It started with Batman Begins, this journey of the person
discovering the superhero in him. It continued with Casino Royale, X men
origins: Wolverine and the ilk. Taking inspiration from the trend, Lee Child
takes us sixteen years back to 1997 and to the case whose culmination made
Reacher resign from the army and become the maverick loner Jack Reacher.
A woman is found murdered with her throat cut behind a bar
in rural Mississippi. There is a military base near the place. The army wants
to control the blow back from the incident and hence sends the trusted major
Reacher to keep tabs on the local law enforcement.
The sheriff is a supremely beautiful woman Elizabeth
Deveraux. Her investigation has led her nowhere so far.
After the initial distrust, Reacher and the sheriff
predictably start working together to catch the killer.
Narrated in the first person by Reacher, this is one of the
best books which Lee Child has written.
The altercations between Reacher and some of the locals are
preceded by dialogues which drench with sarcasm. Reacher humiliates his
opponents with words which are extremely funny. They are so well written that
the reader would end up wishing that the fight never transpires and the verbal
exchanges keep on continuing.
The violence, when it happens, is absolutely brutal and
described vividly. Those with a fertile imagination would be able to see
Reacher land punches with remarkable clarity due to the language used by Mr.
Child.
The whodunit part is also well done. It is not as good as
“Gone for Good” or “One Shot”. But still, the reader won’t feel disappointed
with the denouement.
The sex scenes are well written and you may find yourself
reaching for your zipper to do the needful after reading some of them.
Reading this again brought back to me the casting disaster
which was Tom Cruise as Reacher.
Reacher has been a hard ass from his childhood and that is
well brought out by the short story Second Son which is provided after the end
of the book. The review for the same can be read at http://readthenwatch.blogspot.in/2013/07/second-son2011-by-lee-child-genre.html.
Reacher has become an integral part of my life due to the excellent
books written by Child. He is slowly acquiring mythical status due to his
cool quotient and this book does no harm to his reputation.
