61 Hours: A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher Book 14)

Like all of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books, this one builds suspense, stimulated by the clock ticking down. Jack is shown to be amazingly intuitive, understanding criminal minds, and staunch in his morality and determination. The writing style is blunt, mostly passive sentences, which add to the starkness of the environment of winter in South Dakota. The ending leaves the reader wondering whether or not Reacher survived.

"61 Hours", Lee Child's 14th Jack Reacher novel, seems to be dichotomizing the support of his readers between those who love it or those who hate it and never plan to buy another. Having read all 14 Reacher novels, I can safely say that "61 Hours" is a departure, at times, from the Child/Reacher formula but it is only a change in style, not substance.In "61 Hours", action and violence, while present, take a backseat to plot development, old-fashioned sleuthing, and a backstory that involves a new female ally and revelations from his army past as well as from his childhood. While containing less of the traditional slam bang action, we see a more fully fleshed, human side of Reacher in this novel; indeed, we still see his incredible strengths and talents but this time they are balanced a bit more with his humanity and, yes, even vulnerability.In "61 Hours", Reacher has bummed a ride on a senior citizen tour bus that runs off an icy road near Bolton, South Dakota. Once he helps everyone reach Bolton safely, Reacher is slowly drawn into a complex of circumstances that seem to be a perfect storm (pun intended). There is a deadly cold front and snow storm approaching, a riot is expected at any moment in a nearby maximum security prison, a biker gang is apparently operating a high yield meth lab at an abandoned military facility just out of town, a vicious drug cartel in Mexico wants an elderly eye witness in a drug trial killed, and just what is in that abandoned facility in the first place. Lee Child does a masterful job of interweaving all these elements into a fast paced well plotted read that has Reacher moving to an invisible clock from the crash of his bus to an unknown but seemingly monumental event 61 hours later.I have been a bit disappointed by some elements in the past several Reacher novels but I enjoyed this one even though I would have liked a little more of the Reacher trademark action. If this was a different angle by the author to broaden Jack Reacher as a character, I have no problem with it. However, I sincerely hope that he returns to form in his next outing which apparently will be a followup to the cliffhanger ending of "61 hours". This is a recommended read for both Reacher fans and those seeking a well plotted thriller.

61 hours is fast and exciting. The characters are among his best renditions. Fabulous pacing a terrific twist ending. Excellent.

Fast paced and exciting with some unpredictable twists and turns. A great read thAt continues Reachers legacy. Enjoy it! it's great

61 Hours is the fourteenth book by author Lee Child in his acclaimed Jack Reacher series. The long running action/mystery series is based around former military cop Jack Reacher. After serving in the Army for thirteen years, and having grown up on Marine bases all over the world, he travels all around the country with no destination in mind carrying nothing but the clothes on his back and a fold-up toothbrush. Most times he's either walking or hitchhiking. Unfortunately for Reacher, trouble seems to find him wherever he goes.In this latest installment in the series, which Stephen King has coined "man fiction"(source: Entertainment Weekly, October 12, 2008), Jack Reacher finds himself on a bus in South Dakota on the way to Mount Rushmore in the middle of a major snowstorm. In the middle of nowhere, the bus hits a patch of ice and goes off the road. From that moment until the very end, it is abundantly clear that Reacher is a highly intelligent and resourceful man. He tends to the injured and keeps everyone as calm as possible. After a while the passengers and driver of the bus are shuttled off to the nearest town of Bolton and that's where the mystery begins.As soon as he gets to Bolton it is clear to Reacher that something isn't right and something very big is going on. From there begins a story of meth dealing bikers, an old and mysterious military compound, a prosecutorial witness in danger, and the mystery assassin sent to wipe her out before she testifies. It's up to Jack Reacher to get to the bottom of things before it's too late.Even though the book is part of a series based around Jack Reacher, you don't need to have read any of the other books to understand what's going on in the newest installment. From page one this book moves with the speed and precision we have come to expect from a Lee Child novel. The action is intense, the mystery is complex and intriguing, and the characters feel very real. It's difficult to keep coming up with fresh ideas for your protagonist after fourteen books but Lee Child has succeeded once again. From the moment you start reading you'll be dying to find out what happens next and you'll be tossed around by the plot twists.The only bad thing is that once you've finish reading you are struck with the realization that it will be another year before the next book comes to shelves. We can only hope that Child continues to churn out great stories surrounding our hero Jack Reacher. If the past is any indication, we won't have anything to worry about for a long time to come.

As usual a very action packed read in one very late night sitting! Definitely worth the read as per usual!

Lee Child can weave an interesting tale about Jack Reacher but may drive readers who are familiar with proper sentence structure and use of punctuation to the brink. I know that’s the case for me. I purchased the entire Jack Reacher series of books after seeing the first season of the series. I never would have read so many of his books if I hadn’t already paid for them.I have often wondered why, with all the money that Lee Child must have brought in from his writing, he can’t seem to afford a staff who will proofread and correct the many mistakes throughout his books. Same goes for his publisher.I held onto hope with each successive book that he might learn something about writing and make his books easier to read. I hoped, with the addition of his brother on the last couple, that the books would improve but seemed to get only worse. Sometimes, 2 whole pages of back-and-forth banter are written with nothing to occasionally let you know who is speaking, so multiple readings may be needed at times to sort it out. I think almost all, if not all, of the pages have sentences with commas where none are needed, periods where commas are needed, clauses used as sentences, and a new paragraph starting from a clause that belongs in the previous sentence of the preceding paragraph. As I said, hard to read if you understand basic sentence structure.There are often times where I wish Lee had done one iota of research to get facts right. I refer to passages in the stories where it was apparent that Lee Child had no experience or knowledge; I guess, more or less, the writing is off the top of his head.Some problems are:1: He thinks the flashing emergency lights of vehicles in the western states are the same as in much of the New England states (blue on fire trucks and red on police).2: He didn’t know what the average shoe size in America is actually 10 ½ (stating it as 9)3: He thinks a large man like Jack Reacher would have what Lee evidently thinks of as a large foot size of 11, instead of something closer to 14 or 15 (I am 6’1” and wear a 13.) I assume Lee has a small foot.4: Lee has never been near a fast-moving train, thinking there is violent ground movement when the train is even over a mile away and hurricane force winds near one traveling 60 mph.5: He seems to think that all gas stations and quick marts sell khaki pants and various shirts, packs of socks, and underwear.6: Jack Reacher can knock anyone unconscious and very often dead with one punch. I can remember only a couple times when it took two.7: He thinks face bones will “shatter” from a Jack Reacher punch and can knock out a gorilla or even an elephant. Jack also never has injuries to his hand or elbow from such amazing blows.8: Jack Reacher’s hands are said to be as large as a dinner plate and his fists as large as Thanksgiving turkeys…really?Yes, his books are hard to read for these and other reasons caused by lack of oversight by his publisher and lack of staff. Please, I hope never to find out he has a staff that lets this stuff through. Good storyteller, other than the lack of research on details and no idea as to sentence/paragraph structure..Rating would be five for the story.

If you enjoy this genre you will enjoy Reacher. Better than the previous book in this series but looking forward to the next.

Could not put this one down. Great read from beginning to end and just noticed it’s the start of a mini series within the Reacher collection. Can’t wait to start to next one!

Você não consegue parar de ler. Muito bom.

Llego perfecto

Good read!

Jack Reacher è sempre Jack Reacher. Anche se non tutto fila dal punto di vista logico e il finale potrebbe far pensare male, i libri di Lee Child sono una sicurezza per gli amanti della serie di Jack Reacher. Ritmo, suspance, colpi di scena e la determinazione a risolvere le ingiustizie. Un'altro romanzo di Jack Reacher da leggere subito!!