Happy Reading

Toni's bookshelf: read

The Godfather of Kathmandu (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, #4)
Ape House
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Operation Napoleon
Walking Dead
The Sentimentalists
The Heretic Queen
The Midnight House
Cross Fire
Peony in Love
Absurdistan
Nefertiti
Finding Nouf: A Novel
City of Veils: A Novel
First Daughter
A Place of Hiding
Amagansett
Peter Pan


Toni Osborne's favorite books »
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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

"61 Hours", by Lee Child


The 14th novel in the Jack Reacher series

The novel starts off with the same pattern as the previous installments, still portraying Reacher as tough and a cerebral drifter that is plunged into an implausible chain of events that only he can solve. Always traveling light, this 6 foot 5 inches cowboy wins every fight against all odds and always breaks the heart of at least one woman before moving on. Mr. Child is a master at the game of suspense, injecting original twists to keep us on the edge of our chair. For example, the title “61 hours” is a countdown (Tick tock tick tock) to the end, a gimmick that worked beautifully and kept me guessing and wondering to the last page.

The plotting is crafty and highly electrifying, in this story, Mr. Child has moved his protagonist from a warm climate to South Dakota and marooned him in small town during a winter blizzard , where the wind chill can easily reach 50 degrees below zero and everything grinds to a halt and survival becomes a challenge even for the experienced. The town of Bolton is the home of a brand new correctional facility and the budding center of a criminal nucleus being set up at an abandoned cold-war military installation by a gang of methamphetamine-dealing bikers.

The events unfold with ongoing riots at the prison and the town’s police force on constant high alert stretching its manpower and facilities to the max, all this is feared to be a distraction for an ongoing prominent drug trial. The key witness, a woman, has been threatened by the local hired hands of the cartel and powers that be fear for her life. With a priority on checking all new comers, Reacher’s name and background are quickly flagged by law enforcement and he is soon recruited. His experience tells him something big is looming and he volunteers to help protect their crucial witness. At this point, the writer goes into great detail recounting a conversation between Reacher and the witness, a conversation needed to bring him up to speed, to help ease her nerves and aid in his ability to see potential threats. Mr. Child’s has written this segment with a clear and gutsy prose, an interesting exchange of worlds that enhanced the mystery even more.

As the story progress, several mysteries develop and the explosive results have Reacher sent on a harrowing end of the world do or die mission. The climax is a little silly but is laced with gripping suspense creating a genuine cliff-hanger. Has our hero survived for another installment?

This is one of those novels I classify as an entertaining thriller.

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