Product Description

Jack Reacher is back, this time in the light of fire

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1492 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Lee Child has inexorably pulled himself into the upper echelons of thriller writing with a series of tough, lean and perfectly crafted novels featuring ex-US military cop Jack Reacher. Without Fail is the sixth outing for the resourceful Reacher, and far from showing any signs of incipient fatigue, the series just goes from strength to strength as Child hones his abilities.

As in such previous books as Die Trying and The Killing Floor, Jack Reacher is a maverick. He carries no ID, and any place he hangs his hat is home. And while he's more than capable of dealing out massive violence to the bad guys who take him on, he's a sucker for a plea for help--particularly from a woman. This time, he's asked by the persuasive Ms Froelich to help her protect the Vice-President of the United States from an assassination attempt that's on the cards. So Reacher, with only the clothes he stands up in, finds himself deep in the rarefied world of the United States Secret Service in Washington, where his problems come from the stiff-necked bureaucrats as much as from the utterly ruthless killer who soon has Reacher in his sights as much as the Vice-President.

If the plot here is a tad reminiscent of the Clint Eastwood movie In the Line of Fire, that's no coincidence--Child has his characters discuss the echoes of their situation with that film at length. But, boy, does Child ring some powerful variations of his own on the theme: this the most kinetic Reacher novel yet, full of the brilliantly orchestrated set-pieces that are a specialité de la maison with the author (the final climax in a snowy ravine is a pip). The action here is relentless, but never at the expense of character--Child is canny enough to keep dark shadows from Reacher's past a key part of his motivation. And the skill that the British-born Child is so proud of--his faultless evocation of the American landscape--is the final icing on a very tempting cake. --Barry Forshaw

The Mirror
‘Lee Child writes edgy American thrillers to rival the likes of Thomas Harris and John Grisham’

Sunday Telegraph
'Lee Child's protagonist, Jack Reacher, is a hero in the Dirty Harry style...Produces a surprising twist when it's least expected'

Customer Reviews

Exciting thriller genre
Another classic reacher book in the series, I could read them one after the other one !! If you like serial characters try the Soft Target novels by Conrad Jones they are electric thrillers, similar genre. Excellent reading Mr Child

Disappointing
Reading this book is an odd experience. You keep turning the pages, but you're not always quite sure why. The whodunnit (or who'sthreateningtodoit) is powerful enough and threats come up often enough to keep you hooked. But the problem is that the story slides sideways a lot of the time and the way clues are followed is clumsy.

Never Fails to Hit the Spot...
Another gripping Jack Reacher novel. Lee Childs has expertly managed, yet again, to thrill the reader with every twist and turn of this very well written story. My honest opinion is that once you've picked the book up - you'll have a job to put it down again. While writing this review I would also like to recommend 'The Constantine Legacy by Andrew Towning. His Jake Dillon charactor is also inspiring.