Product Description

Suicide bombers are easy to spot. They give out all kinds of tell-tale signs. Mostly because they're nervous. By definition they're all first-timers. Riding the subway in New York at two o'clock in the morning, Reacher knows the twelve giveaway signs to look out for. Watching one of his fellow-passengers, he becomes sharply aware: one by one, she ticks off every bulletpoint on his list. So begins the new heartstopping new thriller starring today's most admired action hero, the gallant and enigmatic loner Jack Reacher.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21420 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Lee Child has steadily accrued one of the keenest groups of admirers for any contemporary thriller writer – and the reason is easy to discern. In such gritty and authoritative novels as Tripwire, Killing Floor and Die Trying, Child established his tough itinerant protagonist Jack Reacher as a key modern hero, with a taciturn, hard-boiled appeal that has not palled over many books (though some have queried Jack’s transformation from a man who triumphed -- with difficulty – over insuperable odds – into a nigh-invulnerable super-hero). But the narrative grasp of the author remains absolutely iron-clad, and there are the stunningly drawn American locales that are so notably impressive from an English author.

In the latest outing for Jack Reacher, Gone Tomorrow, Child’s resourceful hero is travelling in New York City, observing his fellow passengers on the subway. He’s aware that suicide bombers are easy to spot – they’re usually nervous, and (as he wryly notes) by definition they're first-timers. As an ex-law enforcer, Jack notices that of his five fellow travellers, one is distinctly giving out the signals that spell danger. Grand Central Station is approaching – will Jack act and save lives – including his own? But… what if he's wrong?

This high voltage situation is the arresting curtain opener here, and the tension is screwed tighter, as Jack Reacher is pitched against the one of the most challenging threats he has come up against. Gone Tomorrow has all the dynamism of Child’s earlier work; spruced-up, super-charged and showing no sign of age. --Barry Forshaw

Review
Has the switchback plotting and frictionless prose that are Child's trademarks...always a pleasure. --Guardian

Review
Among the most popular crime novels right now - they're good fun and super-tense...One of his best.

Customer Reviews

Far from Jack's best but big improvement on last novel
As someone who has devoured all of Lee Child's books about the maverick crusader Jack Reacher I was hugely disappointed with last years novel " Nothing to Lose " which I thought was merely a tired rehash of previous stories. Had this franchise had run it's course ? not on your Nelly !, Gone Tomorrow is a vast improvement with Jack waging a one manned battle against some heavyweight bad guys ( and girls ! ) on the streets of New York.
A welcome return to form with a tight and well structured storyline not Jack's best adventure but still a great read and miles better than most other contemporary thrillers
Get it read !!

Lee Child is back in form
The first and best news is that Lee Child is back in form with "Gone Tomorrow". While not the all time best Reacher novel that I have read, this is a more than satisfactory addition to the series. It involves some truly unpleasant villains, a politician with a deeply guarded secret, a missing son and plenty of tension. One thing I love but also find quite disconcerting when I'm reading a Reacher novel is the way that he deliberately seeks out and provokes the bad guys. It's so much the opposite of the way that I would behave that I find it quite nerve-wracking to read. And in this book, he does it a LOT.

It starts with Reacher on a New York subway in the small hours of the morning. He spots a woman, Susan Marks, whose behaviour meets every criteria for a suicide bomber. She's not. But she is a woman in trouble. Reacher can't help Susan, but he can't let the matter rest until he finds out what was behind her state of mind and finds the people who drove her to that point. Although at various times he recruits her brother and a friendly police officer as allies, essentially this is Reacher taking on the bad guys on his own.

The first half of the book is all set up and it's quite gradual. Reacher is a little slow off the mark: there are a couple of revelations that seemed pretty obvious to me, but which take some time to emerge. On the other hand, I wasn't sure for quite some time who the villains would turn out to be, which I enjoyed. In the second half, Reacher goes after the villains: this half is dead exciting and includes some of the most graphic descriptions of violence that I remember Lee Child writing.

There is one central implausibility: Reacher is told repeatedly that he'll be in deep trouble if he finds out a particular secret. But when he does find it out, suddenly it doesn't seem to matter that he knows. Child also leaves a couple of key plot elements unresolved. And the obligatory roll in the sack feels just that: out of place and only there because it's expected. However, at the end of the day these are just annoyances, not critical flaws.

Unusually, this book is written in the first person (as if Reacher is narrating): only three other Lee Child books have used this. It's not my preference given that Reacher is such an enigma, but it works fine. It's a great read: enjoy!

Totally average
After Bad Luck and Trouble I skipped Nothing To Lose. Reading the reviews convinced me it just wasn't worth the trouble. Early reviews for Gone Tomorrow however suggested a return to form. Which form though?

Certainly not Killing Room or Persuader form. This is similar to the far superior The Visitor in that it's more mystery, less action. I'm fine with that. What I'm not fine with however are the outrageous liberties Lee Child is taking with Reachers pragmatic abilities.

We know Reacher is gifted but Child has been taking the rip for a while. (Remember how he located his old partner in a diner in Vegas?!) This intrinsic radar ability is prevalent more than ever here. How Reacher continually manages to track his quarry through NEW YORK totally drains any credibilty from the book. We're not talking a rural town here. Reacher knows what street, what hotel, what house and it's just ridiculous. I'm all for artistic license but Child has gone too far. How Reacher works out where the USB stick is tipped me over the edge. It was a deux ex machina and almost ruined the book.

It's not all doom and gloom however. The narrative is interesting enough and it kept me reading but Reacher is becoming almost a parody of himself. The mystery was good but with a more realistic, visceral approach it could have been excellent. The liberties in credibility however have dragged it firmly into the land of fantasy. Not where I want Reacher to be at all. Not to this extent anyway. Let's make the next one even a little plausible. Please? Thanks.