A Wanted Man (with bonus short story Deep Down): A Jack Reacher Novel [Kindle Edition]

Lee Child (Author)

Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“The indomitable Reacher burns up the pages.”—USA Today
 
Four people in a car, hoping to make Chicago by morning. One man driving, another telling stories that don’t add up. A woman in the back, silent and worried. And a hitchhiker with a broken nose. An hour behind them, the FBI descends on an old pumping station where a man was stabbed to death—the knife work professional, the killers nowhere to be seen.
 
All Jack Reacher wanted was a ride to Virginia. All he did was stick out his thumb. But he soon discovers he has hitched more than a ride. He has tied himself to a massive conspiracy, in which nothing is what it seems, and nobody is telling the truth.
 
“Furious action . . . [Lee] Child keeps the pacing swift and the surprises rolling. . . . [A] feverishly thrilling series.”—The Miami Herald
 
“Smart, breathless . . . [with] one of the best female characters in the whole Reacher series.”—The New York Times
 
“Subtle and nuanced [with] seductive writing and irresistible plot twists.”—Newsweek
 
Don’t miss Lee Child’s short story “Deep Down” and a sneak peek of his new novel, Never Go Back, in the back of the book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The indomitable Reacher burns up the pages.”—USA Today
 
“Furious action . . . [Lee] Child keeps the pacing swift and the surprises rolling. . . . [A] feverishly thrilling series.”—The Miami Herald
 
“Smart, breathless . . . [with] one of the best female characters in the whole Reacher series.”—The New York Times
 
“Subtle and nuanced [with] seductive writing and irresistible plot twists.”—Newsweek

About the Author

Lee Child is the author of seventeen Jack Reacher thrillers, including the New York Times bestsellers Persuader, The Enemy, One Shot, and The Hard Way, and the #1 bestsellers The Affair, Worth Dying For, 61 Hours, Gone Tomorrow, Bad Luck and Trouble, and Nothing to Lose, as well as the short stories “Second Son” and “Deep Down.” His debut, Killing Floor, won both the Anthony and the Barry awards for Best First Mystery, and The Enemy won both the Barry and Nero awards for Best Novel. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have sold in more than forty territories. All titles have been optioned for major motion pictures. A native of England and a former television director, Child lives in New York City, where he is at work on his next thriller, Never Go Back.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 1428 KB
• Print Length: 417 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0385344333
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (September 11, 2012)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007GCY8FS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #3 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Private Investigators
  • #29 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Suspense
  • #36 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

625 of 706 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars If I could only give this zero stars. September 11, 2012

By Reacher Creature TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's with a heavy heart that I have to write this review. Before we start, as you can tell from my name, Reacher Creature, that I'm a huge fan of Lee Child and Jack Reacher. I had this day circled on the calendar, and pre-ordered it. I just can't believe that Lee Child wrote this clunker. Okay, let's just get this over with. This is a horrible book.

Reacher is hitchhiking and he only wanted to get to Virginia. He gets a ride, but then soon realizes that things aren't what they seem. Reacher was only picked up as a decoy to help get people through a couple of police check points. As always, Reacher is nobody's pawn, and wants to get to the bottom of things, and make the bad guys pay with the justice only Reacher can dish out.

There are so many things wrong with this clunker:

1) Things are repetitive. Here is an example. Reacher makes a 9-1-1 call. The 9-1-1 goes through a "chain of command" four or five times, and we get to hear the call each time. Then when the right person gets the call, we hear it again, then the person goes through it sentence by sentence and analyzes each line. It's painful to read over and over and over. Another character had a conversation with Reacher, and plays it over and over, line by line, picking it apart, word by word. It's brutal.

2) So many long and pointless scenes That are drawn out. As the reader, we're treated to an entire chapter of the following: a) Someone looking for a car. b) Someone walking up a driveway. Mind you, those aren't in the same chapter, *each* of them is a long and tedious chapter. It is so pointless, boring, and a waste of time.

3)Too much time in the car. Reacher and his travel mates spend way, way, way to much time in the car. It's tedious and boring....

4) There's no movement of the plot. The plot is one major flatline. When we read, we expect the plot to move at an even pace, and all of the scenes have to build up on each other, like a flight of stairs. That doesn't happen. This is a very long and a very boring read.

5) The characters. The characters are flat, including Reacher. Honestly, all of the characters are boring and interchangeable. They have no substance or quality to them.

6). Reacher threatens a child. This is horrible! Never would I even think Reacher would threaten a child.

I think that one of two things happened with this book. 1) Lee Child never wrote this. If someone told me that he turned over notes and chapter outlines, like James Patterson does, then I'd believe them. 2) If Lee Child did write this, then he didn't give his best effort, and he's a sell out. He's just interested in making money, and not making a good quality story, like he has in the past. If this is the case, then it's a slap in the face to the fans.

I have heard that Lee was giving some thoughts on how and when he would end the series. If he's even thinking that way, then it's time to end it. I didn't like The Affair, and gave him a pass on it. However, I can't this time around. If he's thinking about ending this series, then he needs to do it now, before it's too late, and it already might be to late.

I can honestly say that I'll never buy another Lee Child book again. I'll get them at at the library, but never again will I spend my money on the books, I've been burned twice. As the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." Indeed, shame on me. It's a mistake I won't be making again.

Honestly, this book is a waste of time. If you have to get it, then get it at the library. It honestly kills me to say that about a Reacher book. Read more ›

175 of 196 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A Terrible Decline in Quality September 11, 2012

By Michael F. Cannon

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have enjoyed the Reacher series quite a bit and have read them all more than once. But I was very disappointed in this one. The plot is convoluted, un-necessarily obscure and ploddingly slow. Lots of time in cars. Endless commentary on the virtues of the Ford Crown Vic. And no action until the very end. The author must know that an effort like this one is going to be characterized either as just written for the money or as proof that he has run out of inspiration. Also, why would anyone persist in using the diminutive Tom Cruise in the movie role when fans almost universally reject him as having anything to do with the Reacher character?

55 of 60 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A disappointed long time fan. September 12, 2012

By MED TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Like many other reviewers I had pre-ordered and eagerly anticipated the latest 'Jack Reacher' installment. The best I can say is that it is disappointing, the worst - awful. Lee Child lost his game or let someone else ghost write.

Reacher is in Nebraska looking to get to Virginia. So he does what he always does - he sticks out his thumb. He gets picked up by two men and a woman, all dressed alike. The journey begins... and the journey is boring, I felt like the proverbial child, 'are we there yet?' Too much straight Midwestern road, not enough plot.

Child has always written Reacher as a cerebral man but the 'one step ahead of the bad guys' thinking becomes too convenient - he can't always be right. The bad guys are cliches and the good guys are one dimensional. The book ends abruptly without a satisfying conclusion.

It must be difficult to continually write a series about a man without home or hearth and no connection to anyone. Maybe Child is out of ideas - he should have skipped this one.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a good book September 15, 2012

By Senior Hickey

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I waited for months to read this book. The early review was a great come-on to buy the Reacher story. I love Reacher and Lee Child. However, I read this book in eight hours because it was so wordy and boring. It started out great. Reacher on the interstate trying to get to Virginia. He was picked up by two men and a lady. The night was cold (Nebraska is cold in the winter) and he was very much in need of a ride.

The first half of the book was in the car with no action. No planning. No anything. The 2nd quarter was confusing. The last 1/8th was exciting. The final page told us very briefly what the plot was all about.

The characters were not developed, confusion was rampant, no substance. Ending bad. This was not a Lee Child, Reacher book, couldn't be. Boring!

Lee you disappointed me. Again, you will disappoint me with wimp Cruse playing Reacher in "Kill Shot". Hopefully you will write a better novel next time.

I rate this book a 1 because there was some action and a plot, finally.

171 of 198 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Road Trip August 31, 2012

By N. Brett VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

Despite having such an great and iconic character, Lee Child has recently struggled to avoid repeating himself with his Reacher stories. But somehow he always delivers a satisfying and entertaining read. But this one is a brave and successful attempt to try something different.

A murder in the middle of no-where and the bad guys decide having an additional person in the car may help them get past police roadblocks. Luckily they spot a hitch-hiker, not quite so luckily it's Jack Reacher wanting to head out of Nebraska and towards Virginia. The first half of the book is either placed in the car as Reacher realises there is more to the occupants then he first assumed or back at the crime scene where various agencies arrive with differing levels of knowledge and agenda. Key is a female FBI agent, almost a female image of Reacher who is the lead investigator.

The second half of the book has our agent catching up with an abandoned Reacher and another shocking murder puts them firmly on the trail of the bad guys. As the reader we are treated to the usual short sentences, the menace of Reacher and the bleak American landscape. (And by the way, try reading with Springsteen's Nebraska or Darkness at the Edge of Town on in the background, they are almost soundtracks to Reacher's wandering). We also know there is a fair bit of mystery around the original murder and the background is gently released throughout the book, so as Reacher gets nearer to the bad guys, we get to finally understand the full picture.

With the exception of some strange blinking Morse code that felt like Lee Child was trying to be too clever, this whole books works very well and the car scenes are very taut and claustrophobic. A welcome addition to the series.
(Review from the UK hardback copy)

More About the Author

Lee Child is the #1 internationally bestselling author of the Jack Reacher thrillers. 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. "Jack Reacher", the film based on the 9th novel, One Shot, stars Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Rosamund Pike, Jai Courtney, and David Oyelowo and debuted in December 2012. Child, a native of England and a former television director, lives in New York City and the south of France with his wife and daughter. Find out more about Lee Child and the Reacher novels on his official website: LeeChild.com, on Facebook LeeChildOfficial, on Twitter #LeeChildReacher, and YouTube leechildjackreacher.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#10 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#3 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#3 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#4 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#5 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#6 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#3 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#3 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#4 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#5 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#6 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers