ACTION THRILLERS LIKE JACK REACHER
CRIME THRILLER AND ACTION BOOKS REVIEWED
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I think I have done it. I didn’t know if it was possible. I have finally found a crime thriller book with a fictional character that maybe as good as Jack Reacher. I say maybe as I’m scared. I’m scared that (whispers) it may be a little better. “No” I hear you cry, “shut up”, “stop talking rubbish”, I’m sorry so so sorry but listen up, there could be every possibility that I could be right. After finishing the latest Lee Child novel, I went away on holiday and bought a book to take with me. I had scanned the web (painful) to find anything that could be good and find it I did!
In our previous post we looked at the books you should read, if you love the Jack Reacher Series. Well, we have found a new series of novels by author Tom Wood which are going to be added to this list. The main character is an assassin known as Victor. A cool, calm and collected person who is a master of his craft. He is again a loner, doesn’t trust anyone and is paid to kill people that have been order to be hit. He operates using a typical skill set of counter surveillance and plastic surgery to make sure he is not known, just in case he is spotted in a CCTV camera. This latest book has Victor working for the British and also being targeted at the same time by bad guys who would do anything to stop him.
One of the first things in this book like Jack Reacher is the way that Victor isn’t your typical hero. He like to fight for the underdog as per Reacher, but this is not really a priority for him. He is selfish, really making sure he doesn’t die is his main priority, he will kill anyone if the circumstances dictate. In this book we see how vulnerable he is, as the group who are trying to kill him are every bit as good as he is. This requires Victor to really think at least two steps ahead of them and plan every single move that he makes.
The author Tom Wood writes really descriptive plots and provides lots of detail which is just like Lee Child. When you start to read the book you really do immerse yourself into the story line and are left wanting Victor to survive even though in reality he is not a good guy. The fight sequences are absolutely amazing, from bullets through arms to biting off noses (literally), you can imagine every punch, kick and block happening right in front of you. Like Jack Reacher, Victor gets injured, has to think on his feet when things go wrong, always gets the girl and has a sense of justice to his work.
The book I took on holiday that got me into the series is called “A Time to Die” and can be bought on this site see bottom of page. This book is number 6 in the series and there are currently 7 Tom Wood books with another one on the way in July 2018.
I must admit, I read this book in 1 day on holiday. I was so intrigued to see if Victor would survive and who was actually trying to kill him. Even though Victor is slick, wears expensive clothing but still looks like an average guy, he seemed to have a much more raw character which is what Jack Reacher was like in the earlier series of Lee Child novels. Time will tell if Victor can continue to have the success of Lee Child books but from what I have read over the series so far he is on course to compete.
I can honestly say that the author Tom Wood has really hit the mark with his novels, I now rate him highly as someone who in between Lee Child writing a new Jack Reacher book and me reading the latest Jack Reacher book, I can slot the new Tom Wood book in between.
There may be some of you thinking out of the 22 Lee Child Jack Reacher books, which one is your favourite? For most of us die hard Jack Reacher fans, I think it would be hard to choose just one book that stands out from the rest as they are all so, so good in their own unique way.
With that said however, there is one book that for me, will always stand out in the series of Jack Reacher novels. This is due to the fact that this was the book that got me hooked into the Lee Child Jack Reacher novels. I got given it after Christmas by my father in law, kind of a flippant “here you go, have a read of this” comment as he hadn’t had a chance to read it.
Just the back page of the book got me intrigued, why had I never heard of this person before? Why would no one mess with him? Why did he leave the army?
I got the book and devoured it, reading it in the morning with breakfast, at night over tea, before bed, you name it. Whenever I had the opportunity to read the book I did. To me it was just an instant classic, Jack Reacher teaming up with four of his ex army colleagues as his old team are getting picked off, one by one. The team are just so cool, all with their own skill sets, and they have obviously got a tight bond between them of loyalty from being in the army.
Fight scenes – check
Third person writing – check
Lots of characters – check
Plot twists and turns – check
This book has got everything and more, it was the first time that I got to know the hero but not as a normal hero. No Jack Reacher is an unconventional hero who walks close to the line with the law by protecting his team and the underdogs but also wants justice done by any means possible.
Once I had been gripped by this book, I decided to research and look at what else Lee Child had written – low and behold, there were another 10 books to read before this one. I felt that I then had to read the Jack Reacher books in order, so that I could start to see where he had come from, and follow his fictional journey from the beginning. I think being a kid in the 80’s the Jack Reacher books reminded me ever so slightly of David Banner, the end scenes of the hulk tv series. David Banner, a loner, walking down a road, piano music playing in the background as he wanders off into the next location.
If like me you want a “do not put down book”, look no further than this Jack Reacher novel.
Remember, “You don’t mess with Jack Reacher” – Bad Luck and Trouble can be bought here.
The level of excitement and anticipation when you buy the latest Jack Reacher book is so high that you have to take a moment before you start to open the pages. This latest book from Lee Child is Jack Reacher book number 22. As with all
the previous books we start, Lee Child draws you in right from the start. Be prepared for another case of reading right into the night through to the early hours of the morning.
For those who are new to this site, read on and find out about this next Lee Child book in one of the greatest crime series thriller novels. Jack Reacher is back with a bang!
We think we know all Jack Reacher by now, book number 22 and surely he isn’t going to change.
Well well well, after reading this book and remembering the first Jack Reacher book (Killing Floor). I can safely say that Jack Reacher has changed just ever so slightly. From hard core cool guy that gets the job done in a jiffy, obviously with intelligence and charm. This Jack Reacher is slightly shall I say, more thoughtful and has a softer approach to the people around him, unlike many Jack Reacher books. Some of the plot deals with addiction, self-worth and loyalty, this allows us the opportunity to see Jack Reacher’s compassion just enough to realise he is maybe getting softer with age.
As with all Lee Child books, we keep expecting the latest Jack Reacher book to be better than the previous one. For me this latest Jack Reacher book is better than number 21 (Night School). I didn’t particularly like Night School, as we were transported back in time to see where Jack Reacher came from and what happened to him when he was younger. I prefer the now, the present Jack Reacher character, dealing with the bad guys in style and winning the mini war for the people who can’t defend themselves.
If you are like me, then this book is one of the better ones. Not the best Jack Reacher book but one that you will enjoy reading. You may find that over the years you have come to appreciate Lee Child books more and more as during the down time between his latest book, you go off in the hunt for something similar. I have very rarely come across anything that comes as close to gripping me in the way that Lee Child Jack Reacher books do. This has made me appreciate his writing style more and more, even when some of the books are not quite up to scratch I still can sit back in the knowledge that I have still had a good read by this brilliant author.
The most important part of a Lee Child Jack Reacher book is the start. The first few pages when you see where Jack Reacher is located, hear about where he has been and find out where he is drifting to. In this book, Jack Reacher takes an aimless stroll past a pawn shop in a small Midwestern town. In the window he sees a West Point class ring from 2005. It’s tiny. It’s a woman cadet’s graduation present to herself. Why would she give it up? Reacher’s a West Pointer too, and he knows what she went through to get it. So starts the mystery of the seller, the reason why the ring was stolen, what Jack Reacher has to go through to solve this mystery.
For me this is what makes the books standout. The writing description of the fights really engages with the reader and makes you feel as if you were in the fight scene itself. The Midnight Line doesn’t disappoint as Jack Reacher gets himself into a few situations that you could imagine in any Jack Reacher movie. One worthy of a mention is the fight with some bikers that gets you on the edge of your seat with all the writing descriptions of punches, elbows and head locks to name but a few.
I felt really intrigued with the story as I couldn’t work out where the plot was going to take you. I liked the idea of Reacher teaming up with a private detective, trying to solve the mystery of the ring meant that there was some great dialogue. Reacher the get it done guy and the detective being bound by the rules and red tape of the law. Themes of addiction and self-worth are touched on throughout the book, which for me really sets a compassionate tone which maybe a lot of Lee Child Jack Reacher books don’t really have.
Without spoiling the plot for you, I just generally thought this was a good book. It only took me two days to complete it, as most of the last Jack Reacher book series have done. It could have had more action, probably less description of the surroundings but having said that this is what Lee Child does. The ending is again left open for book number 23 (who knows when Lee Child will stop) which I for one am happy about. My only concern would be that as Reacher gets older, Lee Child either has to go backwards doing prequels or turn him into an old guy like The Equalizer
Either of these scenarios don’t really appeal to me or probably most of the Jack Reacher audience. My theory is that maybe within the next two books Lee Child will introduce another character who is younger and works alongside Jack Reacher. This Character will then start to take on the new franchise going forward but bringing in a new generation of readers.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks so that saying goes but knowing Lee Child books the way that I do, I wouldn’t put it past Lee Child to do a new book series with a woman cast in the main lead!
I’ll leave that thought with you for now………
The latest Jack Reacher book has been published. This could be made into a Jack Reacher film.