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320 of 329 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Genuinely tense, May 3, 2010
61 Hours is a good, solid Jack Reacher novel. It's not one of the all time greats, but it's very far from being the worst either. It has momentum and unexpected twists and the tension builds slowly but steadily to a gripping ending. Lee Child seems to have taken on board some of the criticisms lobbied at his recent books. Reacher doesn't display unbelievable deductive powers, he doesn't bed any women in improbable circumstances and he doesn't always get things right.
The book is set in freezing South Dakota in the middle of a snowstorm. Reacher has hitched a ride on a bus tour of senior citizens. When the bus crashes, he finds himself in Bolton, the location for a recently built prison and headquarters for a gang of meth dealers. A drug dealer is in prison, facing trial, and the key witness is under police protection. The deputy chief of police asks Reacher to help him figure out what's going on and to keep the witness safe. From the book's outset we are counting down 61 hours to a major event, although it is some time before it becomes clear what that will be.
One of the things I particularly liked was the way that we learn more about Reacher's army background, personal history and appearance than we have to date. He develops a relationship that is his most honest and open in a long time. As usual, he is able to see things and reach conclusions that the local police can't. In the words of one character, he's "the sort of guy who sees things five seconds before the rest of the world."
Readers should be aware that this is the first Lee Child book that is not entirely self-contained. It ends with a cliff hanger and the words "to be continued". If you don't want a five month gap between installments, you may choose to wait to read this closer to the release date of the next book later in the year (it's due October 19).
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141 of 164 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Less Action A Disturbing Trend for Lee Child, May 21, 2010
This review is from: 61 Hours (Jack Reacher Novels) (Hardcover)
I am a Lee Child fan, have all of the Jack Reacher books, and have read each at least twice. The power, logic, hero-beats-the-bad-guys structure has appealed to me from the very beginning. Jack Reacher is an everyman hero, and excels in logic, straight-forwardness, and of course, physical strength. His knowledge is seemingly boundless, his intuition and deductive skills impeccable, and his fighting skills unsurpassed.
Thus, it is with growing dismay that I see the action sequences, that are so evenly distributed throughout the early books in the series, giving way to less action, more talking, less fighting (physically) the bad guys, and more developing clues. If you go back and read the other books from the very beginning, you find action sequences spread somewhat evenly throughout the book. There are enough clue-seeking, puzzle-solving steps interspersed to give the entire story a great flow. Who among us does not like to see the bad-mouthing, evil guys get a poke in the eye?
So, now we have 61 Hrs following in the footsteps of the most recent three or four books: set the stage, pose the problem, have Jack talk and puzzle and work his way through the clues, and only as the pages get thin (not many pages left), do you have some real action. Action as was put throughout the earlier books.
I say to Lee Child, step back, get the 10,000 foot view on the balance between action sequences and puzzle/dectective sequences, and start to give Jack some more bad guys to fight along the way. Heaven forbid that Lee's storehouse of plot structures and ideas are getting as tired as Jack Reacher himself seems to be. Spoken as a true fan, but as one who is becoming less so as each new novel rolls out of the word processor.
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87 of 101 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"I don't like getting beaten.", May 18, 2010
This review is from: 61 Hours (Jack Reacher Novels) (Hardcover)
"61 Hours," by Lee Child, alludes to a countdown of some sort. Initially, we have no idea what will happen when the time elapses, but it is safe to assume that it will not be good. The novel opens in the dead of winter in South Dakota. A crooked lawyer conducts some shady business at a prison and then skids on a frozen road, sending a bus crashing into a ditch. One of the passengers, Jack Reacher, does what he can to assist the injured and dazed victims until the local police arrive at the scene.
As fans of this popular series know, Reacher is an ex-army man who travels around the country with no suitcase. He is physically imposing, and his brainpower is as impressive as his stature. Wherever Jack goes, he gets involved in some sort of mayhem and this time is no exception. Because he has seen so much tragedy over the years, Reacher has become somewhat cynical and pessimistic. "Hope for the best, plan for the worst" is one of his favorite mottoes.
Jack soon becomes acquainted with an elderly woman named Janet Salter, whose testimony could help put away the leader of a large methamphetamine ring. Unfortunately, the bad guys know where she lives and have a strong motive to silence her. Salter, who is principled, courageous, quick-witted, and unpretentious, senses that Reacher is a kindred spirit and the two form a bond. Although Janet already has police protection, the setup is far from ideal. Reacher decides to guard Ms. Salter, who needs someone smart, strong, and resourceful to keep her safe--someone who can think out of the box and has the imagination and savvy to outwit and outfight most criminals.
Reacher remains as taciturn as ever, although he does let his hair down a bit with Janet. He also exchanges confidences with Susan Turner, the CO of the elite 110th Special Unit based in Virginia that Reacher once commanded. Jack's conversations with Susan provide a fascinating window into his past, revealing a bit more about what makes him tick. In addition, we see Reacher's human side; he makes serious errors in judgment, which is unusual for him.
Child scores with "61 Hours," thanks to his no-nonsense and terse prose style, rapid-fire dialogue, dramatic description of South Dakota's frozen landscape, and intense plot. There is excitement aplenty in "61 Hours," with its violent confrontations and electrifying conclusion, during which Reacher is forced to make some tough and morally dubious decisions. The finale may not please everyone, but the author shows courage and originality in not sticking to the conventional action-adventure formula. This thriller will bring chills to Reacher fans--even those who do not reside in a state where the mercury can dip to thirty degrees below zero.
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