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Introducing Evan Smoak and author Gregg Hurwitz

It was one of those days, you know, you’ve had them before. You’ve finished your latest book series after the Christmas period, you’ve had a short gap of not reading anything for a couple of weeks. Then the cravings start hitting, I NEED to read a decent book, especially at night before bed, something to look forward to as the nights get dark so quickly.

The next day, into the bookshop I go, I have a quick flick through the usual authors I know of, nope nothing new there, I spot a few others on the discount shelf (always looking for a bargain), nope nothing there worthy of attention. Then I have a quick “click and check” of some books, you know the method, check the back of a book, google the title and see what some reviews say. This is such a painful process as I only have 30 minutes lunch break and I HAVE to do this method currently as there are not many websites like www.bookslikejackreacher.co.uk which help you quickly find something that is decent.

After 20 minutes of my lunch break gone, I stumble upon an author called “Greg Hurwitz”. I thought, I recognise that surname from a book I’d bought before, which I thought was okay when I had read it. The book in front of me was titled “Orphan X” and to be honest looked okay but the main thing that I noticed on the front of the book was a quote from LEE CHILD stating that the book was “Outstanding in every way”

What happened next?

Yes you guessed it, I went and bought the book. It was quite funny though, as when I got home I realised that the author who I thought sounded the same, was in fact someone else entirely called Anthony Horowitz and the book was called “Trigger Mortis” which you could BUY HERE!

“Oh no” I thought had it all gone wrong, got the wrong author, perhaps read the wrong reviews, it’s probably not a book like Jack Reacher surely. Have I wasted my hard-earned cash??

Go on tell us….

I was greatly surprised to find out that this book is one of the best books like Jack Reacher out there currently. I’ve been introduced to a totally refreshing character named “Evan Smoak” who like Jack Reacher is a loner but again has an amazing set of skills to combat the bad guys. The plot is brilliant, Evan Smoak is a person who senses great victory in helping people who are in danger. He does this by leaving people that he has saved from harm with a phone number that they can pass onto anyone (only one) person they meet who is also in desperate need.

What I love about this plot is that you sense something bad is going to happen all the way through, it’s much too easy for Evan to go through life and not have any harm come his way. What would be the point in that, him helping people and strolling around, no one wants to read this. As you read more about his background, you realise that not all is as it seems and Evan is in great, great danger.

Is this as good as a Lee Child book?

As with all comparisons, it is hard to compare the two characters Jack Reacher and Evan Smoak. I can only say that for me, Evan Smoak is like a younger brother to Jack Reacher. He can handle himself, has the usual eye for detail and investigative skills, the main difference is that he is up to date with the latest technology to aid him. Evan has such an amazing set of skills from, knowing all the time if something is wrong in a situation to checking online databases and hacking into various systems to help him in the search for people.

Greg Hurwitz has created a great character who interacts with other people in his apartment block, and again, the detail that goes into painting the picture about the protection Evan has installed into his own apartment is incredible.

Final thoughts

I included Evan Smoak in my characters in books like jack reacher as he is such a brilliant read and hero that I think people who read Lee Child novels will absolutely love. He always seems to be out of danger and then the plot is flipped so that you can’t see a way out for him. I really do like the idea of the interaction of a man made human weapon, engaging with the public in his apartment block. These scenes really give a sense of the caring side of an assassin and it does help the reader to relate to the story a lot more.

I say buy this book now, you will not be disappointed at all!

Let me know what you think, when you have read the book in the comments below.

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My 5 best Jack Reacher books.

For all new and old readers of the Lee Child Jack Reacher series, I wanted to get your feedback. The Lee Child novels have been spanning 21 years now. Yes that’s right 21 years, talk about longevity in a series of books. It got me thinking, out of all the 22 books so far that I have read, which one is my favourite?

To even look at this question, I sadly had to go back through and read some earlier Jack Reacher novels as I couldn’t quite remember the plot lines. I’ve heard this happens when people get older so please forgive me!

So here is my list, in no particular order maybe, let me know your thoughts on whether you think I’m right.

Jack Reacher favourite books Number 1

Tripwire

I’m going to try not to spoil it for you by divulging the plot lines but this book is very special. It was the first time I thought of Reacher being human, someone who could get wounded and hurt. In previous Jack Reacher books I have always found that somehow he would stay alive, here I wasn’t so sure.

Back of the book content

He spends his days digging swimming pools by hand and his nights as the bouncer in the local strip club in the Florida Keys.

He doesn’t want to be found.

But someone has sent a private detective to seek him out. Then Reacher finds the guy beaten to death with his fingertips sliced off. It’s time to head north and work out who is trying to find him and why.

You can buy the book here


 

 

 

Jack Reacher favourite books Number 2

Bad Luck and Trouble

As I mentioned in my previous post about this book here, this book has fond memories for me so will always be one of my favourites. This coupled with the team that Jack Reacher has to look after and the loyalty shown, it really is a masterpiece of Lee Child proportions. I love the way as you are reading this book, you are really willing Reacher to find justice for his old team and somehow figure it all out.

Back of the book content

He is as close to untraceable as a person can get. A loner comfortable in his anonymity and solitude. So when a member of his old army unit finds a way to contact him, he knows this has to be serious.

Buy the book here

Jack Reacher favourite books Number 3

61 Hours and Worth dying for

Now this is slightly controversial as I have two books here at number 3. Just let me explain, these two books go hand in hand as one ends quite abruptly with a cliff hanger and then the other starts where the first book left off. So this as you can see means that these two books are one book but in two parts. Clever Lee Child I hear you say and yes you would be right. Jack Reacher gets himself in a right pickle in this book, the descriptive words used and the description of the landscapes are breath taking and really do create a distinct feel to these two books.

Back of the book content

61 Hours – Icy winter in South Dakota. A bus skids and crashes in a gathering storm. On the back seat: Jack Reacher, hitching a ride to nowhere. A life without baggage has many advantages. And disadvantages too, like facing the arctic cold without a coat.
Worth dying for – There’s deadly trouble in the wilds of Nebraska…. and Reacher walks right into it. He falls foul of the Duncans, a local clan that has terrified an entire county into submission. But it’s the unsolved case of a missing 8 year old girl, already decades old that Reacher can’t let go.

Buy the book 61 hours here and Worth dying for here

Jack Reacher favourite books Number 4

Gone Tomorrow

I must have read the first chapter of this book a few times as it is so descriptive and speaks right into the paranoia that is around currently in society. Reacher deciding in his mind through training if the person sitting opposite him on the train is a suicide bomber. Classic suspense and drama, Reacher against lots and lots of bad guys, so much suspense, and humor make this one of the Lee Child novels I will always remember.

Back of the book content

Suicide bombers are easy to spot.

They give out all kinds of tell-tale signs. There are twelve things to look for. No one who has worked in law enforcement will ever forget them.

New York City. The subway, two o’clock in the morning.

Jack Reacher studies his fellow passengers. Four are OK. The fifth isn’t.

The train brakes for Grand Central Station.

Buy the book here

Jack Reacher favourite books Number 5

Personal

This has to be on my top 10 for me as it is based across Europe for a change! When I was reading this book, it took me back to the classic James Bond story lines when I was around 10 years old and watching someone (guy called Jaws) try to get Bond (Roger Moore). Needless to say there is some great fight scenes, one against a “Giant type character”, mastery weapon descriptions and it also made me forget the Never go Back Jack Reacher novel, which to me wasn’t on par with the rest in the series.

Back of the book content

Jack Reacher walks alone. Once a go-to hard man in the US military police, now he’s a drifter of no fixed abode. But the army tracks him down. Because someone has taken a long-range shot at the French president.

Only one man could have done it. And Reacher is the one man who can find him.

This new heartstopping, nailbiting book in Lee Child’s number-one bestselling series takes Reacher across the Atlantic to Paris – and then to London. The stakes have never been higher – because this time, it’s personal.

Buy the book here

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Conclusion

So there you have it, my list and subject to change in the future. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Was Tom Cruise the right person to play Jack Reacher?

Hopefully by now you have watched at least one of the Jack Reacher films either at the cinema or on DVD. I watched both films at the cinema and to be honest I was slightly concerned that the big screen films wouldn’t be anywhere near the same feel as the Lee Child Novels.

I was pleasantly surprised with the first movie as the subject matter of a sniper killing people and Jack trying to solve who the murderer was had enough suspense to keep you interested even after reading the book.

The main debate……

The issue that won’t go away with the Jack Reacher novels is the fact that Tom Cruise has been cast as the main character. For me when I first heard this I thought that it was a joke as when you read the books, Jack Reacher is approximately 6ft 5″ and 250 pounds in weight. So Jack Reacher is a big bloke, capable of taking on 5 people or more in a fist fight, someone who is noticed and in books described as a powerful force. When I think of Tom Cruise I didn’t think he would match up to this character, in height and weight also with the intimidating nature of Jack Reacher.

There have been a lot of complaints by avid Jack Reacher readers alike and non Reacher fans moaning that casting someone like Tom Cruise has made the franchise less appealing. The very fact that many avid readers have now got an ideal picture in their heads about who Jack Reacher should be does create a problem for Lee Child.

What were the options?

There were a few different actors who could have played the role of Jack Reacher, some who maybe in my opinion could have provided the look or fit that many readers wanted. The main question for me though would have been even thought they look the part, can they act like Reacher.

Top of my list would be Hugh Jackman, he has the height can beef up and can act as well. I think after seeing him in the new Logan film made me realise he could easily have been the Jack Reacher we wanted. Have a look at the film and you can see elements of Jack Reacher as the aging Wolverine. Buy it here.

Dywane Johnson is the new up and coming action movie star. After making a career in WWE he is now a credible actor. He obviously has the physical presence of Jack Reacher, my only concern would be his acting as most of his films he portrays comical characters.
Liam Neeson is a well known actor who has been in so many different films, currently working in a lot of films that have the who done it feel. For me Liam is slightly too old physically to play Jack Reacher but could easily play and aging Jack Reacher towards the end of the series. He is also able to fight and look convincing doing it.

Verdict

I must admit, Tom Cruise was not the actor for me, not just due to the size or physical presence that he brings. The main issue for me was that he is involved in so many other films franchises, one of them being Mission Impossible as Ethan Hunt and this can get you really confused as to who he is playing when you watch the Jack Reacher movie. If, it was someone else who hasn’t got this franchise then you would probably be more forgiving of mismatch in physicality.

The one thing that Tom Cruise does bring to the role however if pure Hollywood star quality. This could be the physical force that Lee Child was after, someone who on the big screen takes Jack Reacher into a whole other market that other people who have never heard of the Lee Child book series can get hooked into.

I think it came down to yes I can get someone to look like Tom Cruise and Yes someone who is physically imposing, but for Lee Child he probably wanted someone who could act. As an actor Tom Cruise is outstanding and hopefully we will see a third film which in reality brings Jack Reacher to a bigger audience with Mr Cruise being in it.

Let me known what you think, is Tom Cruise the right or wrong person, comments below.

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Lee Child – Jack Reacher Book 21 – Night School

If like me you have read through all the Jack Reacher books you may have got to book number 20 titled “Make Me” and thought, “yes, that was good, probably stop now Lee Child”.

I mean Reacher is getting older and what more can we expect from him.  As a fan I didn’t really want to see Jack Reacher not fighting or remenissing about previous plots and conquests.

I guess I was wrong to even suggest that Lee Child should stop writing about Jack Reacher, as we now have book number 21 titled “Night School”

 

 

If you are reading the books backwards in the wrong order, from the author Lee Child book list, then can I please say politely “STOP”.  In my humble opinion, you need to start at book 1 “Killing Floor” and take a look at the Blog “the Jack Reacher books reading order” on my site to get the best out of them.

Right firstly lets get down to the good stuff.

Night School is it the real deal, is it up to the normal standards?

Okay lots of questions and thoughts about this book so here we go.  Lee Child is obviously an exceptional writer, his fast pace scene setting and the selective descriptions he uses really capture your imagination and makes you feel that you are in the story itself. As normal this book is so easy to read due to Lee Child’s unique writing style. Going back to Reacher’s early days is also a clever aspect of this book as it has endless possibilities for further “spin off” books in the future and gives you a look at a younger Reacher before he left the army.

For me, even though these aspects would normally enhance the reading experience of a Lee Child novel, this time it seemed to give me a slightly different feel as I progressed through the story. Maybe Lee Child is a victim of his own success as I don’t recall any previous “Reacher” books whereby I really struggled to get to grips with it right until the end.

I had to keep really putting the work in to read this book and try and get excited about what I was reading.  Again it could be a bit like the Star Wars Last Jedi film whereby I already had an opinion of what was going to happen.  Upon reading the book or seeing the Star Wars last Jedi film, it just didn’t fit into my idea of what I thought was going to happen.  This doesn’t mean to say its a bad thing, just that I prefer the continuity of characters through a series rather than changing things just because!

The main plot of Night School, revolves around an undercover agent overhearing a request for 100 million from middle eastern contacts but no one knows what this request is for. Reacher teams up with an FBI agent and a CIA agent to solve the mystery but this really doesn’t work as their isn’t much communication between the two agents during the book. Reacher goes off and teams up with Neagley to solve the mystery but during this part of the story, there is a lot of chopping and changing between characters that you kind of get the impression that the book has been written for movie/film scenes in the future.

An example of this would be Reacher chatting through plans in a hotel then stepping out to fight some undercover officers. This type of thing happens throughout the book which slowly becomes boring as there doesn’t seem to be any need for the fight scenes like in previous books.

The ending is really not a massive highlight either as most of the books in the series usually are, this leads me to think maybe the main plot from the start just wasn’t a good enough subject to get the average Reacher fan excited.

Verdict

Overall I think the book would in my eyes a much higher rating if you were new to the Jack Reacher series and had just started reading the Lee Child novels. As a Reacher fan, for me it would probably be the worst of the series due to the incoherent writing and the switching between the scenes.

I’d love to hear your comments on this book so let me know if you agree or disagree with me.  Night School can be bought here

Thanks