In Lee Child’s 19th outing with his now world-famous character Jack Reacher, the hero goes hunting outside of his home turf. We are used to Reacher pummelling the bad guys in small town America but this time, elbows and skulls are (quite literally) pulverised in Paris and London.
The former military cop is as usual drifting from one place to the other (he’s been dubbed ‘Sherlock Homesless’ by his former colleagues) when he chances upon a copy of the Army Times in a bus. Hidden amongst all sorts of ads is a message he knows is for him. Being Reacher, he responds to the ad. And soon finds himself in the Pentagon.
Someone has taken a shot at the President of France – from a near-impossible distance. Improbably, the list of suspects is narrowed down to just four super snipers in the entire world – an American, a Russian, a Briton and an Israeli – and each one of them is being pursued by the intelligence agencies of their respective countries. Reacher thinks he knows the guy. It’s John Kott, a former US Army sniper who has served 15 years in prison (courtesy Reacher) for murder. There’s concern Kott will turn his gun now towards the President of the United States or some other world leader at the upcoming G8 Summit, in east London. It is also personal, as Kott would like nothing better than putting some lead in Reacher’s head.
As always in the course of his novels, Child attempts to increase our knowledge about stuff like high-powered rifles, and the time it takes for a bullet to cross a distance of 1,400 yards. “Fourteen hundred yards is a very long way, against a head-sized target,” Reacher explains. “The bullet is in the air three whole seconds. Like dropping a stone down a very deep well.” The ballistics info adds to the fun.
Reacher is joined in his European escapade by Casey Nice, an attractive 28-year-old military aide. In London, a spook from MI5 or MI6 provides them with the local knowledge. And directs them towards some truly nasty gangsters suspected of harbouring the sniper. From that moment on, it’s Reacher Vs the London gangsters. In true British style, the head honcho goes around in a Rolls Royce, the second in command – a seven-foot colossus who has fingers that would not fit the trigger of any gun and lives in a house especially constructed for him – has a Bentley and the bodyguards make do with Jaguars. And the educational information from Reacher keeps coming. “Tyres can be freakishly strong. Best way to disable a modern automobile is to fire through the grille. Under the hood. All kinds of wires there, and computer chips, and sensors.”
And what follows are action sequences that are not for the faint of heart. Reacher’s hand-to-hand combat with (and, of course, the instant demise of) the giant is particularly absorbing.
But what good is an action thriller without some suspense? Throughout the novel, in the back of your mind, you get a feeling that the plot is improbable and over the top. But Child connects the dots towards the end with a serious twist in the tale.
Lee Child came up with his first Jack Reacher novel, Killing Floor, in 1997. Such has been the success of this character that Child has sold over 40 million books since then. Having finished Personal, it is easy to see how such a feat was achieved.
