The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, No. 10) [Hardcover]

Lee Child (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2006

In Lee Child’s astonishing new thriller, ex–military cop Reacher sees more than most people would...and because of that, he’s thrust into an explosive situation that’s about to blow up in his face. For the only way to find the truth—and save two innocent lives—is to do it the way Jack Reacher does it best: the hard way….

Jack Reacher was alone, the way he liked it, soaking up the hot, electric New York City night, watching a man cross the street to a parked Mercedes and drive it away. The car contained one million dollars in ransom money. And Edward Lane, the man who paid it, will pay even more to get his family back. Lane runs a highly illegal soldiers-for-hire operation. He will use any amount of money and any tool to find his beautiful wife and child. And then he’ll turn Jack Reacher loose with a vengeance—because Reacher is the best man hunter in the world.

On the trail of a vicious kidnapper, Reacher is learning the chilling secrets of his employer’s past…and of a horrific drama in the heart of a nasty little war. He’s beginning to realize that Edward Lane is hiding something. Something dirty. Something big. But Reacher also knows this: he’s already in way too deep to stop now.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In bestseller Child's 10th novel to feature ex-army MP Jack Reacher (after 2005's One Shot), a sidewalk cafe encounter in New York City plunges Reacher into one of his most challenging—and thoroughly engrossing—adventures to date. Acting out of "reflex and professional curiosity" (and the promise of a generous fee), Reacher agrees to help sinister ex-army officer Edward Lane, whose posse of six Special Forces veterans are even more ominous than he, track down his kidnapped daughter and trophy wife. Since the kidnapping of wife number one five years earlier ended in her death, Lane cautions Reacher that he will not brook police interference ("You break your word, I'll put your eyes out"). From Lane's quarters in the West Side's venerable Dakota apartment building to the shady sections of SoHo and Greenwich Village, the author's atmospheric descriptions make Manhattan a leading player, with menace lurking at every intersection. The inevitable showdown, on a farm outside a tiny English village, ranks as one of Child's most thrilling finales. (May)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

Lee Child has become one of the most popular writers in a genre known for the hard-earned loyalty of its readers. Fortunately, his character Jack Reacher, "the literary heir to Mike Hammer, Sir Lancelot and, perhaps, Jack Paladin" (Denver Post), shows no signs of cooling off. Critics applaud Child for bringing fresh observations and endearing quirks to Reacher's character (keep an eye out for the clothing in this latest effort), who was first introduced to readers in Killing Floor (1997) and most recently appeared in One Shot (2005). The books also contain a sense of humor, which contrasts nicely, at times ironically, with scenes of intense violence and cerebral intrigue.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (May 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385336691
• ISBN-13: 978-0385336697
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.3 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (209 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lee Child is the #1 internationally bestselling author of thirteen Reacher thrillers, including the New York Times bestsellers The Enemy, One Shot, The Hard Way, and the #1 bestselling Bad Luck and Trouble and Nothing to Lose. His debut, Killing Floor, won both the Anthony and the Barry awards for Best First Mystery, and The Enemy won both the Barry and the Nero awards for Best Novel. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have sold in forty territories, and all titles have been optioned for major motion pictures. Child, a native of England and a former television director, lives in New York City, where he is at work on his fourteenth Reacher thriller, 61 Hours.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

125 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to Beat, May 27, 2006

By 

Gary Griffiths (Los Altos Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, No. 10) (Hardcover)

I'm a big Lee Child fan. As far as I'm concerned, the tight-lipped, human arsenal Jack Reacher is the most compelling figure in contemporary escapist thriller fiction. So when I tell you that "The Hard Way" is the best novel of its kind to hit the shelves in the last few years, I'll admit I'm biased.

This is the tenth in the Reacher series, and it may be the best. In "Hard Way", trouble finds Reacher innocently enough, sitting in a New York sidewalk caf sipping an espresso. Events unwind, and soon our hero is locked-and-loaded in solving a kidnapping, thick as thieves with a team of mercenary thugs, contemporary soldiers of fortune with shady backgrounds led by former Special Forces colonel Edward Lane. Lee Child is at his best when spinning a good mystery for Reacher to solve, and nagging incongruities surrounding the kidnapping of Lane's wife and daughter provide the perfect backdrop for Child to practice his craft. "The Hard Way's" Reacher is a bit wiser, more mature, using more brain and less brawn. More Sherlock Holmes and less Rambo this time around. In fact, more than 300 pages have turned before Reacher actually hurts someone, but the Child layers the tension and drops hints masterfully, leading up to a climax that will have you sweating right through your Barcalounger. The author's patented lean and no-nonsense prose is in top form, but what makes Child so readable are the obscure little bits of knowledge and factoids tucked away in cracks and corners of the plot, adding enough depth and authenticity to give the larger-than-life Reacher credibility that sets him apart from the just plain silly superheroes of so many "thrillers" of the day.

So to wrap it up, "The Hard Way" is about as good as it gets - intelligent, clever, a .50 caliber pressure tank tale that twists and turns and jumps from Greenwich Village to Africa's west coast - of bad guys doing bad things and paying the price to an avenging angel in the form Jack Reacher. One word of warning: don't start reading this unless you've got some free hours ahead, for once started, "The Hard Way" is likely to trash plans for the weekend or keep you up way past bedtime. But the again, I'm biased.

117 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Depressingly Good, May 21, 2006

By 

J. A. KONRATH "Thriller Author" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, No. 10) (Hardcover)

I have a dirty little secret: Every time a new Lee Child book comes out, I secretly hope it will be lousy. Most series that have lasted for ten or more books have a few clunkers in them. When I read those clunkers, I think to myself, "A-ha! I knew they were only human!" and spend a good week or two feeling smug and superior.

But so far, the only feeling the Reacher books have stirred in my cold heart is envy.

THE HARD WAY is no exception.

Once again, Child drops his loner hero into the middle of a very bad situation, and once again Reacher uses a combination of wits and violence to unravel an ever-twisting plot.

THE HARD WAY contains more than its fair share of action, suspense, surprises, and sex. It also contains some damn fine writing. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, and hated for it to end.

If you're a reader, you'll love it.

If you're a writer, it won't make you feel good about your own work. Not even a tiny bit.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reacher. In the dark. Alone. Without a good plot.., November 25, 2006

By 

Suburbanbushbabe™ "Insatiable reader" (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, No. 10) (Hardcover)

I've been hooked on Jack Reacher and Lee Child's exceptional writing since I read the Persuader. Without Fail, Die Trying, Echo Burning, The Killing Floor, One Shot -- I can go on and on about these exceptionally entertaining, tightly written thrillers, and the unique,highly intelligent, explosive hottie Jack Reacher.

Despite some unfortunate quicks, I love the Reacher character. But it's the quirks and the plot holes that stood out for me this round.

4 days in the same clothes, with one of those nights spent staked out on a stoop? In New York? Oh please. A man who does not change his underwear for days and gets the girl -- that is so totally unbelievable and detracted away from the plot.

Reacher doesn't know about text messaging? Makes him a bit of a dinosaur.

All the cars that were central to the plot and not one of them had a tracking device? Oh please.

Reacher has no paperwork, but he just happens to have a passport? Oh please.

Reacher's sense of inner timing started making him sound like an obsessive-compulsive Big Ben. I waited and waited to find out why this was mentioned over and over and over again, why it was central to the plot -- to no avail.

Don't get me wrong. The beginning was pure Child genius, as was the end, especially the pacing at the climax. And the scene with the veteran amputee was exceptional. The theme of the loyalty and protection of women was very good. The rest was just filler and boring; and the mercenaries/bad guys were incompetent sticks.

I listened to the audio version ready by Dick Hill. He did a fantastic job, but I had a hard time understanding the amputee. I know the guy was supposed to be toothless but I couldn't hear the words. Also (this could may be an engineering issue) some of Hill's lows were too low to hear, even when I cranked up the volume.

The global problem is Reacher has not matured, not grown. He is ronin -- rootless, paperless, homeless, with no belongings. That box is becoming a prison not a plot-driver. In this go-round, he is a cardboard cut-out. I hope Lee Child does much better by this wonderful character next time.