Book Review: The Hard Way

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Hard Way     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Lee Child
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller
Series: Jack Reacher # 10
Delacorte, May 2006, $25.00, 336 pp.

Edward Lane made his millions brokering deals for mercenaries, but now needs to hire one for personal reasons before déjà vu occurs. Someone has kidnapped Edward’s second wife Kate and demands he hand over a million dollars for her safe return.This is just like what happened to his first spouse, Anne, who was abducted but killed. Knowing the mercenary traffic, Edward hires the man he considers the best, loner Jack Reacher to go after the kidnappers once his wife is safely returned to him.

In a café in Manhattan Reacher watches a parked Mercedes with the million dollars that Edward placed inside of it until someone drives off with the vehicle. Reacher, with the help of former FBI Agent turned private investigator Lauren Pauling, who worked the first Lane tragedy, follows a particular nasty kidnapper. However, this time his uncanny instincts fail him as he makes errors based on assumptions that prove false. Now the former military police officer turned vigilante for hire realizes he has to expedite himself out of a dangerous trap and that he has ONE SHOT to do so.

This reviewer has always been a fan of the Reacher series, but in the HARD WAY, he seems less the invincible superman and more the error prone human. The premise that he starts off with a wrong assumption that leads to mistakes embellishes the typical high level of suspense as the audience wonders if the hero will survive as he does not seem to know Jack about what is going on. Lee Child more than just refreshes his series; he widens the scope without changing the essence of his champion mercenary.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner