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The Hard Way
(Jack Reacher #10)
by
In Lee Child’s astonishing new thriller, ex–military cop Reacher sees more than most people would...and because of that, he’s thrust into an explosive situation that’s about to blow up in his face. For the only way to find the truth—and save two innocent lives—is to do it the way Jack Reacher does it best: the hard way….
Jack Reacher was alone, the way he liked it, soaking ...more
Jack Reacher was alone, the way he liked it, soaking ...more
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Hardcover, 371 pages
Published
May 16th 2006
by Delacorte Press
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Start your review of The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, #10)

Reacher, alone in the dark. Armed and dangerous. Coming back.
This is what I call perfection.
The Hard Way is my most favorite in Jack Reacher series so far. Just when I thought Lee Child's book couldn't possibly get any better, he has outdone himself once again with this unputdownable read! If I could, I would give it more than 5 stars.
Who would have thought that just sitting and drinking coffee would get Jack Reacher involved in the investigation of the kidnapping for ransom of a woman and h ...more
This is what I call perfection.
The Hard Way is my most favorite in Jack Reacher series so far. Just when I thought Lee Child's book couldn't possibly get any better, he has outdone himself once again with this unputdownable read! If I could, I would give it more than 5 stars.
Who would have thought that just sitting and drinking coffee would get Jack Reacher involved in the investigation of the kidnapping for ransom of a woman and h ...more

For a guy who is often simply minding his own business, Jack Reacher seems to get into a lot of trouble. In this, the tenth installment in the series, Reacher is enjoying a quiet cup of coffee, sitting at a table outside of the coffee shop in New York City. It's late at night and as Reacher is sitting there, a man gets into a car across the street and drives away.
It's nothing out of the ordinary, but Reacher is a guy who notices things. and so when he's sitting in the same spot the next night an ...more
It's nothing out of the ordinary, but Reacher is a guy who notices things. and so when he's sitting in the same spot the next night an ...more

Feb 06, 2019
Abram
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-thriller,
action-adventure
4.5/5
It's been a long time since I gave a Jack Reacher novel a five star. Maybe it's because I haven't read thrillers in a while. But still this one was great! I read it in a single sitting. It was all full of twists and turns and people call Lee child novels just action rubbish but I didn't see any action in the novel except the last thirty pages. Reacher novels are getting more and more detective based than a commando one; I love this style more. ...more
It's been a long time since I gave a Jack Reacher novel a five star. Maybe it's because I haven't read thrillers in a while. But still this one was great! I read it in a single sitting. It was all full of twists and turns and people call Lee child novels just action rubbish but I didn't see any action in the novel except the last thirty pages. Reacher novels are getting more and more detective based than a commando one; I love this style more. ...more

It's hard to believe that I used to like this character and the writing of Lee Child. This type of story too much resembles most of his latest. Two versions left until I have them all read, but I'm being bored. 2 of 10 stars
...more

The Jack Reacher virgin. Reading The Hard Way. Feeling he has to give Lee Child a go, just because every one else has. And his mother-in-law thrust the book upon him.
Jack Reacher. Star of The Hard Way. Kind of a cross between Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Littlest Hobo. Spends his time being right about everything almost all the time. Except when it's convenient for the plot. Seems to know almost everything, but he's never heard of text messaging. Can guess the time really really accurately. Go ...more
Jack Reacher. Star of The Hard Way. Kind of a cross between Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Littlest Hobo. Spends his time being right about everything almost all the time. Except when it's convenient for the plot. Seems to know almost everything, but he's never heard of text messaging. Can guess the time really really accurately. Go ...more

Number ten in the Jack Reacher series.
Jack’s enjoying a coffee and minding his own business, which is just the way he likes it. Sitting watching the world go by when he sees the most ordinary of events. A man crosses the street in front of Jack, unlocks a car and drives off.
Twenty four hours later this ordinary event sends Jack into a world of Mercenary Soldiers and where money is spoken of in the millions. Kidnapping, murder, revenge and greed are all on the menu. When nothing happens easily J ...more
Jack’s enjoying a coffee and minding his own business, which is just the way he likes it. Sitting watching the world go by when he sees the most ordinary of events. A man crosses the street in front of Jack, unlocks a car and drives off.
Twenty four hours later this ordinary event sends Jack into a world of Mercenary Soldiers and where money is spoken of in the millions. Kidnapping, murder, revenge and greed are all on the menu. When nothing happens easily J ...more

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 con ...more
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 con ...more

Jack Reacher, book 10
Jack Reacher known as the best man-hunter in the world ends up helping Edward Lane, a well-paid mercenary, whose wife and stepdaughter have been kidnapped. Initially Reacher volunteers to help, as the case develops, things prove not to be what they seem. Alarm bells ring when he discovers Lane's previous wife was kidnapped and also during a mission two members of his crew were left behind in a foreign country...what is Lane hiding, what type of character is he?, can he be tr ...more
Jack Reacher known as the best man-hunter in the world ends up helping Edward Lane, a well-paid mercenary, whose wife and stepdaughter have been kidnapped. Initially Reacher volunteers to help, as the case develops, things prove not to be what they seem. Alarm bells ring when he discovers Lane's previous wife was kidnapped and also during a mission two members of his crew were left behind in a foreign country...what is Lane hiding, what type of character is he?, can he be tr ...more

The Jack Reacher series is probably my biggest guilty pleasure read. I never go in expecting great literature, but I always expect a story that has me curious and excited about how things will play out. It is part of the reason why I take such large gaps between reading each book. Reading them back-to-back ruins the fun somewhat, whereas reading one every few months or so means I get the enjoyment the books deserve.
Although the books are immensely popular, I find myself constantly giving three-s ...more
Although the books are immensely popular, I find myself constantly giving three-s ...more

Twelfth chronologically (and tenth publication-wise) in the Jack Reacher thriller series about a huge man with an even bigger sense of honor who will take down the bad guys.
My Take
This was another intense one. I do love how Reacher withheld and poked at Lane. How he pushed to get involved in the rescue of Kate and Jade. This man does not suffer fools! He already has a tendency to observe, calculate, and catalog and his years in the military police have provided him with a wealth of psychological ...more
My Take
This was another intense one. I do love how Reacher withheld and poked at Lane. How he pushed to get involved in the rescue of Kate and Jade. This man does not suffer fools! He already has a tendency to observe, calculate, and catalog and his years in the military police have provided him with a wealth of psychological ...more

"Picked up the MP5 submachine gun and slung it over his left shoulder. Then he headed back north . . . Reacher, alone in the dark. Doing it the hard way." -- page 460
A sort of routine Jack Reacher thriller seemingly involving a kidnap / ransom with one or two good twists, I think this would have benefited from some editorial tightening to the plot. (At nearly 500 pages, it's still just a somewhat ordinary crime / mystery story.) 'Girl Friday' Lauren Pauling - an ex-federal agent turned private e ...more
A sort of routine Jack Reacher thriller seemingly involving a kidnap / ransom with one or two good twists, I think this would have benefited from some editorial tightening to the plot. (At nearly 500 pages, it's still just a somewhat ordinary crime / mystery story.) 'Girl Friday' Lauren Pauling - an ex-federal agent turned private e ...more

I've run out of accolades for how great this series and author are! The Hard Way is another prime example why I love these books and Reacher so much! A wife and daughter are kidnapped, ransom demands are made, and Reacher stumbles into the middle of it all. The wife's husband is a bad dude and now Reacher must figure out who's holding the hostages before their time runs out. For me, it's always fascinating to watch Jack work his way through a mystery case, maybe detour on a wrong assumption or t
...more

Just brilliant. As with every Lee Child story I have read I am just in awe of how he writes such a multi-layered tale. Something that starts off relatively simple, only to evolve into a gripping and heart-stopping read. The story in The Hard Way I felt was incredibly strong, I did work out a couple of the plot twists but they were all just so masterfully executed and I enjoyed every single page of this book. The ending was probably one of my favourites so far. I just love Jack Reacher. (Though w
...more

(Sigh) I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again, I can't get enough of Jack Reacher, I think he's becoming my new addiction, after the end of each book, it just leaves me wanting more, and The Hard Way is no exception!!
This time Jack Reacher finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, or is it the other way around, in the right place at the right time? As he's enjoying a nice day in New York City, he watches a man cross the street to a Mercedes and drive it away, it would seem ...more
This time Jack Reacher finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, or is it the other way around, in the right place at the right time? As he's enjoying a nice day in New York City, he watches a man cross the street to a Mercedes and drive it away, it would seem ...more

Weak 3 stars. Not as good as other Reacher books. Mostly solving a mystery. Not enough action. But it kept my interest.
STORY BRIEF:
Reacher is sitting in a coffee shop and observes a man enter a parked car and drive away. Reacher soon learns that this man was a kidnapper picking up ransom money. Lane’s wife and daughter were kidnaped. Lane asks Reacher to help find them. Lane runs a group of military mercenaries for hire.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
It’s mostly police style investigating. Not enough smart ...more
STORY BRIEF:
Reacher is sitting in a coffee shop and observes a man enter a parked car and drive away. Reacher soon learns that this man was a kidnapper picking up ransom money. Lane’s wife and daughter were kidnaped. Lane asks Reacher to help find them. Lane runs a group of military mercenaries for hire.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
It’s mostly police style investigating. Not enough smart ...more

I feel this is one of the better of the Jack Reacher series, the tenth one. I have been reading them out of order, as I pick them up at used bookstores. I don't think it makes much difference. In this one, Reacher is in New York City, a different environment for him than usual, as he is often in the country, in small towns. And, as usual, he gets caught up in a situation. He agrees to help an ex-military guy named Lane get his kidnapped wife and stepdaughter back...this despite Lane heading a b
...more

The Hard Way is a classic Jack Reacher novel - great pacing, clues are there but you'll miss them until Reacher identifies them, and Reacher puts away a slew of bad guys by himself at the end. Generally, this is a fun read with all the elements you expect. Two things work less well than in a typical Reacher novel though. First, there's no real tension or believable relationship between Reacher and a former-FBI agent with whom he has several consensual romps. Second, the reader isn't made to care
...more

It's hard to go wrong with Lee Child - I've not yet read a Jack Reacher novel I didn't enjoy. This one isn't as gripping as some of the others - 61 Hours, for example - yet it delivers everything one expects. Reacher's Sherlock Holmes-style deductions, his effortless strong-arm tactics with the bad guys, together with a fling with a female character before slipping away. OK, so that's the formula for all the Reacher novels, clothed in a different plot each time, but it works. An entertaining rea
...more

Jan 21, 2016
Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-own
All Reacher wants is to spend some time soaking New York as much as he can. But as fate would have it, he gets caught up in a case. Edward Lane’s wife and child has been kidnapped and the kidnapper wants a ransom. Edward involves the police and pays the ransom to no end. Then he hires Jack Reacher to finish the job. Is that his best or worst move? Because Edward Lane has a history that Jack Reacher is bound to find out…
I love this series like no other. Jack Reacher is a guy who delivers time and ...more
I love this series like no other. Jack Reacher is a guy who delivers time and ...more

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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It all began with someone opening a car door and driving off. Reacher witnesses this innocuous event, paying it little attention while spending time in New York City. When called upon to answer questions about the man he saw, Reacher soon realises that he may have witnessed part of an elaborate ransom payment. A woman and her daughter have been kidnapped and Reacher is hired by the distraught husband to help bring them home at any cost. While working with his temporary employer, he soon learns o
...more

Do you remember the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon-- Rocky would prepare to announce the next segment and Bullwinkle says "Hey Rock, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat." Rocky answers in disbelief, "Again, that trick never works!" As I started the next novel in my never-ending pursuit of completing this series of Reacher novels I had one of those moments where I wanted to say "Again? Jack Reacher is in the wrong place at the right time Again?"
While that moment in the first few pages of "The ...more
While that moment in the first few pages of "The ...more

Jack Reacher does it again! These books are a lot of fun to read, even though they are a bit violent for my tastes. I love seeing how Reacher's mind works and how he figures out the most implausible scenarios. And he manages to travel without a driver's license, credit card, or cell phone, and only one set of clothing. In reality this would be impossible, but it's still kind of fun. I almost thought this story would end without a lot of details of guns, but of course, that came into play in the
...more
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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 pr
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