Customer Reviews

Tripwire

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Like many, I am going back and now reading the entire Jack Reacher series. This third entry's story was interesting as it stretches back to the Vietnam War. The novel has two plot lines that take time to come together with the Reacher plot line somewhat ho-hum. The other one introduces a loathsome villain who is more engaging than Reacher. I recently read Lost Soldiers by James Webb which was interesting as both books deal with the repatriation of soldier's remains from Vietnam. Reacher is a little neutered and somewhat domesticated in this outing. Still he remains a potent lead character and Child has created a fun formula.

Ex-Army M.P. major Jack Reacher is living a low key existence digging swimming pools in Key West and also working as a bouncer at a local strip club. His solitude soon gets shattered when first an elderly private investigator named Costello and then two well dressed wise guys come looking for him. When the P.I. turns up murdered in the local cemetery, Reacher follows his trail to New York City.

After finding the location of the dead Costello's office and going through his files, Reacher determines that he was doing an investigation for one Leon Garber. General Leon Garber was Reacher's mentor in the military. He travels to Garber's residence in suburban New York to find the general's wake in progress. Greeted by Garber's attractive daughter Jodie, Reacher unfortunately learns that the general has just passed away. Jodie Garber, a successful lawyer, 15 years ago had a school girl crush on the strapping 24 year old Reacher.

Concurrent with Reacher's exploits another plot is playing out. The two punks looking for Reacher in Key West are part of the crew of "Hook" Hobie. Hobie is an unscrupulous, sadistic fire scarred usurer loaning money in instances deemed too risky for banks. Hobie's severed arm was replaced in part by a highly polished and sharp hook prosthesis. His high rates of interest were guaranteed by acts of violence including torture, maiming and killing. Hobie was presently involved in a bridge loan of 1.1 million dollars to Chester Stone owner of a failing optical company. Hobie was scheming to turn this into the stealing of the assets of the company and Stone himself to the tune of 17 million.

Jodie and Reacher team up when he learns that Costello worked for the law firm in which Jodie was employed. They visit the medical clinic where General Garber had been treated. Speaking to the doctor, they find out that the general was doing a favor for an elderly couple that also used that clinic. He was investigating the status of their son, a helicopter pilot missing in action in Vietnam for 30 years. Costello was sent by the general to find Reacher, to help him investigate. The missing son's name was Victor Hobie.

Reacher's and Hobie's fate move inexorably forward to formulate a crackling, tingling plot that has the reader thirsting for justice. Child really hits a home run with "Tripwire" resurrecting Reacher's past to give us a deeper understanding of the psychology behind this fascinating character.

I was anticipating non-stop action and mayhem,but I have to agree with one reviewer stating that this is less action packed than the previous two.In any case,I am willing to give Mr.Reacher further chance by trying to catch up on his previous books.I have to say that I did enjoy the few action parts and am amazed when Reacher finally takes charge;but the climax is like that of a tv movie.So simple,considering the build up and the plot twist is just fine.I'm still looking forward to being a Reacher convert and am excited over the entire series.

Child's third Jack Reacher novel, featuring our ex-MP investigator hero who likes to travel around anonymously, serves up more of the action-packed intrigue we have come to expect from the first two entries in this fine series. Reacher is digging pools in Key West, with a part-time strip-club bouncer job, when a New York PI comes looking for him. Refusing to reveal his identity, Reacher is soon sorry when the man turns up dead a few hours later. Having learned that a mysterious "Mrs. Jacob" hired the man, Jack sets out for NYC to find out what's going on. The "Jacob" woman is soon enough revealed to be Jack's ex-boss's daughter -- one who had a crush on Jack that was secretly reciprocated. Soon the secret is out and the romance is on!!

Meanwhile, in the big city, the Stone family, owners of a third-generation optics firm, is dealing with an unscrupulous (to say the least!) money lender, "Hook" Hobie, who uses his prosthesis to do bodily harm to anybody and everybody that crosses him. Hobie is such a horrid villain that we're in dread of him all book long, creating a suspenseful wish to have Reacher off him as part of the climax -- would he?

While some might quibble this novel has a few flaws the editors might have caught or tried to straighten out a little, we readers are so busy keeping up with the chasing of clues and tracking a sub-plot involving missing servicemen from Viet Nam, that we're motivated to buzz along right 'til a satisfying finish wraps up most [but not all (!)] of the main character situational outcomes. And like all the other Reacher stories we've sampled so far, a heavy serving of entertainment and enjoyment needed no dessert!

The third segment in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series shouldn't dissappoint his fans. Tripwire has more mystery and less machismo than the previous two offerings. This makes it a bit of a different type of story. I enjoyed following the trail of clues along with the characters and I feel this added an element of depth to the Reacher character that wasn't presented in the other two novels. He is allowed to develop into more of a person and he becomes less a caricature of a military man.

There are slow periods in the story where nothing interesting happens. These sections are mostly to do with the development of the romance between Jack and his leading lady. This was the weakest aspect of the book but it was broken up often enough by the parallel story of the villian 'Hobbie' that it had minimal impact on my enjoyment. The ending is predictable but how it played out certainly was not. It was very dramatic and exciting.

Lee Child is one of the best modern action adventure writers, so anyone who is a fan of this type of book should like this novel. If you haven't read any of Child's previous books start with the Killing Floor it's a great introduction to his writing.

Check out my other reviews for more Lee Child hits and misses.

Although I found that this book didn't move with as much non-stop action as the first two in the series, it was still a gripping thriller. Child's portrayal of villains is so believable that it can scare the pants off you. Not only that he writes with such intesnsity, that the story just grips the reader until the end. His portrayal of Jack Reacher is insightful and believable as well. Reacher is a true drifter with uncommon talents which he has picked up in his previous life as an MP in the US Army. He's big and brawny, and extremely quick-thinking. In this book he is pitted against a villain that's just about as evil as they get, and he almost loses his life in the process of trying to protect someone who is very dear to him. This is a solid thriller, with enough action to keep the reader gong well into the night.

Having read KILLING FLOOR and DIE TRYING, I eagerly picked up a copy of TRIPWIRE. It is easily the weakest of the three. The villian, Hook Hobie, is like something out of a Marvel Comic book. Every time a character meets him, Child describes him all over again in the same terms, from the half burned face, to the J shaped hook where his hand should be.

Reacher's relationship with Jodie seems rather strange. Especially when Reacher admits to being attracted to her when she was a child, it sounds downright creepy. I was,however, glad to see him ready to give up his paranoid, wandering lifestyle.

The plot was barely interesting and any avid reader of mystery thrillers will figure it out long before Child tells us. I was glad that I picked this book up from the library. I would have felt cheated if I actually paid for it. I hope this isn't the beginning of the end for Mr. Child.

I had to read a book by Lee Child as i had heard a lot about him.
But i am very sorry to say that i picked a book which will perhaps not make me very keen to read a Lee Child book again so fast.
The book had lengthy details about almost everything which was not necessary and could have been avoided.
It sort of killed the thrill in the book.
I am sure it could have been a very good book as the main outline of the story is very good, also it has a very sinister villian which will shock the living daylights out of you.
Read this one only if you are a loyal fan of Child.

I won't recap the storyline; that is easily found elsewhere. Lee Child supposedly has his own website; but when you try it, you get only a blank page. So, the quibble I wished to post there ends up here instead. I didn't realize until reading other reader reviews that Child is an Englishman writing American-style thrillers. Maybe that explains the stylistic lapses that annoy me in his work. By the time I reached this 3rd book in the series, I was already tired of them.

For example: sooner or later, everyone says, "Blah-blah-blah, right?" Sooner or later, everyone says (something like) "Hell are you doing?" for "What the hell are you doing?" (you'd think at least someone would get it right). And, sooner or later, everyone (including the author himself) says, "Time to time" which means nothing in itself. What they mean is "FROM time to time." I don't know where Mr. Child got the idea that everyone in America speaks the same way, but the next time he's here he should listen more closely.

But aside from this, Lee Child's books are excellant thrillers, second only to those of Dennis Lehayne.

Lee Child writes some amazing books! I first read The Killing Floor and really couldn't put it down. I tend to read things out of order (even though I really don't plan it that way), so I've now read Tripwire before the second Jack Reacher novel. However, that one won't be far behind!

I made the mistake of reading some of the reviews here while I was in the middle of the book. I was fascinated by the plot twists and couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. Then I read about all of the "factual errors" in the various scenarios. That sort of soured me on the book a bit, and then I realized that even though there ARE factual errors in the book, the book is FICTION and doesn't have to be factual. All in the all, when you get to the end, I think you'll see that what Reacher finally discovered COULD have happened.

I don't ordinarily find books that merit 5 stars, and I do read a lot of books, but I have to tell you, if you can get past occasional wordiness in descriptions and certain inconsequencial factual inconsistencies, I believe you'll enjoy watching the drama unfold and wend its way through a stunning conclusion!