characters running around looking for the bad guys only to end up back where they started. This just seemed dumb, and served only to set up the next sequence of scenes (which I admittedly loved; I just think Child could have found a far better way to get to them).

Overall, Persuader was an excellent edition to a series I love and a great development to a character I love. There were a few minor things that annoyed me, but not enough to drop my rating from five stars to four. Overall, a great read for any thriller fans.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My inner dork is about to come out—So, I started reading this book at camp, which is in Abbot, Maine. I’m always excited to find out where Reacher will be taking us to in any given book and when I saw that he was headed to Abbot, Maine, a big “woohoo” spilled from my mouth. Don’t worry, my husband already knows I’m a goober! As it turned out, Abbot, Maine in this book is between Portland and Kennebunkport, while in the real world it’s in a very wooded area of Maine called The Highlands. It’s about the opposite of the rocky coastline portrayed in the book. But that’s ok—I can go with the flow (so to speak!)

What a damn exciting book this turned out to be! It’s definitely my favorite of the series so far, and has become the best book I’ve read this year! It’s full of suspense and I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the book! I’ve decided one of the things I like best about Reacher is when he absolutely despises a particular side character, and you know at some point he will get the satisfaction of showing them his true inner feelings. In this book, that character is Paulie.

I can’t wait to move on to the next in the series. Hopefully Jack will have some much needed rest after the toll this one took on him.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to add the same review for all of the Reacher series, so if you've read this one, you've read 'em all. If you feel a certain affinity for the lone hero, a man of principle, of unwavering knowledge and assent as to his own actions, than Jack Reacher's your kinda guy.

Lee Child has created an unforgettable and unique character in his creation of Jack Reacher. Jack seems to implicitly understand that he is a unique animal/human running around on this planet and that in spite of social conventions, cultural trappings, and whatever conventions and abstractions we allow into our mind in order to alleviate this core fact of our singularity (and aloneness)...the truth of it is not something Mr. Reacher denies.

He embraces it. Understands his philosophy implicitly, revels in his physical being,his conventions and values. He defends those he loves, those he does allow into his world, with a loyalty bar none while never letting go of the notion that he is alone and being perfectly comfortable with that.

I read one, and within two months read all 15 books with an appetite that couldn't get enough.

Enough said,
HR

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reacher season 3 pictures book#7, Persuader. Title made no sense at first to me a person with no connection to weapons at all. It's all action in the beginning. Reacher saves a young man in a maine university town. we learn be works undercover for the DEA and is on the search for a person he believed dead 10 years ago.
Classic reacher, violence, sex with an attractive agent and lots of bodies.
i like it.

Buch 7 wird gerade auf Prime in Reacher Staffel 3 dargestellt. Klassischer Reacher, Action, Leichen, Sex mit einer Agentin ohne oder mit etwas Bindung und Reacher als Held am Ende.

[Ksia_zkowe Oliwia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5/5⭐️ zajebista książka

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

My name is James, and it's been seven months since my last Jack Reacher. The seventh in the series, Persuader should follow the same, increasingly predictable formula. Except, something feels wrong; it doesn't feel like Reacher – from the unusual eagerness to get involved, and the carrying of two guns, to the shooting of a cop. These things are totally out of character for the man we've spent six novels getting to barely know. Then I realised, the biggest thing that feels wrong about this Reacher is the narrative. This first-person just isn't Jack Reacher. Yes the first one, Killing Floor , was also written as first-person, but the last five books have all been solidly third-person. And, to be honest, Reacher feels more of a third-person personality. His detachment and taciturnity almost requires third-person – once we get in his head we'll get to know far too much about him, and that will just destroy the mystique.

The book itself? Rescuing a child about to be kidnapped, Reacher is slowly taken into their family protection unit. In true Reacher style, that generally means he's replacing people who just weren't good enough. Oh, and of course, the family is far from normal – they're clearly into some bad schtuff. Reacher obviously has his reasons for getting involved, getting stuck into other people's business is rarely something that Reacher volunteers for. In lieu of spoilers, anybody who saw the BBC spy series Hunted will pretty much know exactly what's going on here.

While I kinda think I understand why Child went with the first-person here, in that it allows a much more tightly controlled narrative – we aren't aware of anything going on outside of Reacher's direct experience, and that leaves the other characters motives much less well defined and cranks up the suspense. Ultimately I don't think it was necessary and it just feels too 'personal' to be in Reacher's head like that. Plus it allows Child to get a little carried away with his exaggerations in the fight scenes. I was running out of patience with the continual running commentary in Reacher's head during his fight with Paulie where every punch or kick would have killed a lesser man – really?

[نیما اکبرخانی · Rating 4 out of 5]

وسوسه‌ی انتقام، هفتمین جلد از مجموعه‌ی «جک ریچر» است که مثل قبلی‌ها آدم را از خواندن پشیمان نمی‌کند.
به نظرم در این جلد « لی چایلد» نشان داد که به عنوان نویسنده آدم به شدت ریسک پذیری است. بعد از نوشتن شش جلد از‌یک مجموعه‌ی موفق و پرفروش در سطح جهان ‌یک دفعه زاویه‌ی دید و شیوه‌ی روایت را در اثر تغییر داد. این بار به جای سوم شخص مشرف از اول شخص استفاده کرد و در ابتدای کتاب من را به شدت متعجب نمود.
جالب بود واقعا عرض می‌کنم. دروغ نگویم ابتدای خواندن قدری حالم را گرفت. اما کم‌کم عادت کردم و مشکل حل شد.
از طرف دیگر هم برای اولین بار قدری از گذشته‌ی «جک ریچر» قهرمان مجموعه برای ما به عنوان خواننده روشن شد. داستان پر است از فلش بک‌هایی به اندازه‌ی نصف صفحه تا دو صفحه از دوران ارتشی بودن «ریچر» و این اولین بار است که ما چیزهایی از گذشته‌ی این ابرقهرمان باحال می‌فهمیم.
من کلا از این مجموعه خوشم می‌آید و به عنوان‌یک مجموعه‌ی بسیار مفرح سراغش می‌روم. «تریلر»‌های بسیار خوبی است و نگاهی گذرا به آمار فروش جهانی اش هم می‌تواند خیالتان را راحت کند. واقعا هم توانش را دارم و هم میل‌اش را که همه‌ی مجموعه را ده روزه بخوانم. اما خورد خورد مصرف می‌کنم و ذخیره‌اش می‌کنم برای ایام بی‌حالی و خستگی.
آخر کتاب هم‌یک صفحه از نویسنده بود که اطلاعاتی اجمالی و نکته‌ای بسیار با مزه داشت. آقای نویسنده را در چهل سالگی از شغلش یعنی کارمندی در تلویزیون اخراج می‌کنند! اما او بر خلاف بسیاری از ما عوض اینکه برود‌ یک جا بنشیند و آبغوره بگیرد و فاز افسردگی بردارد، مداد و کاغذ می‌خرد و می‌رود اولین جلد از مجموعه را با نام «قتلگاه» می‌نویسد.
به نظرم از آن حکایت‌های انگیزشی ست.
بخوانید، خوش می‌گذرد.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack Reacher book 7: This series is such a roller coaster of consuming and interesting reads followed by banal and uninspiring ones. After the last flop, Persuader sees Child return to form. Jack Reacher is working with the FBI as an undercover stooge for a gangster looking to rescue an agent and get revenge for a past transgression from a former MI colleague. The Reacher stories always seem to work better on a lower scale and not so much on the global, Presidential, end of the world scale. 6 out of 12.

[James Fearn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice title.
Easy read, not very challenging either.
Plot was great.
Written like this review.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It all began with a botched kidnapping, or so it seemed. Reacher comes upon a college student in the midst of being taken against his will and ensures his safety. As a thank you, and to ensure the man's ongoing safety, Reacher is offered the chance to take the young man home to his wealthy parents in Maine. Arriving at the compound, Reacher returns the man safely and is rewarded with a job on the security detail. Before long, Reacher discovers that the rug import business the family runs is anything but real. Child then turns the tables on the reader, backtracking in the story to show how Reacher's arrival was part of a larger plan. When Reacher spotted a corrupt Army official he was all but sure had died, an investigation began by the DEA, for whom Reacher is now employed as a contractor. While on the inside, Reacher seeks to help build a case of major drug trafficking, but discovers that leaders to some are but puppets to the highers-up. In a stunning revelation, Reacher realises that while his cover may not yet be blown, others on the team have been outed with disastrous consequences. Furthermore, the drug running is itself a front for a far more devious plot, one with strong ties back to the corrupt Army official. Using a parallel storyline of present happenings and the original case-building against the corrupt official, Child brings Reacher in the middle of a highly technical and interesting thriller. Reacher uses all the antics at his disposal to stop what is sure to be a stunning string of international terrorism.

Child continues putting the reader on the slow journey towards learning about Jack Reacher. Nuggets here and breadcrumbs there leave the reader to connect the vastly separated dots in order to make a character sketch of this elusive man. While he appears to have no problem with the ladies, Reacher is also quite accomplished at his work and makes it a priority for him throughout. His attention to detail and dry wit makes for a great narration and this book's return to the first person narrative allows for a more insightful look into the man and his mysterious life. Where some authors might try to keep Reacher on the straight and narrow, Child pulls no proverbial punches when it comes to the lengths to which Reacher will go to end the life of those who stand in the way of peace and tranquility. A no-holds barred thriller with something for everyone.

Kudos, Mr. Child for such a great continuation in the series. I am hooked and love this Reacher character, hoping only to keep learning about him and seeing how complex a man he might well be.

[Freda Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always Lee Child is an exceptional writer. I think this one is going to be tabbed a favorite of mine. Reacher has met his match with the character, Paulie, who is just a lowly bodyguard, or so it seems. Finally, my hero (Reacher) isn't so tough and perfect. I love the thinking process in the writing as Reacher tries to solve yet another mystery, but this time, he's a bit slower figuring out the clues. There was more suspense and a little more wit, I had to laugh at the reasoning behind tipping the car over onto the coats. HUH? I said to myself? What the hell is he thinking? Well, you'll find out soon enough when you read this.

I really enjoy how Reacher's past is written and incorporated into some of these books. Experiences and crimes he recalls in his past as an MP puts Reacher in situations that have me yelling "Go get him Reacher and make him hurt!". The butchering of the women is enough to make you cringe, but not so bad that you regret this read. Reacher has come across a nemesis 10 years after he supposedly killed him, but this bad dude didn't die. Reacher, no longer an MP, pulled out his superman suit and said "Time for round two" and I was hooked.

[Sandra Hoover · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there was ever any doubt that Jack Reacher is the baddest of the bad boy superheroes, this book puts it to rest. Reacher seizes an opportunity to seek justice for the brutal murder of a past co-worker by going undercover and off the record. He infiltrates a gang of smugglers and works his way to the top man – one dead body at a time. From beginning to end, Reacher outfights, outguns, outswims, and outlives everything and everybody thrown at him. He made a promise years ago . . . he won’t quit until he fulfills it. This one is personal! Another stunning book in a fantastic series!
4.5 Stars!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I try to do the right thing. Even though everybody hates us and nobody helps us and nobody thanks us afterward. I think doing the right thing is an end in itself.

این کتاب هفتمین جلد از مجموعه ریچره(که بخوای داستانی پیش بری هفتمی نمیشه.) به مناسبت اومدن فصل جدید سریال نشستم قبل از دیدن سریال خوندمش؛ چون تغییراتی که نویسنده های سریال بهش میدن، طبق تجربه فصل های قبلی، جالب میشن ولی میخواستم اول داستان خود لی چایلد رو بدونم. حالا که دارم این رو می‌نویسم سریال رو هم شروع کردم و به طرز عجیبی یکی از کاراکترهای همراه رو حذف کرده که باعث یه سری اتفاقات شده بود! منتظرم ببینم چطوری قراره پیش ببره که به هم نریزه و خوب بشه.

“You produce the right results for the wrong reasons, then.” I nodded. “But I try to do the right thing. I think the reasons don’t really matter. Whatever, I like to see the right thing done.”

کتاب های اول شخص ریچر رو دوست دارم چون اون تقابل و مدل فکر کردن ریچر رو یکم نشون میده و اینا که یه قسمت هایی از گذشته‌اش رو میگه هم دوست دارم.

He went down on the floor again and suffocated. It was reasonably quick. About a minute and a half. There was nothing I could do for him. I'm not a doctor.

اسفند ۱۴۰۳