Don’t hate but this was my first Jack Reacher novel. Hey, 10,000 books get published a week I read somewhere! Whatever the cause, it was definitely a mistake.

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A Jack Reacher Novel
by Lee Child
Delacorte Press / Random House Audio
September 2014

After a sniper attempts to assassinate a high profile leader in Europe, Reacher is called upon by the U.S. government to track down the sniper before an upcoming meeting of European and American leaders in London. One of the possible snipers is someone Reacher put in jail years ago and who is recently out of jail and may carry a grudge.

Paired with a young CIA teammate, Reacher’s quest takes him first to Paris, then all over London and puts him directly in the crosshairs of two large gangs. Fighting through thug after thug, Reacher has to get to the sniper in time and all the while needs to find out who exactly is behind all of this. Twists and turns that make sense in the end but surprise as they come.

Child’s character and this story is outstanding. Far and away more enjoyable than most “big name” series I’ve read over the last decade. I’m definitely a fan from this point on and the great news is that I’ve got a bunch of old books to catch up on!

A note about the audio version: Dick Hill is outstanding. Gravelly, breathless and slightly musical in his approach to the story. Every sentance brought a pacing that made the story so much more enjoyable than most readers. His characters were easy to understand and differentiate. He does many of the other Reacher books as well lending a permanent, tough cop voice (in contrast with the Tom Cruise movie).

@ashertopia is the Managing Editor of BookGateway.com. He is an avid reader and a lifetime learner. His favorite genres include science fiction, fantasy, as well as theology and Christian living. His personal blog is AshertopiA – a land flowing with milk and honey… and a lot of sticky people.

This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.