61 hours

Another very standard Reacher novel. Stranded in Bolton South Dakota, Reacher stumbles into a case against a biker gang that's been manufacturing meth in an abandoned military facility west of town. A witness has stepped forward willing to testify to seeing a biker hand over a brick of meth. The town has to keep her safe until the trial.

The complicating factor is that, like many rural towns in the western US, Bolton bid for and won the site of a massive prison complex. And if the prison has a riot or an escape, every single member of the Bolton police department is to drop whatever they are doing and assist the prison. Even if what they are doing is protecting a witness under threat. The cops can't protect her, but Reacher can. Or should be able to. Can he keep her alive the approximately 61 hours until she needs to testify? In the dead of winter when it's 0 degrees outside? He'll do a better job than the local PD at least, because the biker's lawyer turns up dead and then a local cop does too. The cops can't protect everyone, especially if the prison siren goes off.

Child takes a lot of liberties with a fairly shitty but anodyne prison-industrial complex situation. Everything is turned up to 11 and the super-competent Reacher has to deal with obviously absurd situations.

But that's what Reacher does.

It’s great to get back into Jack Reacher after a long hiatus. Lee Child definitely has variations in quality, but you can always expect an excellent thriller as the chaotic good hero tramples through conventions and laws and ensures that the villain is truly punished.

61 Hours is one of the better Jack Reacher novels. The mystery is enjoyable and you’ll slap yourself on the head when the truth is revealed. The various characters are all excellent and enjoyable to read, the various murders hit you in the feels, and Jack’s final showdown is great.

The villain is still moustache-twirling evil but for (spoiler) reasons, it works well.

Recommended.

The military bunker mystery, combined with the bikers, the police, and the hitman… what a great combination of twisting plots. It’s almost impossible for us to make the connection between the girl with the bikers and the chief’s photo, but Jack’s revelation that the chief was “not doing certain things” made wayyy too much sense. I love that part of Lee Child’s writing, as actions speak louder than words.

And damn, losing Peterson and then the witness… that really did hit me in the feels.

I also enjoyed the crazy showdown with Plato, though the abrupt ending pissed me off. I don’t think I can double layer spoilers but the next novel will resolve the abrupt ending, so writing this review a few days later means I enjoy 61 Hours more now, than at its conclusion.

Also Susan Turner shows up in Never Go Back, per the second Jack Reacher movie with Tom Cruise. Her early introduction now makes me excited to see that a real set of arcs and plots are developing outside the typically episodic instalments of these novels.