What begins as a sloppy marital argument in a bar in Texas may turn into something far more destructive. Jack Reacher, never known for minding his own business, brings his vagabond law-man-for-hire self to the scene. Carmen Greer seems to be the victim, and as a surly regulator, he doesn't hesitate to pick her up outside of Lubbock, that is, until she asks him to murder her husband. This abusive man is soon to be released from jail, and Carmen's worst nightmares are about to begin again.
But when Sloop Greer is let out of jail, what Carmen expects, doesn't happen. Sloop is instead killed by someone else, and Carmen is set up to take the blame. Reacher doesn't see how things could be wrapped up so simply and sets out to uncover what evil and human suffering lies beneath this town in Echo County, Texas.
Lee Child is the pen name of Jim Grant. He writes commercial thrillers about a former military cop named Jack Reacher. Child was born in 1954 and raised in England. Child studied law but also worked backstage at a theatre and eventually worked in commercial television upon graduating college. He produced over forty thousand hours of programming, wrote thousands of commercials, news stories, and trailers. He was laid off after corporate restructuring and began his career as a novelist with his first book Killing Floor. His prose style has been called hardboiled and commercial, and he considers novels the purest form of entertainment.
"I love Jack Reacher books. He is a great character. He is ex-Army, at one point a major in the Military police. After 13 years he does not have any visible means of support and no permanent home. in otherwords, he is a drifter and as you would expect, a bad ass. At 6' 5", no body fat he's not afraid to mix it up. The other thing is that he's a good guy. Always accepts the lost cause a fight for what's right. He's human, makes mistakes but always wins at the end. A very enjoyable read."
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Chris Ciabattone (5 out of 5 stars)