Die Trying
ISBN: 9780553505412
Description
On a Chicago street in bright sunshine, Jack Reacher, is strolling nowhere and sees an attractive young woman, struggling on crutches. Naturally, he stops to offer her a steadying arm. And then he turns around to see a handgun aimed straight at his stomach. Locked in a dark, stifling van racing across America, chained to the woman, Reacher needs to know why he's there. The kidnappers are saying nothing. The woman claims to be an FBI agent. She's tough enough to be one. But at their remote destination, will raw courage and cunning be enough to overcome the hopeless odds?
Reviewed on 13th September 2010
The second Jack Reacher novel is every bit as good as the first. This time Reacher is an innocent by-stander caught up in the action when an attractive FBI agent is kidnapped by a crazy militia.
The start is a little shocking, with a switch from the first person narrative of the previous book in the series to third for this one. I soon got used to it though and having finished can understand that this story would not have been possible to tell otherwise. The style of prose remains the same though - very informal, quite factual and intricately detailed.
Reacher has grown since the first book and developed weaknesses, which is good as before I thought he was a little bit of a super-man. The other characters are all well fleshed out and with few exceptions feel very realistic. I was a little dubious when the FBI and senior figures in the American government were brought in, but ultimately it was handled very well and didn't turn into another military book like Clancy et al.
I've enjoyed this book and am now prepared to label myself a fan of Lee Child and prepared to go out and keep buying. Looking forward to more already.