One Shot: A Jack Reacher Novel, Book 9

The really good entries in the Jack Reacher entries, with Dick Hill's spot-on narrations, definitely pull you in, and this is one of the really good ones. Set in an unnamed city in "the heartland" (later identified as Indiana), I found "One Shot" to be un-put-downable, even though I agree with the reviewer who was distracted by constant repetition of the line "Reacher said nothing" (or "character X said nothing, or "character Y said nothing," but mostly it's Reacher who says nothing).

Great villains and a fast-paced story that keeps you guessing. I gather they are making a movie of this one starring Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher (by coincidence, both Cruise and Reacher are between 5 and 7 feet tall).

I only discovered author Lee Child and this series about a year ago, when I picked up the CD of "Gone Tomorrow" at the library. Turned out to be one of those sit-in-the-car audiobooks that keeps you glued to the steering wheel waiting to see what happens next. I didn't care for "Killing Floor," the first in the series, but have gone through five of the more recent titles (including this one and the terrific "Bad Luck and Trouble") with lightning speed and fear I may be in danger of becoming a "Reacher creacher." Time for some heavy-duty classical history (Tacitus anyone?) as an antidote!

I've read all of Child's Reacher books in order and am about halfway through the series. The storylines have all been quite different but the one constant is Reacher. He will prevail no matter what the challenge. Some readers might not like that kind of predictability. I love it. One Shot had the right amount of twists and turns. I particularly liked the character development of the television news anchor. I wouldn't mind seeing her in future installments although I'm not sure that will happen. Then again, Reacher has her phone number and knows where she lives. Dick Hill was again exemplary. I hope to find that he is the narrator for the entire series. I'll close with a familiar refrain: if you like the Reacher novels, you'll love One Shot.

I have yet to find a Lee Child book I don't like. A great read, on paper and audio. If you like thrillers and who-dun-its, impeccable prose, crisp dialog and a tough-guy-hero, you'll love this series.

The police and DA's office have the ideal crime scene: a ton of forensic evidence that leads them to the suspect in a matter of hours. The suspect doesn't want to talk to the police or a lawyer, he wants to talk to Jack Reacher, a man nobody can find. Luckily, he's already on the way (thank you 24 hour cable news). Meet Jack Reacher, the strong, silent type. We know he's the strong silent type since the author repeatedly states "Reacher said nothing" (the audiobook that doubles as a drinking game). But how does this man know Reacher? Only Reacher knows because the suspect isn't talking. Can Reacher help the suspect's sister and the equally silent but plucky young defense lawyer, who also happens to be the daughter of the prosecuting DA, defend the man of this horrific crime. And what will Reacher do when a woman from his past shows up to take part in the case? I really liked this book (my first Reacher), it kept me hooked throughout. Speaking of hooked, word to the wise: when an attractive woman hits on you, don't ask her if she's a hooker. Just buy her a drink.

You need to suspend disbelief, but it’s still a fun, tough guy story.

STORY BRIEF:
A sniper kills five people leaving a downtown office building. Several pieces of evidence point to James Barr a former army sniper. James says “You’ve got the wrong guy. Get Reacher for me.” Coincidentally Reacher comes to town for his own reasons. Reacher saw the story in the news. He knew Barr when they were in the army together fourteen years ago. Some bad guys don’t like Reacher being in town and try to harm him. Of course that’s the worst thing they could do since now Reacher won’t leave until he finds them.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
This is one of the better ones in the Reacher series. The bad guys trying to harm Reacher was done well. Reacher’s investigation and solving the mystery was done well. I liked some of the things Reacher did as he was evading the bad guys and the cops. I would have liked a few more fight scenes, but I won’t complain. It’s just one of my favorite things - watching Reacher beat up thugs.

In the early books the author frequently used the phrase “he shrugged.” In recent books, he is not using that phrase as much, but he’s almost overusing the phrase “Reacher said nothing.” Some reviewers complained. I was ok with it.

Narrator: Dick Hill was very good.
Series: This is book 9 in the Jack Reacher series.
Genre: Mystery suspense thriller.
Ending: Good.

I've always found Reacher to be a far fetched character, but I bought a couple of books when I saw the preview for the upcoming movie starring Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. In the novels, Reacher is 6'5" and 250 pounds. Cruise is 5'6 and 160,

This is a really good story with a well thought out mystery. I was guessing till the end and found the story believable and gripping. The reader was awesome as well.

What I find difficult is accepting the hero as believable. He's way to smart, savvy, proficient, sexy, relational....especially for a mysterious drifter. Yet with all that said, this book is enjoyable.

I assume that Lee Child has the golden-handcuffs problem: a high class problem to have, but I wouldn't want to have it. He is a slave to a cartoon. Reacher is the ultimate Man's man: He lives nowhere, has no ID and no credit cards, he buys cheap clothes and wears them for four days, when he throws them out and buys new ones. He is John Wayne personified and taken to the nth degree. Most of us know that John Wayne's name was actually Marion something.
To say that Reacher is getting a little long in the tooth is to understate wildly. There is apparently a large sector of the male population that just eats this stuff up. Reacher knows absolutely everything there is to know about weapons and ammo, about forensics and military evidence, etc. He can be relied upon to ride into town on an invisible white horse and solve a really sticky crime problem for the bungling locals. This book has an interesting plot twist: Reacher rides into town to guarantee that a mass murderer who got away with it in the military is prosecuted to the extent that the law allows, convicted and shipped off to prison forever. Further plot twists await. Reacher uses no fancy tools other than his intellect, experience and judgment, and somehow he manages to wrap up all of these things into nice neat packages with shiny bows. Personally, I prefer my heroes to be a bit more human and less cartoonish, with weaknesses and desires just like the rest of us humans, sometimes even with families, loves and disappointments. Reacher soars above all these lowly primate concerns.
Dick Hill does his usual workmanlike job here. He too must feel the bird in the gilded cage, but, hey, the money's good, and the guys keep reading. A faithful Reacher reader just told me something truly despicable: a movie is now being made, and Reacher is portrayed by....TOM CRUISE! Tom Cruise is about four feet tall: Reacher is six foot five. An outrage. The only thing they both share is that their combined age now well exceeds 100. Long may they reign.

Pretty engrossing story, but was so distracted by the line "Reacher said nothing" that I started counting how many times it was used!

I listen in the car while driving back and forth to work. Several times my wife was wondering why I waited in the car. Great non-stop action. "I want to be like Jack". Kick ass and take names later.

Oh Jack how I love you. I listened to this a second time because the Jack Reacher movie came out. I haven't seen the movie, I'm way too much of a fan of Jack Reacher to see Tom Cruise play him.
I can see why they chose One Shot to make a movie, it's especially great Jack Reacher. This story is complex and mysterious and even a little bit funny. I really enjoyed all the surrounding characters in this story and loved the "team effort" that developed.
Dick Hill as the narrator does a perfect job with the women's voices, which is hard to do. He goes between all the characters seamlessly.
Other reviewers commented on the "Jack said nothing" being repeated over and over. That is a running theme through many of the books and it is annoying, I agree. The editor needs to step in on those.
One Shot is still perfect.