61 Hours by Lee Child

Background

61 hours is the 14th Jack Reacher adventure book by Lee Child. Child has written the books so they can be read as one offs, or in order, so you can pick any up at any time. Reacher himself is a 6’ 5” - 250lb slab of a man that is an ex member of an elite military police unit. He is now a civilian and wondering America with nothing more than the cloths on his back while righting wrongs – in short a vigilante.  

Synopsis

A winter snowstorm in South Dakota, combined with an icy highway cause a bus to crash; inside are elderly tourists on a road rip and one lone hitchhiker sprawled in back, Jack Reacher, taking up room enough for two men. Good thing he's there, because something nastier than the weather is on its way and biker gangs, a threatened prison riot and the risk to a witness under police protection are merely the beginning of the problems.

Review

It was my farther-in-law that suggested that I read one of Child’s books as he is a big fan, and putting it up front - I was not disappointed.

This book is told in the 3rd person, which in itself is not important, unless you have read other books in the series, as some are in the 3rd person and some in the 1st.

Reacher and the supporting characters are all well formed and believable, and are easily pictured in the mind of the reader, Their interactions are also well written, especially when you come to realise that Reacher is a man’s man, no nonsense type of guy in a no nonsense type of world, and as the plot unfolds a significant amount of his background is provided, which in itself is an interesting back story.

The pace of the plot is excellently judged; it starts slow setting the scene, and then builds in pace, keeping the reader interested. The narrated countdown clock throughout the book adds to the tension, where it could have so easily been an annoyance. Child leaves clues within the telling of the story to allow readers to work out who the bad guy is or may be, and being a fan of murder mysteries I enjoyed this, as for me part of the fun is working out who done it.

Rating

I give this book 9.5 out of 10. A great adventure yarn with a great hero

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