From Publishers Weekly
Ex-army MP Jack Reacher is contracted by Edward Lane, the leader of a mercenary company, to track and recover Lane's kidnapped wife and daughter. But while Reacher is adept at finding people, this time he's got his work cut out for him, for in this case, the client seems to be just as suspect as the criminal. Hill narrates with a crisp, midrange baritone which effectively, if not spectacularly, conveys Child's prose. For the most part, Hill speaks naturally and clearly, but at times, he seems to exaggerate his enunciation, which results in some stilted passages. He doesn't alter his style much when shifting between dialogue and description, and so conversations are sometimes not as engaging as they could be. While Child's prose reads fine on the page, Hill's interpretation of it seems a bit too smug, which makes even the hero a bit unlikable. Hill's adequate performance will likely be sufficient for the casual audiobook listener but not for connoisseurs.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Child's last two Jack Reacher novels (
One Shot, 2005, and
The Enemy, 2004) have emphasized procedural detail rather than the high-octane action that gave the series its identity. There's still plenty of procedure, but this time the gearshift is back in overdrive: "Reacher, alone in the dark. Armed and dangerous. Coming back." Former military cop Reacher does his level best not to come back: he lives off the grid (no address, no belongings), but his instincts keep driving him toward solving other people's problems, the kind that won't stay solved without violence. Here, he's having an espresso in Greenwich Village when a man walks across the street, gets in a car, and drives away. It happens every day, but it's not always a kidnapper picking up the ransom. Soon Reacher is involved in helping a ruthless mercenary find his wife and stepdaughter before the kidnappers tie up loose ends. There's a lot more to it than that, though, and it takes three-fourths of the novel before Reacher figures out who the bad guys are. Like all the best thrillers, this one is about more than pace: yes, the narrative propels you forward with a locomotive's thrust, but Child never loses sight of the small detail or the human fabric--not unlike Reacher in the dark, armed and dangerous, intent on the action in front of him but always aware of the sights and sounds to his sides and behind him.
Bill OttCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.