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Jack Reacher #13
Underground
New York City, zwei Uhr nachts. Jack Reacher sitzt in der U-Bahn. Neben ihm befinden sich noch fünf weitere Personen im Abteil. Vier davon sind harmlos. Die fünfte erregt Reachers Aufmerksamkeit. Minutenlang beobachtet er sie genau – und ist sich sicher, eine Selbstmordattentäterin vor sich zu haben. Doch dann geschieht etwas Unerwartetes, und ausgerechnet Reacher selbst gerät ins Kreuzfeuer …
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
8404 people are currently reading
36172 people want to read
About the author
Lee Child
443 books34.4k followersLee 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,254 reviews
August 29, 2017
Superbly fantastic and definitely worth reading.
Lee Child has outdone himself once again with this thirteenth installment of Jack Reacher series. Unmistakably, Gone Tomorrow falls into the ‘exceptional read’ category. For me, this book had a very riveting and ingenious plot, and with each unforeseeable twist and turn, my curiosity grew bigger and bigger. The more I got into the story, the harder it was for me to put it down. This one had me completely hooked!
This book is, hands down, one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year. Couldn’t recommend it more highly!
Lee Child has outdone himself once again with this thirteenth installment of Jack Reacher series. Unmistakably, Gone Tomorrow falls into the ‘exceptional read’ category. For me, this book had a very riveting and ingenious plot, and with each unforeseeable twist and turn, my curiosity grew bigger and bigger. The more I got into the story, the harder it was for me to put it down. This one had me completely hooked!
This book is, hands down, one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year. Couldn’t recommend it more highly!
March 10, 2021
This is among the best of the Jack Reacher novels, and it opens with Reacher riding in a New York City subway car late at night. There are only a few other people in the car, including a middle-aged woman. At this time of night, most other people would be half asleep or at least minding their own business, but of course, Reacher is not most other people.
The Israelis have developed an eleven-point system for determining if a woman is a terrorist. (There's twelve things to check in the case of a potential male terrorist.) Naturally, Reacher knows the list by heart, and as the reader watches, Reacher patiently works his way through all eleven points before concluding that the woman is, in fact, a terrorist and that she has a bomb in the bag she's carrying.
Naturally, Reacher must prevent the woman from reaching her destination and setting off the bomb, taking who knows how many innocent lives along with her own. But how can he stop her when she's sitting several feet away from him with her finger almost certainly on the switch?
Of course Reacher will intervene, and when he does it sets off a series of developments that will have him in deep, deep trouble with the NYPD, the F.B.I., the Department of Defense, and a particularly nasty group of terrorists. There's also a candidate for the U.S. Senate who has secrets to protect and Reacher will have to be at the top of his game if he's going to get all this sorted out and somehow manage to survive and not wind up "disappeared" into a government hell hole somewhere.
The story moves along at the pace of one of those speeding bullets that Reacher always takes time to describe before firing the weapon that will send it on its way. It's a very entertaining and particularly scary story, in part because it does credibly suggest that in the post-9/11 era, at least some individuals and agencies within the U.S. government are perfectly willing to trample all over the basic rights and civil liberties of anyone who might get in their way--all for The Greater Good, of course. All things said, Gone Tomorrowa very compelling read.
The Israelis have developed an eleven-point system for determining if a woman is a terrorist. (There's twelve things to check in the case of a potential male terrorist.) Naturally, Reacher knows the list by heart, and as the reader watches, Reacher patiently works his way through all eleven points before concluding that the woman is, in fact, a terrorist and that she has a bomb in the bag she's carrying.
Naturally, Reacher must prevent the woman from reaching her destination and setting off the bomb, taking who knows how many innocent lives along with her own. But how can he stop her when she's sitting several feet away from him with her finger almost certainly on the switch?
Of course Reacher will intervene, and when he does it sets off a series of developments that will have him in deep, deep trouble with the NYPD, the F.B.I., the Department of Defense, and a particularly nasty group of terrorists. There's also a candidate for the U.S. Senate who has secrets to protect and Reacher will have to be at the top of his game if he's going to get all this sorted out and somehow manage to survive and not wind up "disappeared" into a government hell hole somewhere.
The story moves along at the pace of one of those speeding bullets that Reacher always takes time to describe before firing the weapon that will send it on its way. It's a very entertaining and particularly scary story, in part because it does credibly suggest that in the post-9/11 era, at least some individuals and agencies within the U.S. government are perfectly willing to trample all over the basic rights and civil liberties of anyone who might get in their way--all for The Greater Good, of course. All things said, Gone Tomorrowa very compelling read.
May 22, 2009
This one's hard to review because any little detail I reveal might turn out to spoil a surprise for someone. I will say this was an exciting, satisfying read. Much more like his earlier Reacher books that got us hooked. Once you get past a certain point in the book, there's no good stopping point. You just have to keep reading right on through. Don't expect perfect plausibility. It's a thriller, so let yourself go and enjoy! There are even a few good laughs along the way. The thing about the rubber gardening clogs had me cackling.
Jack Reacher witnesses a late-night tragedy involving a woman on a New York subway. He is approached by various people who know he was a witness. They ask him questions that make no sense to him, and he decides to figure out why the woman did what she did on the subway. Stubborn and arrogant as ever, Reacher refuses to back off regardless of the danger level. It's an elaborate cat and mouse game through the streets and subways of New York City. Who's the cat and who's the mouse remains to be decided as the story progresses. There's only one small thing left unrevealed at the end that I really wanted to know. We can only hope it will be revealed in a future installment.
Jack Reacher witnesses a late-night tragedy involving a woman on a New York subway. He is approached by various people who know he was a witness. They ask him questions that make no sense to him, and he decides to figure out why the woman did what she did on the subway. Stubborn and arrogant as ever, Reacher refuses to back off regardless of the danger level. It's an elaborate cat and mouse game through the streets and subways of New York City. Who's the cat and who's the mouse remains to be decided as the story progresses. There's only one small thing left unrevealed at the end that I really wanted to know. We can only hope it will be revealed in a future installment.
January 4, 2012
You know that game you can play where "The Karate Kid" becomes a lot funnier if you just imagine that Mr. Miyagi is stoned the whole time?
You don't? Well, now you do.
Anyway, I've devised my own little game, and I play it every time I read a Lee Child thriller. I imagine that his hero, Jack Reacher, has Asperger's Syndrome.
Before any of you "psychologists" out there jump all over me -- no, all the pieces don't fit -- but his obsessive tendencies, his refusal to own any possessions, his rootlessness, and the amount of time he lavishes on noticing small, precise, exact details add up to someone who is very, very different from most everyone else on planet earth.
I'm actually not a big fan of DSM classifications, so maybe diagnosing Jack Reacher on the autism scale is a waste of time. Still, his brain does work in a strange and particular way. When someone pulls a gun on him, the reader is not only going to find out that it's a Ruger Speed-Six .357 Magnum, but also that the .357 Magnum was invented in 1935, and that "magnum" is Latin for "big." When Jack Reacher is riding a subway car, he's not only going to describe the size of the car, the other passengers, and the sounds of the train going through the tunnels and the brakes screeching, he's also going to let the reader know that he's on car number 7622, which is an R142A model, which is the newest on the MTA transit system, and that it was built in Kobe, Japan, by Kawasaki. He's also going to assign his fellow passengers numbers and spend an inordinate amount of time describing to the reader exactly where they are sitting in relation to him.
In fact, Reacher spends so much time over the course of the first several chapters describing his exact surroundings on the subway (where he thinks he's spotted a female suicide bomber) that I was surprised when things came to a hasty conclusion and he was off on adventures through New York City and down the eastern seaboard to Washington, D.C.
I actually think Lee Child's thrillers work best when he embraces the fact that his protagonist is somewhat odd (although I'm not sure he realizes just how odd he is). They don't work so well when he spends time trying to build romantic relationships for Reacher (as in Tripwire) because they're never believable. At least in Gone Tomorrow, the only sex scene is mercifully brief and in keeping with his character. ("It was all good. Then we passed some kind of a threshold and got into it harder. A short minute later we were completely out of control." Done.)
Of all the Jack Reacher thrillers I've read so far, I'd classify them as either "not so good" or "pretty good," and this one falls firmly in the region of "pretty good." It frequently approaches "damned good," but not quite often enough for me to bump my rating up from three stars to four stars.
Oh, and in my last review of a Reacher thriller -- 61 Hours, the book published right after this one -- I was left with a single burning question. Does the homeless Jack Reacher ever brush his teeth? Well, Gone Tomorrow finally answered my question. Several times in the book he mentions the folding toothbrush he carries with him everywhere. So I can cross that off my list of burning questions.
You don't? Well, now you do.
Anyway, I've devised my own little game, and I play it every time I read a Lee Child thriller. I imagine that his hero, Jack Reacher, has Asperger's Syndrome.
Before any of you "psychologists" out there jump all over me -- no, all the pieces don't fit -- but his obsessive tendencies, his refusal to own any possessions, his rootlessness, and the amount of time he lavishes on noticing small, precise, exact details add up to someone who is very, very different from most everyone else on planet earth.
I'm actually not a big fan of DSM classifications, so maybe diagnosing Jack Reacher on the autism scale is a waste of time. Still, his brain does work in a strange and particular way. When someone pulls a gun on him, the reader is not only going to find out that it's a Ruger Speed-Six .357 Magnum, but also that the .357 Magnum was invented in 1935, and that "magnum" is Latin for "big." When Jack Reacher is riding a subway car, he's not only going to describe the size of the car, the other passengers, and the sounds of the train going through the tunnels and the brakes screeching, he's also going to let the reader know that he's on car number 7622, which is an R142A model, which is the newest on the MTA transit system, and that it was built in Kobe, Japan, by Kawasaki. He's also going to assign his fellow passengers numbers and spend an inordinate amount of time describing to the reader exactly where they are sitting in relation to him.
In fact, Reacher spends so much time over the course of the first several chapters describing his exact surroundings on the subway (where he thinks he's spotted a female suicide bomber) that I was surprised when things came to a hasty conclusion and he was off on adventures through New York City and down the eastern seaboard to Washington, D.C.
I actually think Lee Child's thrillers work best when he embraces the fact that his protagonist is somewhat odd (although I'm not sure he realizes just how odd he is). They don't work so well when he spends time trying to build romantic relationships for Reacher (as in Tripwire) because they're never believable. At least in Gone Tomorrow, the only sex scene is mercifully brief and in keeping with his character. ("It was all good. Then we passed some kind of a threshold and got into it harder. A short minute later we were completely out of control." Done.)
Of all the Jack Reacher thrillers I've read so far, I'd classify them as either "not so good" or "pretty good," and this one falls firmly in the region of "pretty good." It frequently approaches "damned good," but not quite often enough for me to bump my rating up from three stars to four stars.
Oh, and in my last review of a Reacher thriller -- 61 Hours, the book published right after this one -- I was left with a single burning question. Does the homeless Jack Reacher ever brush his teeth? Well, Gone Tomorrow finally answered my question. Several times in the book he mentions the folding toothbrush he carries with him everywhere. So I can cross that off my list of burning questions.
November 10, 2024
چسبید
یک سوم اول کوبنده بود، اون وسطا یکم خستهکننده شد و توی یک سوم آخر گفت خودتو سفت بگیر
ریچر ساعت دو شب توی قطاری توی نیویورک به یه خانمی مشکوک میشه که تموم نشونههای هشداردهنده برای یه حملهی انتحاری رو داره و طبیعتاً میره که جلوش رو بگیره ولی خب، تا آخرای داستان پیچش پشت پیچش
از خوبای مجموعه
----------
نوشتهی پشت جلد نسخهی فارسی به طرز مسخرهای قسمتهای جذابی رو لو میده
یک سوم اول کوبنده بود، اون وسطا یکم خستهکننده شد و توی یک سوم آخر گفت خودتو سفت بگیر
ریچر ساعت دو شب توی قطاری توی نیویورک به یه خانمی مشکوک میشه که تموم نشونههای هشداردهنده برای یه حملهی انتحاری رو داره و طبیعتاً میره که جلوش رو بگیره ولی خب، تا آخرای داستان پیچش پشت پیچش
از خوبای مجموعه
----------
نوشتهی پشت جلد نسخهی فارسی به طرز مسخرهای قسمتهای جذابی رو لو میده
August 1, 2021
"I kept my eyes moving all around the park. Look, don't see. Listen, don't hear. The more you engage, the longer you survive." -- Jack Reacher, on suddenly being a wanted man, page 369
The mediocrity or just plain dullness of the previous chronological Jack Reacher novel, Nothing to Lose, instantly made it my least favorite in the series thus far when I read it two months ago. But in a nice rebounding manner, the follow-up Gone Tomorrow seemed like one of the better and certainly one of the more serious (with its references to actual and unpleasant global military history) of the Reacher books. The storyline kept me involved enough that I devoured it in single weekend, and it's also one of the rare entries presented in first-person narration. It opens with quite literally a mind-blowing bang as the former U.S. military policeman Reacher, riding on the New York City subway system at dawn, witnesses a troubled-looking fellow passenger intentionally shoot herself in the head. The plot then gets all properly twisty and twisted (there were several alluded-to and described torture scenes - definitely my least favorite moments) as Reacher discovers that a decorated U.S. Army hero-turned-senatorial incumbent is desperately seeking to suppress some buried but still-potentially troublesome information on a prior off-the-records mission, all the while a lethal squad of Al Qaeda operatives have also covertly arrived in the Big Apple. Is the entire thing plausible? Who know or really cares? It read like an exceptionally good conspiracy-laced dramatic action film.
The mediocrity or just plain dullness of the previous chronological Jack Reacher novel, Nothing to Lose, instantly made it my least favorite in the series thus far when I read it two months ago. But in a nice rebounding manner, the follow-up Gone Tomorrow seemed like one of the better and certainly one of the more serious (with its references to actual and unpleasant global military history) of the Reacher books. The storyline kept me involved enough that I devoured it in single weekend, and it's also one of the rare entries presented in first-person narration. It opens with quite literally a mind-blowing bang as the former U.S. military policeman Reacher, riding on the New York City subway system at dawn, witnesses a troubled-looking fellow passenger intentionally shoot herself in the head. The plot then gets all properly twisty and twisted (there were several alluded-to and described torture scenes - definitely my least favorite moments) as Reacher discovers that a decorated U.S. Army hero-turned-senatorial incumbent is desperately seeking to suppress some buried but still-potentially troublesome information on a prior off-the-records mission, all the while a lethal squad of Al Qaeda operatives have also covertly arrived in the Big Apple. Is the entire thing plausible? Who know or really cares? It read like an exceptionally good conspiracy-laced dramatic action film.
May 6, 2021
Jack Reacher finds himself in the midst of an event in Manhattan which leads him into a series of interconnected plots. Lee Child skillfully introduces the elements of the story which, at times, seems to be leading nowhere. Reacher's instincts and integrity lead him to the truth, and he sorts out the solutions in his own unique way. Although only a four star, I love the way Lee Child writes action scenes. His technical detail is vivid, and his flair for describing the action makes you hold your breath. Lee Child has another winner.
March 8, 2023
Reacher, as always is in fine form. I love Jeff Harding’s narration and am yet to pick up a physical book from this series. This instalment starts with Reacher happening upon a female would be suicide bomber. I learned a lot from his observations of this woman on the subway in New York at 2am.
This book included characters such as Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Rumsfeld.
Reacher doesn’t always get it right, but as in all my reading, it is the character study that interests me. I love the writing of Lee Child, and this book does not disappoint. As always, never a dull moment. Recommended reading.
Some guys kick cats, I keep walking.
(On Bin Laden)
He was a long lanky streak of piss
I could have reached up and snapped his scrawny neck any old time I wanted to
Did you want to? (asked Reacher)
You bet I did….
…I said, ‘suicide mission’.
But it would have saved a lot of lives later.
I nodded.
Just like if Rumsfeld had stuck a shiv in Saddam.
Right there on the corner were four more guys waiting to talk to me. Similar types as before but not federal agents. Their suits were too expensive.
The world is the same jungle all over, but New York is its purest distillation. What is useful elsewhere is vital in the big city. You see four guys bunched on a corner waiting for you, you either run like hell in the opposite direction without hesitation or you keep on walking without slowing down or speeding up or breaking stride. You look ahead with studied neutrality, you check their faces, you look away. Like you’re saying, is that all you got. Truth is it’s smarter to run, the best fight is the one you don’t have. But I’ve never claimed to be smart, just obstinate, and occasionally bad tempered.
In a befuddled state I heard my brother’s voice in my head. A line he liked to use as a kid. Before you criticize someone you should walk a mile in his shoes, then when you start criticising them you’re a mile away and he’s got to run after you in his socks.
I listened to this on the BorrowBox platform via my public library, at 1.75 speed. Jeff Harding's voice suits this series perfectly.
This book included characters such as Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Rumsfeld.
Reacher doesn’t always get it right, but as in all my reading, it is the character study that interests me. I love the writing of Lee Child, and this book does not disappoint. As always, never a dull moment. Recommended reading.
Some guys kick cats, I keep walking.
(On Bin Laden)
He was a long lanky streak of piss
I could have reached up and snapped his scrawny neck any old time I wanted to
Did you want to? (asked Reacher)
You bet I did….
…I said, ‘suicide mission’.
But it would have saved a lot of lives later.
I nodded.
Just like if Rumsfeld had stuck a shiv in Saddam.
Right there on the corner were four more guys waiting to talk to me. Similar types as before but not federal agents. Their suits were too expensive.
The world is the same jungle all over, but New York is its purest distillation. What is useful elsewhere is vital in the big city. You see four guys bunched on a corner waiting for you, you either run like hell in the opposite direction without hesitation or you keep on walking without slowing down or speeding up or breaking stride. You look ahead with studied neutrality, you check their faces, you look away. Like you’re saying, is that all you got. Truth is it’s smarter to run, the best fight is the one you don’t have. But I’ve never claimed to be smart, just obstinate, and occasionally bad tempered.
In a befuddled state I heard my brother’s voice in my head. A line he liked to use as a kid. Before you criticize someone you should walk a mile in his shoes, then when you start criticising them you’re a mile away and he’s got to run after you in his socks.
I listened to this on the BorrowBox platform via my public library, at 1.75 speed. Jeff Harding's voice suits this series perfectly.
May 21, 2018
My Rating: 2.9/5
It's a good book. Boring half the time though and repetitive. I expected more.
It's a good book. Boring half the time though and repetitive. I expected more.
June 5, 2024
Sometimes it’s hard to determine who is a friend and who is an enemy especially when they may change over time. This seems to be the theme is this suspense packer thriller as Reacher is drawn into international intrigue after watching a shocking suicide on a subway. The body count is high as is the tension and the plot twists.
October 4, 2017
Another outstanding Reacher ... Lee Child never fails to write powerful, tense action
August 12, 2013
I like the Jack Reacher series but my goodness this was tedious. I kept putting it down and not wanting to go back to it. Reacher is on a New York train when he sees a woman who meets all the usual requirements for a suicide bomber but when he sticks his snout in, the woman whips out a gun and kills herself. Everyone else on the train car disappears and he is left to explain what happened. Immediately he is hassled by the feds, the NYPD, and some mysterious foreign guys in cheap suits with phony business cards and two weird female leaders- a mean old hag who is from the middle east and loves to slice people open and skin them and a model worthy beauty named Lila who is even meaner than the hag. Eek!
So Reacher is in the middle of the mess because they all want a certain federal file that the dead woman lifted (she works for the Dept of Defense) and has on a flash drive and everyone- including a former military guy who had done an illegal mission in Lila's country and who is running for political office- thinks the dead woman gave it to Reacher.
Soon he is involved in intrigue and is being chased by the police, feds, and international murdering terrorists. Somehow this is just , I don't know, blah. He has his usual roll in the hay once with a female detective for no apparent reason (there is nothing in it for her).
So Reacher is in the middle of the mess because they all want a certain federal file that the dead woman lifted (she works for the Dept of Defense) and has on a flash drive and everyone- including a former military guy who had done an illegal mission in Lila's country and who is running for political office- thinks the dead woman gave it to Reacher.
Soon he is involved in intrigue and is being chased by the police, feds, and international murdering terrorists. Somehow this is just , I don't know, blah. He has his usual roll in the hay once with a female detective for no apparent reason (there is nothing in it for her).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2009
This book was brilliant. I couldn’t put it down. The action was there right from the beginning and didn’t let up throughout the whole story. The plot was fast paced, which made it a real page turner. The main character is one of those people that you can’t help but like, despite the fact that he’s a killer. The characterisation of Reacher is in-depth and gives the book real integrity. Having read Killing Floor - which introduced Jack Reacher - but nothing in between, I liked how the character has developed between the two books.
I liked the length of the chapters. They were relatively short, which meant that each part of the book could be digested in smaller chunks and it made it easier to come back to after a break. There were a couple of twists in the book that kept my interest, and I thought they added to the plot – sometimes twists can seem contrived, but not in this case. I liked the plot subject - I can't actually say anything about it, as that would give away details, but suffice to say it's very relevant and I liked Child's take on it.
A great book, definitely one I’d recommend to fans of fast-paced thrillers. I’ve only read one other Lee Child book (and enjoyed that one too as it happens), but I’ll definitely be reading the previous books in this series.
I liked the length of the chapters. They were relatively short, which meant that each part of the book could be digested in smaller chunks and it made it easier to come back to after a break. There were a couple of twists in the book that kept my interest, and I thought they added to the plot – sometimes twists can seem contrived, but not in this case. I liked the plot subject - I can't actually say anything about it, as that would give away details, but suffice to say it's very relevant and I liked Child's take on it.
A great book, definitely one I’d recommend to fans of fast-paced thrillers. I’ve only read one other Lee Child book (and enjoyed that one too as it happens), but I’ll definitely be reading the previous books in this series.
April 2, 2023
Loved loved loved it.
Each Jack Reacher book I read I fall more and more in love with him.
Five stars.
Each Jack Reacher book I read I fall more and more in love with him.
Five stars.
July 24, 2025
I hate subways. They are a claustrophobic and xenophobic nightmare. Underground tin cans bulleting through tunnels, stuffed wall-to-wall with sweaty, grumpy people. Not my idea of fun. After reading Lee Child's 13th book in his Jack Reacher series, "Gone Tomorrow", I hate them even more.
Reacher has a talent for finding trouble. One could argue that trouble finds him, but half the time he does most of the footwork. In this case, a simple subway ride turns into a violent roller-coaster with geo-political ramifications.
Reacher finds a seat in a random subway car at 2 a.m. Besides himself, there are five other passengers. By pure luck, one of the passengers is a woman named Susan Marks. Based on his military knowledge and experience, Reacher is aware of the Israeli counterintelligence checklist for identifying a suicide bomber. There are eleven indicators. Ms. Marks exhibits ten of them.
To say more would spoil the fun and suspense of this novel, which builds to a terrifying crescendo. It is, also, probably the most violent of the Reacher novels thus far, so a word to the squeamish: if this were a movie, you would probably have to cover your eyes through nearly a third of it.
Reacher has a talent for finding trouble. One could argue that trouble finds him, but half the time he does most of the footwork. In this case, a simple subway ride turns into a violent roller-coaster with geo-political ramifications.
Reacher finds a seat in a random subway car at 2 a.m. Besides himself, there are five other passengers. By pure luck, one of the passengers is a woman named Susan Marks. Based on his military knowledge and experience, Reacher is aware of the Israeli counterintelligence checklist for identifying a suicide bomber. There are eleven indicators. Ms. Marks exhibits ten of them.
To say more would spoil the fun and suspense of this novel, which builds to a terrifying crescendo. It is, also, probably the most violent of the Reacher novels thus far, so a word to the squeamish: if this were a movie, you would probably have to cover your eyes through nearly a third of it.
January 16, 2024
GONE TOMORROW By Lee Child [JACK REACHER BOOK 13]
MY REVIEW FIVE STARS*****
I deliberated and decided what book I would read to finish out the year, to put the proverbial period after "2018", this re-read of one of my absolute favorites from Lee Child's JACK REACHER Series. This thirteenth installment in the iconic Jack Reacher novels, published a decade ago in 2009, has special meaning for me besides being one of my favorites out of what is now an absolutely stellar selection of sensational stories to choose from...
...it was my FIRST. I still remember just standing in the second isle of audio books at my library like a statue. I was pressed for time and had to find an acceptable book on tape to rent. I couldn't find a single Baldacci, Connelly, Deaver, Gardner, Lescroart, Martini, or any of a dozen other authors I ordinarily picked. There was a lot of time logged just driving and it was pretty lonely until my epiphany and long term relationship with audio books. Anyway, there I was...a bit disgruntled because there were no options that I could see for books by my favorite writers. The books on tape were alphabetized and I had gone all the way back to the beginning and was standing in front of "C". My eyes fell on the rather unassuming title "GONE TOMORROW" by Lee Child. I pulled it out, read the jacket, went to the counter, handed it to the librarian, and well...the rest is history.
I re-read this book slowly, savoring every scene. I love the way Child ends every chapter on a cliff hanger. His writing technique is utterly effective, exciting, and compelling. His novels are the very definition of "page-turners" or "unputdownable". GONE TOMORROW is no exception.
The story starts in the wee hours of the morning with Reacher, a former MP in the Army, aboard a near empty Manhattan subway car. He notices a fellow passenger, a woman who is manifesting all 11 signs developed and deployed by Israeli counterintelligence to identify suicide bombers. Reacher is compelled to act but when he is within a few feet of the woman and trying to engage her in a dialogue, she abruptly pulls out a powerful handgun and blows the contents of her skull all to smithereens. Blood, brains and bits of bone are still clinging to the sides of the subway car when our narrative propels us forward.
I was spellbound as the plot unfolded with Reacher taking me along with him for a positively pulse-pounding thrill ride through the streets of New York City. In short, my first introduction to Reacher was a gripping masterpiece of suspense that left me incredulous that I had not picked up a Lee Child novel before.
Saying that this novel is "good" would be like saying that homemade ice cream in July is "good". This book is exciting, enthralling, and just about the best suspense novel of its kind that I have ever read. The fictional character of Reacher is absolutely fearless, flawless, uncompromising, and remarkably relentless in his pursuit of his concept of justice. He is the quintessential "good guy" who stands 6 foot 5 inches tall, packs 250 lbs. of pure muscle, and with hands the size of hams. He is a lethal opponent with brains to match his brawn, but all too often underestimated by his opposition. We know going in that he is our champion and that no bully on this planet is going to get close to his off-switch.
How is it then...that the author possesses the ability to ratchet up the pace until the level of anxiety, apprehension, and fear for the safety of the resilient and reliable Reacher renders us barely able to take a breath and turn the page. This time around there are multiple bullies for Reacher to stop, and the odds are a seemingly insurmountable 19 to 1.
We know that Reacher is going to use all of the tools at his disposal, and that he will prevail against the villains---in this case a well-armed and expert Al Qaeda terror cell. An analogy might be to be aboard a dingy being tossed around in a raging river and see up ahead that you are heading for a monstrous waterfall. The terror and sense of doom would be palpable. You can experience that kind of fear during this Reacher novel, but from the safety of knowing that you----like Reacher---will be safe regardless of the danger you face.
Child's prose, his writing, well, it is as propulsive as it gets, period. He is an expert at ratcheting up the suspense like no other writer that comes to mind. Child is great at what he does...delivering thrillers that hand you that vicarious experience of standing beside Reacher as he prevails. His cliff-hangers are constant, his plot twists often brilliant, and in no case will you be left without a racing pulse and a pounding heartbeat.
The blood-splattered finale of this novel is unforgettable. The face-off between Reacher and two of his deadliest foes, a pair of sociopathic and sadistic female terrorist operatives, form the basis for a well choreographed and perhaps most memorable fight scene in Reacher history. I read the book for the first time a decade ago, but I can still recall the suspense and satisfaction of the horrific conclusion.
MY REVIEW FIVE STARS*****
I deliberated and decided what book I would read to finish out the year, to put the proverbial period after "2018", this re-read of one of my absolute favorites from Lee Child's JACK REACHER Series. This thirteenth installment in the iconic Jack Reacher novels, published a decade ago in 2009, has special meaning for me besides being one of my favorites out of what is now an absolutely stellar selection of sensational stories to choose from...
...it was my FIRST. I still remember just standing in the second isle of audio books at my library like a statue. I was pressed for time and had to find an acceptable book on tape to rent. I couldn't find a single Baldacci, Connelly, Deaver, Gardner, Lescroart, Martini, or any of a dozen other authors I ordinarily picked. There was a lot of time logged just driving and it was pretty lonely until my epiphany and long term relationship with audio books. Anyway, there I was...a bit disgruntled because there were no options that I could see for books by my favorite writers. The books on tape were alphabetized and I had gone all the way back to the beginning and was standing in front of "C". My eyes fell on the rather unassuming title "GONE TOMORROW" by Lee Child. I pulled it out, read the jacket, went to the counter, handed it to the librarian, and well...the rest is history.
I re-read this book slowly, savoring every scene. I love the way Child ends every chapter on a cliff hanger. His writing technique is utterly effective, exciting, and compelling. His novels are the very definition of "page-turners" or "unputdownable". GONE TOMORROW is no exception.
The story starts in the wee hours of the morning with Reacher, a former MP in the Army, aboard a near empty Manhattan subway car. He notices a fellow passenger, a woman who is manifesting all 11 signs developed and deployed by Israeli counterintelligence to identify suicide bombers. Reacher is compelled to act but when he is within a few feet of the woman and trying to engage her in a dialogue, she abruptly pulls out a powerful handgun and blows the contents of her skull all to smithereens. Blood, brains and bits of bone are still clinging to the sides of the subway car when our narrative propels us forward.
I was spellbound as the plot unfolded with Reacher taking me along with him for a positively pulse-pounding thrill ride through the streets of New York City. In short, my first introduction to Reacher was a gripping masterpiece of suspense that left me incredulous that I had not picked up a Lee Child novel before.
Saying that this novel is "good" would be like saying that homemade ice cream in July is "good". This book is exciting, enthralling, and just about the best suspense novel of its kind that I have ever read. The fictional character of Reacher is absolutely fearless, flawless, uncompromising, and remarkably relentless in his pursuit of his concept of justice. He is the quintessential "good guy" who stands 6 foot 5 inches tall, packs 250 lbs. of pure muscle, and with hands the size of hams. He is a lethal opponent with brains to match his brawn, but all too often underestimated by his opposition. We know going in that he is our champion and that no bully on this planet is going to get close to his off-switch.
How is it then...that the author possesses the ability to ratchet up the pace until the level of anxiety, apprehension, and fear for the safety of the resilient and reliable Reacher renders us barely able to take a breath and turn the page. This time around there are multiple bullies for Reacher to stop, and the odds are a seemingly insurmountable 19 to 1.
We know that Reacher is going to use all of the tools at his disposal, and that he will prevail against the villains---in this case a well-armed and expert Al Qaeda terror cell. An analogy might be to be aboard a dingy being tossed around in a raging river and see up ahead that you are heading for a monstrous waterfall. The terror and sense of doom would be palpable. You can experience that kind of fear during this Reacher novel, but from the safety of knowing that you----like Reacher---will be safe regardless of the danger you face.
Child's prose, his writing, well, it is as propulsive as it gets, period. He is an expert at ratcheting up the suspense like no other writer that comes to mind. Child is great at what he does...delivering thrillers that hand you that vicarious experience of standing beside Reacher as he prevails. His cliff-hangers are constant, his plot twists often brilliant, and in no case will you be left without a racing pulse and a pounding heartbeat.
The blood-splattered finale of this novel is unforgettable. The face-off between Reacher and two of his deadliest foes, a pair of sociopathic and sadistic female terrorist operatives, form the basis for a well choreographed and perhaps most memorable fight scene in Reacher history. I read the book for the first time a decade ago, but I can still recall the suspense and satisfaction of the horrific conclusion.
July 19, 2019
Book 13 in the Jack Reacher series.
Another high action, heart pumping Jack Reacher thriller.
Jack just can’t help himself, no matter what the situation he just has to get involved.
On this occasion Jack is sitting on an underground train at 2 am, as you do, when he sees a woman acting strangely, just like he would expect a bomber to be acting. Never one to ignore a possible threatening situation Jack approaches the woman with the intention of talking out of what ever it is she is intending. Much to Jacks surprise the woman pulls a gun out and points it at Jack but even more surprising is when she puts the gun to her head and shoots herself.
Jack, of course, can’t leave things there he has to get involved and in so doing becomes the number one target from, not only the people responsible for the woman’s suicide but also the NYPD, the FBI, the Department of Defence and last but not least the Department of Homeland Security. To say that he is up to his neck in it would be accurate.
With his usual grit and determination Jack make it his business to see that the baddies get what’s coming to them. It’s never a good idea to rub Jack up the wrong way.
A 4 star, high action, read with enough twists and spills to keep you turning the pages.
Another high action, heart pumping Jack Reacher thriller.
Jack just can’t help himself, no matter what the situation he just has to get involved.
On this occasion Jack is sitting on an underground train at 2 am, as you do, when he sees a woman acting strangely, just like he would expect a bomber to be acting. Never one to ignore a possible threatening situation Jack approaches the woman with the intention of talking out of what ever it is she is intending. Much to Jacks surprise the woman pulls a gun out and points it at Jack but even more surprising is when she puts the gun to her head and shoots herself.
Jack, of course, can’t leave things there he has to get involved and in so doing becomes the number one target from, not only the people responsible for the woman’s suicide but also the NYPD, the FBI, the Department of Defence and last but not least the Department of Homeland Security. To say that he is up to his neck in it would be accurate.
With his usual grit and determination Jack make it his business to see that the baddies get what’s coming to them. It’s never a good idea to rub Jack up the wrong way.
A 4 star, high action, read with enough twists and spills to keep you turning the pages.
August 13, 2013
I was on page 369 before I realized that one of the characters in this novel by Lee Child was named Lee. Yes, yes, it was her last name, but she is constantly referred to as Lee, and yet I didn't notice till I was more than halfway through the book. I usually notice that type of author hilarity fairly quickly, but not this time. THAT'S how completely immersed I was in the action. This book is utterly absorbing. I am amazed at Child's ability to keep the pace break-neck and the turns switch-back and the dialogue and narratorial commentary tongue-in-cheek. I was on a roller-coaster on a ride I did not want to end, and so I read this 500+-page novel in the course of two days, basically in about nine hours. I was not happy when the novel was over, yet I am gleeful that I have the next novel in the series on my "To-Read Shelf." I am going to savor the anticipation and NOT start the book for at least a week as I enjoy the post-novel glow. If you want to read a thrilling thriller; read this one--or any other Jack Reacher novel. I've read six now, and every one was a great pleasure. If you've never read a Jack Reacher novel and only saw poor little Tom Cruise trying not only to fill but actually walk in Reacher's very large ass-kicking boots, then I envy you (although I'm sorry to hear you wasted money on the movie when you could have bought two of the novels)--you have sixteen or seventeen hits of bliss ahead of you in novel-sized installments. Go ye forth and enjoy.
July 3, 2021
This is book 13 in the Reacher series and he finds himself yet again in the crossfire of violence and crime. When a woman on the subway in New York ticks all the boxes of being a suicide bomber Reacher cannot help but approach her and talk to her. What follows has Reacher dealing with US secret service and Al-Qaeda.
Somewhat predictable but still gripping, another good story.
Somewhat predictable but still gripping, another good story.
May 22, 2018
4 stars
Warning: There are brutal torture scenes at about 38% and 72% through the book. I skipped them.
As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.
There's a lot of holes in this, and excessive detail a bit too often (a well-known Child flaw), but it's a good ride, very satisfying. I skimmed maybe 30 pages overall to keep an excellent pace, and that worked pretty well for me.
As usual, the middle of the book lagged a bit, and you can skip the torture scenes as noted above - they add nothing to the plot, and only add mouth-foam to the bad guys. There's a bit too much detail about New York City itself, the streets and trains and buildings. The dialogue is mostly very good, on-point and advancing the plot.
The climax is very good, high on action and tradecraft. This book was actually better than I thought it would be.
Notes and quotes:
Susan Mark: a woman heading for the end of her life, as surely and certainly as the train was heading for the end of the line.
The world is the same jungle all over, but New York is its purest distillation.
Ruger Speed-six
Full size image
The universal Noir-mobile (Reacher, Bosch, Spenser, Cole, etc): Crown Vic
Full size image
38% - A very interesting and brutal pocket history here of the Soviet experience in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. WARNING: VERY BRUTAL
... you must save the last bullet for yourself because you do not want to be taken alive, especially by the women.
Gregori Hoth's VAL VSS Silent Sniper rifle. Note the huge suppressor (silencer)
Full size image
I said, ‘I was telling [him] about how we studied the Red Army. You know what they were most afraid of? Not us. They were most afraid of their own people. Their worst torment was living their whole lives proving their own innocence, over and over again.’
The army had tested the Steyr GB. It was a miracle of modern engineering. Not only did it work exactly like it should, it also worked exactly like it shouldn’t. It had a complex gas-delayed blowback system that meant it could be loaded with substandard or elderly or badly assembled rounds and still fire. Most guns have problems with variable gas pressures. Either they blow up with too much or fail to cycle with too little. But the Steyr could handle anything. Which was why Special Forces loved it. They were often far from home with no logistics, forced to rely on whatever they could scrounge up locally. The Steyr GB was a metal marvel.
Springfield's Steyr GB
Full size image
Reacher's silenced Heckler & Koch MP5SD
Full size image
.
Warning: There are brutal torture scenes at about 38% and 72% through the book. I skipped them.
As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.
There's a lot of holes in this, and excessive detail a bit too often (a well-known Child flaw), but it's a good ride, very satisfying. I skimmed maybe 30 pages overall to keep an excellent pace, and that worked pretty well for me.
As usual, the middle of the book lagged a bit, and you can skip the torture scenes as noted above - they add nothing to the plot, and only add mouth-foam to the bad guys. There's a bit too much detail about New York City itself, the streets and trains and buildings. The dialogue is mostly very good, on-point and advancing the plot.
The climax is very good, high on action and tradecraft. This book was actually better than I thought it would be.
Notes and quotes:
Susan Mark: a woman heading for the end of her life, as surely and certainly as the train was heading for the end of the line.
The world is the same jungle all over, but New York is its purest distillation.
Ruger Speed-six
Full size image
The universal Noir-mobile (Reacher, Bosch, Spenser, Cole, etc): Crown Vic
Full size image
38% - A very interesting and brutal pocket history here of the Soviet experience in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. WARNING: VERY BRUTAL
... you must save the last bullet for yourself because you do not want to be taken alive, especially by the women.
Gregori Hoth's VAL VSS Silent Sniper rifle. Note the huge suppressor (silencer)
Full size image
I said, ‘I was telling [him] about how we studied the Red Army. You know what they were most afraid of? Not us. They were most afraid of their own people. Their worst torment was living their whole lives proving their own innocence, over and over again.’
The army had tested the Steyr GB. It was a miracle of modern engineering. Not only did it work exactly like it should, it also worked exactly like it shouldn’t. It had a complex gas-delayed blowback system that meant it could be loaded with substandard or elderly or badly assembled rounds and still fire. Most guns have problems with variable gas pressures. Either they blow up with too much or fail to cycle with too little. But the Steyr could handle anything. Which was why Special Forces loved it. They were often far from home with no logistics, forced to rely on whatever they could scrounge up locally. The Steyr GB was a metal marvel.
Springfield's Steyr GB
Full size image
Reacher's silenced Heckler & Koch MP5SD
Full size image
.
February 27, 2021
A great insurmountable Reacher pursuit with the “x-military” cop & drifter to the get truth in this typical mystery — his high unstoppable desires to solve no matter what his “personal” cost!
Reacher is in a NYC late night subway ride with 5 others, he suspects one passenger may be a “suicide” bomber. When he talks to her, she suspects him as the “law” & shoots herself with a gun.
As usual with local law, NYPD police & Others do not want Reacher involved, Reacher only wants to know why? Why can’t NYPD police investigate, the suicide bomber “morality” (right/wrong) to society, it was not absolute?
Another passenger, the train was on her way to deliver “whatever” FBI or Pentagon information she was told to get.
Reacher works with NYPD Agent Theresa Lee (romantic interest with Reacher) & Jacob Mark (small town Jersey cop) leading to a “rising” Congressman John Sansom, they suspect & must review him as a suspect? Then they find Susan Mark’s adopted son, Peter Molina is missing.
They find Congressmen John Sansom worked with a Afghanistan leader for American murders over discriminating photos to hide?
Reacher discovers that they are “Al Qaeda” terrorists. Susan Mark (Jacob’s sister) gets a video of Peter’s murder(her son) & commits suicide. Reacher has to find & take care of the last 2 fighting terrorists....
Medals & abbreviations the book has listed
1. DSM - Distinguished Service Medal
2. HRC - Human Resources Command
3. DSC - Distinguished Service Cross
4. CIA - Central Intelligence Agency
5. DIA - Defense Intelligence Agency.
6. CGUSAHRC - Commanding General, United States Army, Human Resources Command
Main Characters
1. Jack Reacher- the main star - the x-military cop
2. John Samson - No. Carolina “Rising” congressmen, 17 yr former U.S. Army Major retired. With medals Reacher questions: DSC, DSM, 2 Silver Stars? Once successful CEO, Sansom Consulting?
3. Lila Hoth - “beautiful” Ukrainian suspect, Susan’s friend
4. Theresa Lee - NYPD Detective/romance w/Reacher
5. Jacob/Jake Mark - small Jersey town cop w/Reacher
6. Susan Mark - Jacob’s sister, HRC, Human Resources Clerk
7. Peter Molina(22) - killed by terrorists, Susan Mark’s son
Publishers Weekly
Reacher is in a NYC late night subway ride with 5 others, he suspects one passenger may be a “suicide” bomber. When he talks to her, she suspects him as the “law” & shoots herself with a gun.
As usual with local law, NYPD police & Others do not want Reacher involved, Reacher only wants to know why? Why can’t NYPD police investigate, the suicide bomber “morality” (right/wrong) to society, it was not absolute?
Another passenger, the train was on her way to deliver “whatever” FBI or Pentagon information she was told to get.
Reacher works with NYPD Agent Theresa Lee (romantic interest with Reacher) & Jacob Mark (small town Jersey cop) leading to a “rising” Congressman John Sansom, they suspect & must review him as a suspect? Then they find Susan Mark’s adopted son, Peter Molina is missing.
They find Congressmen John Sansom worked with a Afghanistan leader for American murders over discriminating photos to hide?
Reacher discovers that they are “Al Qaeda” terrorists. Susan Mark (Jacob’s sister) gets a video of Peter’s murder(her son) & commits suicide. Reacher has to find & take care of the last 2 fighting terrorists....
Medals & abbreviations the book has listed
1. DSM - Distinguished Service Medal
2. HRC - Human Resources Command
3. DSC - Distinguished Service Cross
4. CIA - Central Intelligence Agency
5. DIA - Defense Intelligence Agency.
6. CGUSAHRC - Commanding General, United States Army, Human Resources Command
Main Characters
1. Jack Reacher- the main star - the x-military cop
2. John Samson - No. Carolina “Rising” congressmen, 17 yr former U.S. Army Major retired. With medals Reacher questions: DSC, DSM, 2 Silver Stars? Once successful CEO, Sansom Consulting?
3. Lila Hoth - “beautiful” Ukrainian suspect, Susan’s friend
4. Theresa Lee - NYPD Detective/romance w/Reacher
5. Jacob/Jake Mark - small Jersey town cop w/Reacher
6. Susan Mark - Jacob’s sister, HRC, Human Resources Clerk
7. Peter Molina(22) - killed by terrorists, Susan Mark’s son
Publishers Weekly
April 19, 2017
One of the best Reacher books yet - I'm giving it 5 stars just because how he dealt with the evil doers. No condescending bullshit, the author knew the reader wanted to see the villains suffer - I certainly did, after having nightmares reliving "that scene" - so he had Reacher go all out crazy on them. I applaud you, Mr. Child!
As usual, Reacher is minding his own business - this time in the subway - when he sees a situation and gets involved. Soon enough, he's looking for answers even though the Police, the Feds and pretty much everybody and their dog tells him to forget about it. For the first half of the book, there's a lot of investigation and setting the stage for the second half, which is high octane and full of action.
I like Reacher in New York. A few of the books are set in the City, but this is the one where he spends most time on the ground. Mr. Child captured the spirit of the people - that scene in Union Square was priceless - and did great research. I'm very familiar with Union Square/Gramercy so it gave me a thrill to imagine Reacher moving from place to place (I even used to shop early in the morning in that Food Emporium, so now I have this image of Reacher evading the cops by pretending to grocery shop.)
Dick Hill has become the voice of Reacher and his performance with "that scene" was masterful. You could feel Reacher shutting down to control his emotions but you could still feel his impotence and his rage. It gave me chills.
The denouement was all that that it should have been. The villains PAID and it wasn't pretty or quick. I had a particular wish and Reacher obliged me. It was awesome.
After so much violence, you would think I'd spend a second night in a row having nightmares but instead, I slept like a baby. I guess I felt more secure knowing Reacher had taken care of business.
As usual, Reacher is minding his own business - this time in the subway - when he sees a situation and gets involved. Soon enough, he's looking for answers even though the Police, the Feds and pretty much everybody and their dog tells him to forget about it. For the first half of the book, there's a lot of investigation and setting the stage for the second half, which is high octane and full of action.
I like Reacher in New York. A few of the books are set in the City, but this is the one where he spends most time on the ground. Mr. Child captured the spirit of the people - that scene in Union Square was priceless - and did great research. I'm very familiar with Union Square/Gramercy so it gave me a thrill to imagine Reacher moving from place to place (I even used to shop early in the morning in that Food Emporium, so now I have this image of Reacher evading the cops by pretending to grocery shop.)
Dick Hill has become the voice of Reacher and his performance with "that scene" was masterful. You could feel Reacher shutting down to control his emotions but you could still feel his impotence and his rage. It gave me chills.
The denouement was all that that it should have been. The villains PAID and it wasn't pretty or quick. I had a particular wish and Reacher obliged me. It was awesome.
After so much violence, you would think I'd spend a second night in a row having nightmares but instead, I slept like a baby. I guess I felt more secure knowing Reacher had taken care of business.
April 23, 2018
My thirteenth adventure with Jack Reacher and once again what another thrilling ride it was. Only Lee Child could open a book and spend the best part of two pages talking about the make and model of a subway carriage and where it was made and still have me enthralled (however, I was pleased to see this actually had relevance near the end of the story). Reacher’s brain capacity is seemingly endless in the amount of detail that he comes out with in these stories.
Gone Tomorrow is a first person Reacher novel however it was only after about 300 pages that I remembered that. I was too engrossed in the story for it to have any importance but it is always interesting to get that first person view. The plot I felt was strong, though the blurb gives nothing away except to say that Reacher witnesses a potential suicide bomber on a subway train. Well, nothing is ever that simple in a Lee Child story and this was another tale of secrets, conspiracies and Reacher just having to have sex with the female character (this time around the sex lasted about five lines and added zilch to the story or the characterisation). I was impressed with the depth to the story and the constant misdirection that Lee Child does so well. At times Reacher does get away too easily but, I read these novels to see him overcome the bad guys and it is fiction so I can overlook that.
It is interesting to view Reacher in the modernising world, especially when it comes to technology and the advancements of the internet and mobile phones. It’s less easy for him to hide when he’s using his real passport and has a bank account and so he isn’t really as off the grid as he was in the earlier novels. If somebody really wants to find him, they aren’t going to have too hard a job of it. It’s also fun to see him learning new things as opposed to being a walking encyclopaedia of almost every topic known to man.
Gone Tomorrow was a great instalment in the series and it was one that I very much enjoyed. I can’t see me never not enjoying a Reacher story, only ever less or more than the previous one. I am attempting to catch up with this series before my holiday in May so that I can take the most recent three books and the short story collection with me and so that means it’s straight into 61 Hours. Long live Reacher.
Gone Tomorrow is a first person Reacher novel however it was only after about 300 pages that I remembered that. I was too engrossed in the story for it to have any importance but it is always interesting to get that first person view. The plot I felt was strong, though the blurb gives nothing away except to say that Reacher witnesses a potential suicide bomber on a subway train. Well, nothing is ever that simple in a Lee Child story and this was another tale of secrets, conspiracies and Reacher just having to have sex with the female character (this time around the sex lasted about five lines and added zilch to the story or the characterisation). I was impressed with the depth to the story and the constant misdirection that Lee Child does so well. At times Reacher does get away too easily but, I read these novels to see him overcome the bad guys and it is fiction so I can overlook that.
It is interesting to view Reacher in the modernising world, especially when it comes to technology and the advancements of the internet and mobile phones. It’s less easy for him to hide when he’s using his real passport and has a bank account and so he isn’t really as off the grid as he was in the earlier novels. If somebody really wants to find him, they aren’t going to have too hard a job of it. It’s also fun to see him learning new things as opposed to being a walking encyclopaedia of almost every topic known to man.
Gone Tomorrow was a great instalment in the series and it was one that I very much enjoyed. I can’t see me never not enjoying a Reacher story, only ever less or more than the previous one. I am attempting to catch up with this series before my holiday in May so that I can take the most recent three books and the short story collection with me and so that means it’s straight into 61 Hours. Long live Reacher.
June 19, 2024
سازمان های آرمانی دارای قدرت تفکر منطقی نیستند. به محض اینکه شروع کنند به تفکر منطقی، همه چیز از هم می پاشد. و سازمان های آرمانی دوست دارند سربازانشان را به عملیات های بی بازگشت مجبور کنند. برای ترویج مقاومت. همان طور که کمربندهای انفجاری از عقب به هم دوخته میشوند و زیپی یا دکمه ای نیستند.
معمایی و متفاوت مثل همیشه
جزو خیلی خوباش بود -تروریست شرقی- کلا من با ریچر راوی بیشتر ارتباط میگیرم، برعکس اکثریت
و لی چایلد عزیز تو تهرانم از این کارا میکنن باور کن فقط نیویورک نیست
معمایی و متفاوت مثل همیشه
جزو خیلی خوباش بود -تروریست شرقی- کلا من با ریچر راوی بیشتر ارتباط میگیرم، برعکس اکثریت
و لی چایلد عزیز تو تهرانم از این کارا میکنن باور کن فقط نیویورک نیست
February 16, 2013
Brilliant...One of the best opening chapters of any book I have ever read. Always excellently researched, as always. Following Jack Reacher's logic is thrilling. Read it.
April 25, 2013
Hi,
Another Lee Child's book finished.
Although still good, I feel this one was a little slower then others I have read. A little too much bogged down in history although did build up to a exciting end.
Starting next one
regards
Sean
Another Lee Child's book finished.
Although still good, I feel this one was a little slower then others I have read. A little too much bogged down in history although did build up to a exciting end.
Starting next one
regards
Sean
January 10, 2012
I like the Reacher series. When I’m done with one, I’m eager for the next. This was good.
STORY BRIEF:
While riding on a subway train, Reacher sees Susan Mark kill herself. He is questioned by the cops, the feds, and a group of mercenary security guards. These groups and others think Reacher knows more than he says, and they follow him, pressure him, and try to hurt him to get information. This makes Reacher want to retaliate. So now he is now on the trail to find out what’s going on.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Some of the other Reacher stories didn’t have the thriller element. They were solving a mystery with some action. I prefer thrillers like this one - meaning we are in the heads of the bad guys and watch them as they try to hurt Reacher and others. I enjoy the series. You need to suspend disbelief at times. This is almost like a comic book super hero. I have these short bursts of laughter when I hear some of Reacher’s macho dialogue. It’s fun. I like hanging out with him.
NARRATOR:
The narrator Dick Hill was very good.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook reading time: 14 hrs and 13 mins. Swearing language: I don’t recall any. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one referred to not shown. Setting: current day mostly New York City with a little in Washington DC and North Carolina. Book copyright: 2009. Genre: mystery suspense thriller. Ending: feel good and satisfying.
THE SERIES:
Following is a list of the Jack Reacher books in order with my ratings. All the books could be read as stand-alones, but I’d recommend reading them in order, maybe saving the lower rated ones for last.
4 ½ stars. Killing Floor (#1)
4 stars. Die Trying (#2)
4 stars. Tripwire (#3)
2 ½ stars. Running Blind (#4)
4 stars. Echo Burning (#5)
3 ½ stars. Without Fail (#6)
4 stars. Persuader (#7)
3 stars. The Enemy (#8)
4 ½ stars. One Shot (#9)
3 stars. The Hard Way (#10)
3 ½ stars. Bad Luck and Trouble (#11)
2 stars. Nothing To Lose (#12)
4 stars. Gone Tomorrow (#13)
3 stars. 61 Hours (#14)
4 ½ stars. Worth Dying For (#15)
4 stars. The Affair (#16)
4 ½ stars. Second Son (short story at the end of the “The Affair”)
STORY BRIEF:
While riding on a subway train, Reacher sees Susan Mark kill herself. He is questioned by the cops, the feds, and a group of mercenary security guards. These groups and others think Reacher knows more than he says, and they follow him, pressure him, and try to hurt him to get information. This makes Reacher want to retaliate. So now he is now on the trail to find out what’s going on.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Some of the other Reacher stories didn’t have the thriller element. They were solving a mystery with some action. I prefer thrillers like this one - meaning we are in the heads of the bad guys and watch them as they try to hurt Reacher and others. I enjoy the series. You need to suspend disbelief at times. This is almost like a comic book super hero. I have these short bursts of laughter when I hear some of Reacher’s macho dialogue. It’s fun. I like hanging out with him.
NARRATOR:
The narrator Dick Hill was very good.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook reading time: 14 hrs and 13 mins. Swearing language: I don’t recall any. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one referred to not shown. Setting: current day mostly New York City with a little in Washington DC and North Carolina. Book copyright: 2009. Genre: mystery suspense thriller. Ending: feel good and satisfying.
THE SERIES:
Following is a list of the Jack Reacher books in order with my ratings. All the books could be read as stand-alones, but I’d recommend reading them in order, maybe saving the lower rated ones for last.
4 ½ stars. Killing Floor (#1)
4 stars. Die Trying (#2)
4 stars. Tripwire (#3)
2 ½ stars. Running Blind (#4)
4 stars. Echo Burning (#5)
3 ½ stars. Without Fail (#6)
4 stars. Persuader (#7)
3 stars. The Enemy (#8)
4 ½ stars. One Shot (#9)
3 stars. The Hard Way (#10)
3 ½ stars. Bad Luck and Trouble (#11)
2 stars. Nothing To Lose (#12)
4 stars. Gone Tomorrow (#13)
3 stars. 61 Hours (#14)
4 ½ stars. Worth Dying For (#15)
4 stars. The Affair (#16)
4 ½ stars. Second Son (short story at the end of the “The Affair”)
October 28, 2016
Gone Tomorrow, the 13th book in Lee Child's Jack Reacher Series - Jack Reacher, maverick, loner, a nomad who drifts from town to town and who lives by his own rules and regulations is back.
This time he's in New York City and one night riding on the subway, spots a woman in the same carriage he's travelling on, who he finds intriguing and he reads her body language which makes him think that she may be a suicide bomber.
Loved the NYC setting...brought back so many memories of all those visits I made to that city.
Another great story, action packed, filled with suspense and twists and turns.
This time he's in New York City and one night riding on the subway, spots a woman in the same carriage he's travelling on, who he finds intriguing and he reads her body language which makes him think that she may be a suicide bomber.
“Suicide bombers are easy to spot. They give out all sorts of telltale signs. Mostly because they’re nervous. By definition they’re all first-timers.”From New York to Washington D.C. and to Afghanistan, the trail goes back to the Soviet War in Afghanistan in the 1980s and the present war on terrorism that the world is dealing with.
Loved the NYC setting...brought back so many memories of all those visits I made to that city.
Another great story, action packed, filled with suspense and twists and turns.
February 5, 2013
My theory about authors who write stories like this is that they spend too much time playing violent video games and then transfer that violence of kill, kill, kill to their novels. Such is the case here. And the story is needlessly too long with many more kills than necessary. 2 of 10 stars
September 21, 2020
A page turner
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