Originally published in 1999 and reprinted 2010 and 2011
This is the first Lee Child book I have read and I found it interesting and most parts were exciting. The only thing I didn’t like was the amount of filler–I’m not talking about back story or important parts needed to tell the story but things like what Jack is eating, drinking and how able bodied man get dressed. Half a page of print for a character who plays a bit part in the entire book, I feel is not important.
The story however is good. Very good. A lot of planning had to go into this for the parts of the puzzle to finally fit together. And what a puzzle it is. I can’t really say much about the guts of the story without giving it away and my reviews contain no spoilers.
It’s about an elderly couple keeping hope that their son (MIA in Vietnam) may still be alive and if he isn’t why won’t the government and army admit he is dead and put his name on the wall? The couple hire a private investigator to creep into the jungle and find him. Three months later they get a photo of their son as a POW. For the investigator to get him out it was going to cost another 40 thousand dollars. Money they don’t have.
Both are elderly and under medical care. Every week they go to a medical facility for check ups or whatever and they meet a retired MP (military police) and show him the photos and what-not. He investigates and some bad people are alerted. But he dies of natural causes before the bad guys can find out what he knows. But the MP has a daughter. Maybe he told her what he had uncovered.
This sets into place a story filled with twists and turns and a lot of travelling for Jack and Jodie.
The writing is good and clipped (except for filler). Overall, this is a good book and Lee Child is a writer with MANY titles out there already and the Reacher books are good mystery thrillers, if Tripwire is anything to go by.
76%
