A Wanted Man

A Jack Reacher Novel

By: Lee Child

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

A masterpiece of suspense from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child

Four people in a car, hoping to make Chicago by morning. One man driving, eyes on the road. Another man next to him, telling stories that don’t add up. A woman in the back, silent and worried. And next to her, a huge man with a broken nose, hitching a ride east to Virginia.

An hour behind them, a man lies stabbed to death in an old pumping station. He was seen going in with two others, but he never came out. He has been executed, the knife work professional, the killers vanished. Within minutes, the police are notified. Within hours, the FBI descends, laying claim to the victim without ever saying who he was or why he was there.

All Reacher wanted was a ride to Virginia. All he did was stick out his thumb. But he soon discovers he has hitched more than a ride. He has tied himself to a massive conspiracy that makes him a threat—to both sides at once.

In Lee Child’s white-hot thriller, nothing is what it seems, and nobody is telling the truth. As the tension rises, the twists come fast and furious, keeping readers guessing and gasping until the explosive finale.

Praise for #1 bestselling author Lee Child and his Reacher series

“Child is a superb craftsman of suspense.”—Entertainment Weekly

“The truth about Reacher gets better and better.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“Implausible, irresistible Reacher remains just about the best butt-kicker in thriller-lit.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Like his hero Jack Reacher, Lee Child seems to make no wrong steps.”—Associated Press

“Lee Child [is] the current poster-boy of American crime fiction.”—Los Angeles Times

“Indisputably the best escape artist in this escapist genre.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times

“Jack Reacher is much more like the heir to the Op and Marlowe than Spenser ever was.”—Esquire

©2012 Lee Child (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Jack Reacher is much more like the heir to the Op and Marlowe than Spenser ever was." (Esquire)

"Indisputably the best escape artist in this escapist genre." (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times)

"Lee Child [is] the current poster-boy of American crime fiction." (Los Angeles Times)

What's happened to the REAL Lee Child?

Our ex-military genius and stud, Jack Reacher, and Lee Child's clever plots, are no more. The story begins where Lee Child's "Worth Dying For" left off, with our hero battered and bruised. But that's okay at first, because we know Reacher is tough and always gets battered and bruised somewhere along the story. But the reader quickly realizes that THIS Jack Reacher is somebody different -- someone we don't know -- a man who has succumbed to his years of loneliness, thumbing for hours or days or weeks on end in brutal environments, criss-crossing the US in cheap and soiled clothing, and reeking from days or weeks on end without a bath -- unless you count the time in this story where he spits into his hands and then cleans the blood off his face with his own saliva and slicks back his hair with the same spittle. Then we're painted the portrait of our man, standing on a dark highway at night in subzero weather, trying to hitch to Nebraska, with silver duct-tape across his face to protect his broken nose. Worse, although Dick Hill does the best he can with what he's been given by Lee Child, is that Reacher's once-commanding voice has been replaced with a weak and nasally sniveling because, as Lee Child writes, the soft tissues inside Reacher's broken nose are dangerously swollen, dried blood blocking any available remaining airway in his nasal passages, leaving him unable to breath through his nose, and Dick Hill is forced to narrate the entire story with the pitiful meow of a mouth-breather. Whatever sex appeal and powerful command of presence our hero once had have left the building. And I'm not sure we want him to return.

Add to this once-powerful character the weak plot, flat and trite characters, a very long and boring car ride (hard to get much action happening with four people riding in a small vehicle on a nearly deserted highway), a totally unrealistlc scene in which one of the passengers -- actually, a young kidnapped woman -- blinks out complex messages with her eyes to Reacher, each staring at one another without the other passengers figuring out something is up, and you've got one mess of a story.

This book is not worth a credit or money. It's hardly worth driving to your local library for. Better still, go outside, take a walk, play with your children, get to know your significant other again -- and hope that the real Lee Child shows up to write his next book.

Good, but some disappointing elements

Lee Child's Reacher series started off with decent writing, improbable coincidences, and unpredictable stories that pulled the reader along. Over the series, the writing has improved steadily, the improbably coincidences have gotten more probable, and the stories have generally stayed unpredictable, with the resolution just out of reach of the reader until the end.

This book is no exception to the above summary. The writing is downright superb for serial thrillers. The probability factor is extremely low here at the beginning, but once over the central coincidence, the story flows smoothly. And the story for most of it drags the reader along on the edge of understanding but not quite getting it. Child has become very good at having Reacher get some of it right and some wrong from the beginning, and showing him work it out as the story moves. He's also good at revealing just enough of the bad guy's perspective to build tension without giving it away.

My only complaint is that the endings are becoming trite and cartoonish. Reacher has become invincible, the enemies have become mindless and faceless, and the heroic deeds have become simplistic and repetitive, and plain old violent. The ending seemed, basically, lazy, like a writer filling out a formula.

The reading was exceptional, as always when Dick Hill reads Lee Child. Early on in the series, Hill's reading of female dialogue was annoying, but he has gotten better. Child writes strong female characters, mostly, and Hill has gotten better at reading them.

I liked the book. The ending got monotonous and troubling, but the rest of the story was good. I hope Child gets away from his current ending formula, though.

Not Jack at his best

My usual guilty pleasure was just a little ordinary this time.

I waited so long and wanted so much for this latest installment, maybe too much?

Maybe anything following "Worth Dying For" was going to be a let down. Don't get me wrong, it was decent if a little slow to simmer. It just wasn't as full of Reacher's usual take charge, action packed personality.

Odd

This was an odd one. The good news is that Reacher only checked the clock in his head one time.

he's figure it out

another fun action filled pack reacher series. enjoyed the twists and turns didn't see the ending as I often don't can't seem to put those pieces together enjoyed

Lee Child Does It Again

Where does A Wanted Man rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have listened to hundreds of audio books to date, and this ranks up near the top. Lee Child does a superb job once again!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Of course, Jack Reacher was my favorite character. He is a character who is likable, thinks things through and knows what he is doing.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did want to listen to it from start to finish... nearly did.

Any additional comments?

Lee Child writes great books and I can hardly wait until the next Reacher Book!

Not action packed start to finish, but enjoyable

This isn't traditional Reacher killing everyone throughout, but story builds up to a great finale.

a bit of a slog

I have listened to all the Jack Reacher novels and this is the only one that did not hold my attention. some chapters I had to listen to repeatedly because my attention would wander. however, still worth the listen if you are a Reacher fan.

Weak Story, But Still Classic Reacher

Would you try another book from Lee Child and/or Dick Hill?

No question that I will continue to read Lee (and Lincoln) Child with Dick Hill.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting angle of the story was the American extremist angle - the danger from within...

This story failed to offer much new insight into Jack Reacher - just the usual Reacher stories about no permanent home, belongings, etc.

Which scene was your favorite?

No one scene is clearly outstanding, although the car ride with kidnappers early in the story was likely the best.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Not likely since this was light on character development and story depth.

Not the best reacher book.

Nice to see the story change but at the same time I was not crazy about the storyline. You'll see,if you are like me you will still listen to it, because it's part of the series.