The Affair

Jack Reacher, Book 16

By: Lee Child

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

With Reacher, number-one New York Times best-selling author Lee Child has created “a series that stands in the front rank of modern thrillers” (The Washington Post)

Everything starts somewhere....

For elite military cop Jack Reacher, that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A coverup.

A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington.

Reacher is ordered undercover - to find out everything he can, to control the local police, and then to vanish. Reacher is a good soldier. But when he gets to Carter Crossing, he finds layers no one saw coming, and the investigation spins out of control.

Local sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux has a thirst for justice - and an appetite for secrets. Uncertain they can trust one another, Reacher and Deveraux reluctantly join forces. Reacher works to uncover the truth, while others try to bury it forever. The conspiracy threatens to shatter his faith in his mission, and turn him into a man to be feared.

A novel of unrelenting suspense that could only come from the pen of number-one New York Times best-selling author Lee Child, The Affair is the start of the Reacher saga, a thriller that takes Reacher - and his readers - right to the edge... and beyond.

PLEASE NOTE: As a special bonus, this download also includes a recording of the New York Times best-selling e-book exclusive short story "Second Son", read by Dick Hill: At 13, Jack Reacher already knows how to end a fight. He knows that his brain is more important than his brawn. He knows how to get the job done. When his father is transferred to the military base on Okinawa, Jack and his older brother, Joe, prepare for school and consider how to deal with both the neighborhood bully and a missing code book that could cost their father his career.

Take another thrill ride with Jack Reacher.

©2011 Lee Child; 2011 Random House Audio (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“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)

My first disapointment

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

From two sheriff recorded murders that no one knows about to the telephonic report of a train-struck car before the time it happened, there are just too many premises that don’t ring true. Mr. Child got sloppy. My first disappointment of the entire series.

Would you recommend The Affair to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, mildly.

Beloved Jack Reacher tales growing tired

I've read them all, and loved Jack Reacher for his quirkiness and insightfulness. Until recently, that is. The last two installments just don't seem to have the sparkle of earlier ones. Yes, there have always been unlikely plots and "surely that couldn't really happen" moments in every one . . . but that's one of the liberating qualities of fiction. But The Affair and Worth Dying For stretch the bounds of credulity too far for me. The conclusion of The Affair was so implausible as to completely sour me toward the entire novel.

Even the little bonus story, The Second Son, which purports to demonstrate Reacher's precocious insight, was just too unbelievable.

I do love Dick Hill's voice and performance, though it's probably better suited to the installments of the series portraying Reacher at a more mature age . . . but that I can live with.

Jack Reacher Books are Always Entertaining

Any additional comments?

No confusion, no extraneous characters, and no boring moments: just straight-ahead action and entertainment. If Lee Child wrote 12 Jack Reacher books a year, I would buy them all. Only negative: Dick Hill always sounds like he runs out of air on the ends of sentences. During the first half of the book, I find myself breathing for him until my chest hurts; 5-6 hours in I get used to it.

wonderful reacher story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this one. It's very enjoyable and I got wrapped up in the story easily. The mystery Reacher goes to investigate unfolds smoothly and keeps you guessing until the very end.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, just like most of the best Reacher novels! This one is well done & reminds me of some of the great earlier stories.

Awesome - really helps fill in the holes

This is a great book - i enjoyed it as much as any Reacher book in YEARS!

I guess I have had an affair with Jack

Loved this entire series. I knew someone sort of like Jack while I was in the service. This is great.

50 Shades of Reacher

This is 2nd to last on the Reacher scale. I really didn't care for this edition. I think it tried to reach a different audience. I didn't need the over done and poorly executed sex scenes. I don't mind a little fluff but this is supposed to be an action series, not a dime store romance novel. I would only recommend this because it is part of the series.

Another Reacher winner!

This is a good book to read before Killing Floor, as it gives the background for the whole series, and why Reacher is wondering around the country.
Reacher is in the Army now, on an assignment that will end his career.
It's full of passion, intrigue, action, with twists and turns that leaves you wondering who the murderer is, right up til the end. Well, worth listening to.
It's topped off with a short story, that takes place when Reacher was 13 years old, traveling with his Marine family. It's short, but a good story.

First Lee Child book read

I kept waiting for this book to get better. I have since read by one reviewer that if you have never read Lee Child's books, that this is not the one to start with. My father is a great fan of Lee Child and just loved this book. The writing was good. The sex in it was just long and drawn out and dull. I didn't actually see the point of it in this book. I kept thinking, "get on with it so we can get to the actual story!" I have since read in reviews about this point also, that in his previous books, this is not the case, the sidetracking of boring pages about the hero's sex life. oh well, i wanted to know what all the fuss was about with this author, and , although it wasn't terrible, i will not be downloading any more of his books!

Another awesome Jack Reacher novel.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Absolutely! I found the character of Elizabeth Deveraux fascinating.

Have you listened to any of Dick Hill’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Dick Hill is one of my favorite narrators. I will consider listening to anything he narrates.