Its the mid-80s, Reacher's a Captain in the Army and is called to Washington to go undercover as an Army sniper. Someone is leaking information from a Congressional investigation into whether the Army and Marines need a new, super-cutting-edge sniper rifle. The Army's got it narrowed down to 4 suspects, they want him to narrow it down. Reacher is repeatedly assured that this will just be talking and that there is "no danger." So, yeah, things are going to get dicey. Child writes the blandest, most uninspired and workmanlike prose (prose is barely the word to describe it really, let’s look at the label as a placeholder) I’ve ever read. Actually that’s not true, the last writer I read who wrote like he were writing inter-departmental memos in a law firm was Tom Clancy who also had a penchant for the military. It's a hearing before a procurement committee on the Hill, and there's a suspicion that one of the liaison officers is selling the design to a foreign manufacturer. Somewhat entertaining but it’s hard to build suspense in a mystery/detective novel in an hour of listening time. Plus some of the things he does as a kid in the second book were a little ridiculous. Also making him be the crucial tip in finding son of Sam is also a little beyond belief.

High Heat: (A Jack Reacher Novella) by Lee Child - Penguin

It wasn't supposed to be a dangerous assignment: just sit in on the hearings, keep a low profile, and chat up the four women until he figures out which one is the culprit. Using his intuition and powers of observation, he soon learns the truth, but it's something far more sinister than a few leaks about a sniper rifle. And the truth could very well cost him his life as the story built to a suspenseful, violent climax. This includes 3 novellas: Deep Down (#16.5) is a story from early in Reacher's military career; Second Son (#15.5) is a story from his early teens; High Heat (#17.5) Reacher is 17 in NYC (1977) one evening on his way to visit his brother at WestPoint.Deep Down is set during the 1980s. Reacher is asked to investigate a potential leak of military secrets to the Soviet Union via fax machine from the U.S. Capitol building. The potential leakers are a set of officers working in a committee to flash out the characteristics needed in a new sniper rifle should the Congress decide to fund the creation of a new sniper rifle and buy it. Reacher is added to the committee as part of an undercover operation to figure out who the bad guy is. A] feverishly thrilling series . . . With Child, you can always count on furious action." —The Miami Herald Well, in my case I am a bit conflicted about this author, about Lee Child, in the sense I really wanted to like him. I am not entirely sure why I want to like him, maybe because he's European in origin living for a long time in the US, like me, maybe because he's writing about events and places happening in the US, maybe because he's looking at the US culture and traditions through the eyes of a European native and translates what most Americans don't really see or feel, maybe because he has the support of the great Steven King and few others in the same league, or maybe because he's writing action, suspense and thriller books that supposedly are a recipe for success, or who knows for what reason, but I really wanted to like him. But I can't, there is something wrong in his books and I'll try to explain it to the best of my abilities as a simple reader.

read the Jack Reacher short stories? Have you read the Jack Reacher short stories?

Reacher fans will want to read this just because it's Reacher. Anyone who has not read a Lee Child Reacher novel should not waste their money on this. FaceOff (June 2014) Lee and Joseph Finder co-wrote the story “Good and Valuable Consideration” which pairs Reacher with Finder’s Heller. There really is no plot to speak of. The first third of the story involves a woman jogging and a man driving a car, prior to their lives intersecting. At the same time Reacher is being briefed by Military Intelligence on his mission. Then there's the hearing and after that the end game. It encompasses everything I love about Reacher - his cool assessment of people, his methodical and logical reactions to danger and his quiet humour.

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No Middle Name by Lee Child: 9780399593574 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". Penguin Random House . Retrieved 4 March 2020. In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper (December 2016) Lee’s story is “The Truth About What Happened” based on the painting “Hotel Lobby” (1943).

Deep Down by Lee Child | Goodreads Deep Down by Lee Child | Goodreads

The Fourth Man (March 2019) originally published as bonus material in Australia’s Past Tense hardcovers, now a digital single in the UK. Anatomy of Innocence (March 2017) in “Chapter 6: The Fortune Cookie” Lee tells the story of exoneree Kirk Bloodworth.Thriller (2006) Contains an edited version of “James Penney’s New Identity” originally published in Fresh Blood 3.

High Heat: (A Jack Reacher Novella) - Penguin Books UK

Top secret schematics for a brand new sniper rifle are being sold to a foreign competitor, at least that’s what army intelligence thinks and they want it to stop. Guy Walks Into a Bar (June 7, 2009); prequel to Gone Tomorrow includes Reacher, published in The New York Times. Cleaning the Gold (May 2019) Lee and Karin Slaughter co-wrote this story which pairs Reacher with Slaughter’s Will Trent.As everyone knows, I'm a huge fan of Lee Child's novels. But if this is an example of his short stories and if I were reading Child for the first time, I'd never read another book of his...ever. In my opinion "fate" has no place in mystery/thrillers. The genre depends on plot, the willing choices people make. Eliminating characters as suspects as due to chance beyond anyone's control (say for example, the weather) is a huge no, no for me.