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Jack Reacher #7-9
Lee Child CD Collection 3: Persuader, The Enemy, One Shot
Persuader:
An elite ex-military cop who left the service years ago, Jack Reacher has moved from place to place...without family ... without possessions... without commitments. And without fear. But some unfinished business has now found Reacher. 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.
The Enemy:
Jack Reacher was one of the army’s brightest stars. But in every cop’s life there is a turning point. For Jack Reacher, this is that case... New Year’s Day, 1990. In a North Carolina “hot-sheets” motel, a two-star general is found dead. His briefcase is missing. Nobody knows what was in it. Within minutes Jack Reacher has his orders: Control the situation. But this situation can’t be controlled.
One Shot:
Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me. And sure enough, from the world he lives in - no phone, no address, no commitments – ex-military investigator Jack Reacher is coming.
An elite ex-military cop who left the service years ago, Jack Reacher has moved from place to place...without family ... without possessions... without commitments. And without fear. But some unfinished business has now found Reacher. 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.
The Enemy:
Jack Reacher was one of the army’s brightest stars. But in every cop’s life there is a turning point. For Jack Reacher, this is that case... New Year’s Day, 1990. In a North Carolina “hot-sheets” motel, a two-star general is found dead. His briefcase is missing. Nobody knows what was in it. Within minutes Jack Reacher has his orders: Control the situation. But this situation can’t be controlled.
One Shot:
Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me. And sure enough, from the world he lives in - no phone, no address, no commitments – ex-military investigator Jack Reacher is coming.
- GenresFiction
Audio CD
First published May 25, 2007
7 people are currently reading
460 people want to read
About the author
Lee Child
442 books34.2k 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 7, 2018
The Jack Reacher books are far from being the greatest literature on the planet, but they work well as guilty pleasures.
I admit, I have more than a couple of issues with the writing yet the stories are always entertaining and always make up for it. They are the kinds of books I have no wish to admitting I enjoy, yet I cannot deny the fact that I do enjoy the Jack Reacher novels.
I admit, I have more than a couple of issues with the writing yet the stories are always entertaining and always make up for it. They are the kinds of books I have no wish to admitting I enjoy, yet I cannot deny the fact that I do enjoy the Jack Reacher novels.
May 28, 2025
Persuader ⭐⭐
The novel opens with a dramatic triple axel, double toe loop, reverse spin, and a bonus layer of béchamel: Jack Reacher kills a police officer. Granted, he does so inadvertently while rescuing a young man from would-be abductors, but still—goddammit—Jack Reacher does not make mistakes, any more than raindrops fall upward. He never shoots the wrong man, not even if—hypothetically speaking—he had a nail lodged in his cranium (which, incidentally, did happen once upon a time, though not in this particular instance).
What in heaven's name has gone wrong with this universe? And, as if this were not calamitous enough, Reacher abandons the corpse and flees the scene with the would-be abductee in a van filled with pirated CDs (fortunately for him, he is not dark-skinned, lest some cop spot him mid-chorus). O Gods of Olympus, the world is thoroughly inverted: soon we shall be defecating through our mouths, and Time magazine will name Hitler ‘Man of the Year’—oh wait, it already did (1938).
Right, enough digression—time to proceed to the action.
Jack Reacher has taken on an undercover assignment, albeit in a freelance capacity, for two reasons: first, because a scoundrel murdered a promising young military police officer a decade ago (admittedly not the most original of motives, but we’ve encountered worse). Reacher, in an uncharacteristically self-restrained moment, abstained from sleeping with her—apologies, there's no less macho way to phrase that; we are, after all, discussing Reacher—in order not to derail her career trajectory. The second reason? Teresa. Who is Teresa? Of negligible importance narratively, but she has been kidnapped by the very same scoundrel who was supposed to be long deceased—having, a decade earlier, received two bullets to the skull from Reacher, who was functioning at the time as judge, jury, and executioner (he is not one for delegation; his management style is, shall we say, centralised).
SPOILER ALERT: Teresa is destined to be sold to swarthy men with dietary restrictions regarding pork.
SPOILER ALERT 2: The book operates within its usual register of mediocrity, but concludes on a particularly dismal narrative note. When one walks into a room soaked in the same waters one leapt into minutes earlier to escape an adversary (only to find said adversary once again before one) and utters, "I'm back," average rader expects something rather more theatrical to justify the line. Pressing a chisel into his skull, frankly, feels inadequate. (It’s akin to twisting the neighbour’s pigtails while shouting, “So you were the one who hung the laundry on the rooftop?!”) Had Reacher blown up the entire house while walking away without so much as a backward glance, I would have been far more appeased.
Truthfully, I do not know why I persist with this series, as the themes it traffics in are far removed from my literary predilections. And yet, I must confess, its sheer brainlessness offers a certain relief. One needn’t think—Reacher does the thinking for you. The moment he senses a gun aimed in his direction, within 7 nanoseconds he has calculated 27 possible countermeasures and selected the optimal one.
The Enemy ⭐⭐
A shade better than the previous instalments (in my humble opinion, of course). Two and a half stars.
The Jack Reacher in this novel is not quite the rugged, itinerant alpha-male we've come to know — the drifting monolith whose mere presence seems to raise the humidity levels of any town he deigns to spend the night in. Chronologically, this book is set earlier than the others, during his active duty in the U.S. Army, still bearing the rank of Military Police Major. This may render him somewhat déclassé in the eyes of some readers — but the plot has its merits, even if it lacks the usual barrage of flying fists and broken jaws. (Perhaps due to the fact that, for once, he is part of the system he's usually tearing down.)
The story opens with Reacher being reassigned, somewhat mysteriously, from Panama back to the United States. Oddly enough, he soon discovers that around thirty other highly competent MPs have experienced similar “coincidental” transfers. (And given Reacher's evident respect for them, we may assume these are individuals who can shoe a flea, strip a tank in thirty seconds, and enjoy bacon while the pig is still squealing — in short, the cream of the crop.)
Tasked with uncovering the circumstances surrounding a general who perished in a $15 motel room — in flagrante delicto, no less, with a condom still in place — Reacher begins pulling at threads that swiftly unravel into a broader web of intrigue, cover-ups, and the occasional corpse.
A gay sergeant from Delta Force (the kind who could kill you with a look or hit you with a slingshot through reinforced concrete), the bereaved widow, a tank division general — they all cross paths with our taciturn Major.
As if that weren’t enough, Reacher’s immediate superior is, to put it bluntly, a complete imbecile.
Reacher, relentless as ever, pursues the case across continents: he even travels to Germany and buries his mother in France (where we catch a glimpse of young Joe Reacher). It’s only when he believes he has cracked the code and confronts the mastermind that he receives one of those delightful narrative slaps in the face — the kind that remind both protagonist and reader that one is not quite as clever as one thinks. I relished that moment.
The finale involves Abrams tanks and gunfire, and order is, more or less, restored. Reacher lands a few righteous punches — and then walks away.
Oh yes, and in case it wasn’t obvious: this is the novel where Jack leaves the army. But you probably knew that if you’ve read even a single book in the series.
SUMMARY: A diverting little thriller, entangled in U.S. military affairs. Not particularly groundbreaking (we're not in A Few Good Men territory), and a touch light on violence, but serviceable. At times it borders on verbose, though not quite as meandering as some of Child’s earlier works. Ideal beach read or dentist’s waiting room companion.
P.S. Of course he boneshawwwgs (or rather “play the military doctor”?) the statuesque black lieutenant assigned as his assistant. Honestly, was there ever any doubt?
One Shot ⭐⭐
Either Lee Child’s writing is starting to improve, or I’ve grown accustomed to the low literary standards of the Jack Reacher franchise, or this is the first symptom of impending senility—but I very nearly awarded a third star to this volume under review.
This is one of the rare occasions on which the trouble doesn’t arise serendipitously in some inconsequential town (the name of which scarcely deserves a six-point font on a state map) just as Jack Reacher happens to be passing through.
This time, Big Jack hears of the incident from afar and makes haste.
A veteran sniper is apprehended for the murder of five individuals. All evidence points directly at him. His disinterested lawyer seems more absorbed by the contents of his own nostrils than by the possibility that his client might be innocent. And then the accused does something wholly unexpected: he requests Jack Reacher—as one might order a cappuccino in one’s village square. Jack Reacher, hold the cinnamon. Just come. Naturally, as everyone ought to know, Jack Reacher a) is no man’s lapdog to appear the moment he is summoned and b) is harder to find than a cat in the ocean.
What no one knows is that Jack Reacher is already en route. He’s seen the news of the arrest and is heading swiftly to the town where the sniper was taken into custody. What no one realises—except Reacher himself—is that he’s not rushing there to exonerate the man…
Of course, the reader will hardly consider it a spoiler that the Aristotelian resolution to the drama comes once again in the form of a bloodbath, with Reacher in the starring role—shooting, butchering, and remaining standing no matter what transpires.
Despite its narrative weaknesses, it is a relatively agreeable read—and despite the rather flimsy premise behind the motive for the murders, the book remains tolerable. Perhaps I ought to supplement my diet with more Omega-3s…
The novel opens with a dramatic triple axel, double toe loop, reverse spin, and a bonus layer of béchamel: Jack Reacher kills a police officer. Granted, he does so inadvertently while rescuing a young man from would-be abductors, but still—goddammit—Jack Reacher does not make mistakes, any more than raindrops fall upward. He never shoots the wrong man, not even if—hypothetically speaking—he had a nail lodged in his cranium (which, incidentally, did happen once upon a time, though not in this particular instance).
What in heaven's name has gone wrong with this universe? And, as if this were not calamitous enough, Reacher abandons the corpse and flees the scene with the would-be abductee in a van filled with pirated CDs (fortunately for him, he is not dark-skinned, lest some cop spot him mid-chorus). O Gods of Olympus, the world is thoroughly inverted: soon we shall be defecating through our mouths, and Time magazine will name Hitler ‘Man of the Year’—oh wait, it already did (1938).
Right, enough digression—time to proceed to the action.
Jack Reacher has taken on an undercover assignment, albeit in a freelance capacity, for two reasons: first, because a scoundrel murdered a promising young military police officer a decade ago (admittedly not the most original of motives, but we’ve encountered worse). Reacher, in an uncharacteristically self-restrained moment, abstained from sleeping with her—apologies, there's no less macho way to phrase that; we are, after all, discussing Reacher—in order not to derail her career trajectory. The second reason? Teresa. Who is Teresa? Of negligible importance narratively, but she has been kidnapped by the very same scoundrel who was supposed to be long deceased—having, a decade earlier, received two bullets to the skull from Reacher, who was functioning at the time as judge, jury, and executioner (he is not one for delegation; his management style is, shall we say, centralised).
SPOILER ALERT: Teresa is destined to be sold to swarthy men with dietary restrictions regarding pork.
SPOILER ALERT 2: The book operates within its usual register of mediocrity, but concludes on a particularly dismal narrative note. When one walks into a room soaked in the same waters one leapt into minutes earlier to escape an adversary (only to find said adversary once again before one) and utters, "I'm back," average rader expects something rather more theatrical to justify the line. Pressing a chisel into his skull, frankly, feels inadequate. (It’s akin to twisting the neighbour’s pigtails while shouting, “So you were the one who hung the laundry on the rooftop?!”) Had Reacher blown up the entire house while walking away without so much as a backward glance, I would have been far more appeased.
Truthfully, I do not know why I persist with this series, as the themes it traffics in are far removed from my literary predilections. And yet, I must confess, its sheer brainlessness offers a certain relief. One needn’t think—Reacher does the thinking for you. The moment he senses a gun aimed in his direction, within 7 nanoseconds he has calculated 27 possible countermeasures and selected the optimal one.
The Enemy ⭐⭐
A shade better than the previous instalments (in my humble opinion, of course). Two and a half stars.
The Jack Reacher in this novel is not quite the rugged, itinerant alpha-male we've come to know — the drifting monolith whose mere presence seems to raise the humidity levels of any town he deigns to spend the night in. Chronologically, this book is set earlier than the others, during his active duty in the U.S. Army, still bearing the rank of Military Police Major. This may render him somewhat déclassé in the eyes of some readers — but the plot has its merits, even if it lacks the usual barrage of flying fists and broken jaws. (Perhaps due to the fact that, for once, he is part of the system he's usually tearing down.)
The story opens with Reacher being reassigned, somewhat mysteriously, from Panama back to the United States. Oddly enough, he soon discovers that around thirty other highly competent MPs have experienced similar “coincidental” transfers. (And given Reacher's evident respect for them, we may assume these are individuals who can shoe a flea, strip a tank in thirty seconds, and enjoy bacon while the pig is still squealing — in short, the cream of the crop.)
Tasked with uncovering the circumstances surrounding a general who perished in a $15 motel room — in flagrante delicto, no less, with a condom still in place — Reacher begins pulling at threads that swiftly unravel into a broader web of intrigue, cover-ups, and the occasional corpse.
A gay sergeant from Delta Force (the kind who could kill you with a look or hit you with a slingshot through reinforced concrete), the bereaved widow, a tank division general — they all cross paths with our taciturn Major.
As if that weren’t enough, Reacher’s immediate superior is, to put it bluntly, a complete imbecile.
Reacher, relentless as ever, pursues the case across continents: he even travels to Germany and buries his mother in France (where we catch a glimpse of young Joe Reacher). It’s only when he believes he has cracked the code and confronts the mastermind that he receives one of those delightful narrative slaps in the face — the kind that remind both protagonist and reader that one is not quite as clever as one thinks. I relished that moment.
The finale involves Abrams tanks and gunfire, and order is, more or less, restored. Reacher lands a few righteous punches — and then walks away.
Oh yes, and in case it wasn’t obvious: this is the novel where Jack leaves the army. But you probably knew that if you’ve read even a single book in the series.
SUMMARY: A diverting little thriller, entangled in U.S. military affairs. Not particularly groundbreaking (we're not in A Few Good Men territory), and a touch light on violence, but serviceable. At times it borders on verbose, though not quite as meandering as some of Child’s earlier works. Ideal beach read or dentist’s waiting room companion.
P.S. Of course he boneshawwwgs (or rather “play the military doctor”?) the statuesque black lieutenant assigned as his assistant. Honestly, was there ever any doubt?
One Shot ⭐⭐
Either Lee Child’s writing is starting to improve, or I’ve grown accustomed to the low literary standards of the Jack Reacher franchise, or this is the first symptom of impending senility—but I very nearly awarded a third star to this volume under review.
This is one of the rare occasions on which the trouble doesn’t arise serendipitously in some inconsequential town (the name of which scarcely deserves a six-point font on a state map) just as Jack Reacher happens to be passing through.
This time, Big Jack hears of the incident from afar and makes haste.
A veteran sniper is apprehended for the murder of five individuals. All evidence points directly at him. His disinterested lawyer seems more absorbed by the contents of his own nostrils than by the possibility that his client might be innocent. And then the accused does something wholly unexpected: he requests Jack Reacher—as one might order a cappuccino in one’s village square. Jack Reacher, hold the cinnamon. Just come. Naturally, as everyone ought to know, Jack Reacher a) is no man’s lapdog to appear the moment he is summoned and b) is harder to find than a cat in the ocean.
What no one knows is that Jack Reacher is already en route. He’s seen the news of the arrest and is heading swiftly to the town where the sniper was taken into custody. What no one realises—except Reacher himself—is that he’s not rushing there to exonerate the man…
Of course, the reader will hardly consider it a spoiler that the Aristotelian resolution to the drama comes once again in the form of a bloodbath, with Reacher in the starring role—shooting, butchering, and remaining standing no matter what transpires.
Despite its narrative weaknesses, it is a relatively agreeable read—and despite the rather flimsy premise behind the motive for the murders, the book remains tolerable. Perhaps I ought to supplement my diet with more Omega-3s…
January 12, 2018
#7 -- Decent read (4 Stars)
#8 -- I really enjoyed this book except for all of the 'I said nothing. She said nothing'. That was annoying. I definitely recommend this book. (5 stars)
#9 -- Reread July 2017 -- Dick Hill audio book -- loved it so much!!!! (5 stars)
# 9 -- Read March 5-6, 2012 -- great book
#8 -- I really enjoyed this book except for all of the 'I said nothing. She said nothing'. That was annoying. I definitely recommend this book. (5 stars)
#9 -- Reread July 2017 -- Dick Hill audio book -- loved it so much!!!! (5 stars)
# 9 -- Read March 5-6, 2012 -- great book
September 30, 2020
Good book with interesting plot but a little to much superfluous detail for me
June 6, 2023
loved it
September 21, 2011
This is the 7th book in the Jack Reacher series and I didn't like it as much as some of the others. I thought it was slow moving and took a long time to get into the storyline. Finally in the last 100 pages it got good & became a page-turner. However, I will continue to read the next books in the series hoping for another good read.
March 5, 2012
(Couldn't find the paperback only listed.)
This was Persuader only - another excellent Lee Child book.
When you keep seeing the tension build between our hero Reacher and the huge, steroid enhanced Paulie, you just know that at some point, there's going to be a showdown! Plus, the author always begins the novel with a good "hook."
K.
This was Persuader only - another excellent Lee Child book.
When you keep seeing the tension build between our hero Reacher and the huge, steroid enhanced Paulie, you just know that at some point, there's going to be a showdown! Plus, the author always begins the novel with a good "hook."
K.
May 25, 2013
Only have read Persuader of this trilogy...It is a great spie book full of suspense and nonstop action..a Jack Reacher book..Reacher tries to rescue an agent whose time is running out, entering a crime lord's waterfront fortress.
March 19, 2010
Great story of REACHER, MY HERO!!
January 1, 2011
Someone plwase get Jack Reacher a cup of coffee. Poor man is always in need of one.
March 26, 2013
Long and slow, i read Killing Floor and thought this was not as good. Overall I liked it but not on the top of my best list.
December 22, 2013
Great, as usual. He is so brutal its brilliant
March 24, 2015
Great character and story
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews