The hard way

a Jack Reacher novel

by Lee Child

English language

Published Jan. 5, 2006 by Delacorte Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-385-33669-7

(16 reviews)

In Lee Child's astonishing new thriller, ex--military cop Reacher sees more than most people would...and because of that, he's thrust into an explosive situation that's about to blow up in his face. For the only way to find the truth--and save two innocent lives--is to do it the way Jack Reacher does it best: the hard way.... Jack Reacher was alone, the way he liked it, soaking up the hot, electric New York City night, watching a man cross the street to a parked Mercedes and drive it away. The car contained one million dollars in ransom money. And Edward Lane, the man who paid it, will pay even more to get his family back. Lane runs a highly illegal soldiers-for-hire operation. He will use any amount of money and any tool to find his beautiful wife and child. And then he'll turn Jack Reacher loose with a vengeance--because Reacher is the best man hunter in the world.On the trail of a vicious kidnapper, Reacher is learning the chilling secrets of his employer's past...and of a horrific drama in the heart of a nasty little war. He's beginning to realize that Edward Lane is hiding something. Something dirty. Something big. But Reacher also knows this: he's already in way too deep to stop now.From the Hardcover edition.

6 editions

ridel reviewed The hard way by Lee Child

Review of 'The hard way' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The golden age of Lee Child continues with Reacher's 10th outing. This has all the thrills of the finest Jack reacher novels - the central mystery is excellent, Reacher's mistakes are reasonable and keeps the reader along for the ride, and said reader should be able to recall all the details that Reacher missed, but are critical for the plot twists that occur. There is an amusing moment where Reacher discovers text messaging for the first time, which both dates this novel but also reminds us of how he's really out of touch with his whole hobo act.

Speaking of which... it is weird that Reacher was back in NYC. Lee Child's need to keep these novels standalone makes it unsatisfying for Reacher to return to a city he's been many times (he's a wanderer, no?), and also completely ignore Jodie Garber's existence. There was even a throwaway reference to the first novel...

I've avoided giving Lee Child perfect scores and this one continues - the third act of the novel is a bit rough and so you finish the novel not quite satisfied. The antagonists are great, the twists are good, and overall, a great but not perfect book.

The moment you meet Lane and his cadre of special forces, you get this feeling that Reacher was going to have to go mano-a-mano with them. They remain excellently dangerous, but without decent characterization (I barely recall who anyone was aside from Lane). The unravelling of the kidnapping plot happens very well, and the details on how the money exchanges occur is peak Lee Child. That said, the supporting cast are all very weak -- Pauling becomes a sidekick within seconds, and the rest have very small parts and are unmemorable. As always, Jack gets laid and those scenes are also cringe. And finally, the showdown between Lane and Reacher is a little lame. Realistic, with both sides being surprised by the other, but not quite the explosive intellectual/action showdown I was hoping for.

Alexander L. Belikoff reviewed The hard way by Lee Child

Review of 'The hard way' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

No need to dive deep into Lee Child analysis - if you have read one of them, you know what to expect. On the upside, you get a good solid thriller. The plot will have twists but they wouldn't be absolutely unrealistic. It actually holds much better than his previous novel ("One shot"). On the downside, I figured the main twist of the plot about 2/3 through the book which made it a bit less interesting.

Overall, I'm happy with the book and it served its purpose (holiday time reading to cram in between more serious books) perfectly.