Persuader (Jack Reacher Series) Audio CD – CD, July 20, 2011

I am a Reacher fan. If this had been the first Reacher book I read, I would never have read another. In fact, I would not have made it to the end of this, and that would have been a blessing, because the ending of this book is the stupidest thing I have ever read in Crime Fiction, and that is saying a lot. I have learned from this, however, to avoid any future Reacher books that are written in the first person. That's the easiest prose to write, and apparently it signals that Lee Childs is taking this book off, just churning it out, not wasting any time actually thinking about it. If you're determined to read all of the series, save this one for last.

The first 5 books in this series are amazing, and I couldn't put them down. After Echo Burning, they begin to get formulaic and dull... Without Fail, and Persuader were snoozers in comparison. One thing I didn't like about this one, is that Lee changes to a "first person" format for some reason, I for some reason, i'm just not "feeling" it. "Make me", which I read out of sequence, was amazing. When Lee Child is inspired, he's great... I hope I come across some inspired writing soon.

In the seventh installment in the Reacher saga we find our wandering hero again working for the feds (he might as well just get hired on full time at this rate). This time he’s on a sketchy off the books operation infiltrating the compound of a criminal honcho in a dangerous undercover role. Well, finally after seven books Lee Child has figured out that Glock pistols don’t have an external safety and even goes into some detail about their two part trigger mechanism. I still don’t think he really understands these types of double action only pistols; he’s got Reacher carrying one in his pocket with a round in the chamber. Without a doubt one of the surest ways of getting a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a pro like JR would never do this especially given how sensitive a trigger pull they have. There’s a backstory about tank rounds and in particular the Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS) munition. Supposedly there’s some big secret plan about this technology and enemy attempts to steal them. This book is set around 2003 and all I can say is we had APDS rounds when I served in the Army as a tanker in the mid-70’s and there wasn’t anything classified about them. Other minor things like his describing a female NCO in a Reacher flashback having removed her uniform blouse and having a t-shirt on with name/US Army tapes on it- nobody’s got tapes on their t-shirts. On the side of realism later when the same NCO hints at maybe the two of them start dating he nixes it for the right reasons. Reacher explains it’s unprofessional and that their fraternization will only hurt her career. As his subordinate any future achievements she makes will always have an asterisk next to them because the assumption will be they happened because of his influence and not her talent. Absolutely true! “Persuader” (named after the Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun) is a classic Reacher tale; a taught, page turner with plenty of suspense, action and violence that fans have come to expect. Lee Child has a gift for telling a story and I’ve already started reading the next in the series.

I have had little experience with Lee Child's Jack Reacher character but after reading Mr. Child's expansive explanation of Reacher, how he was conceived, what expectations he hope to fulfil with a character like this, well.... I think I'm hooked. Although I'm not sure I will ever read all of the Reacher books, the fact that Child has told us that Reacher will win is not a disappointment When I look back at some of my favorite TV series that were based on a hero or heroine, it was comforting that we knew, no matter the odds, that our hero was going to win. That said, Child put's a story togethet that is complex, fast paced, and is full of surprises. In fact, in the Persuader, there are more than one situations that Reacher finds himself in that you wonder....Is Child really going to let him die this way? This book is a great read...cover to cover. It will not disappoint..

I find that since I started reading Jack Reacher, my emails are inundated with tons of other thrillers about ex-soldier doing people right.....they have found to be much more fast paced but I love the cerebral aspect of Lee's writing....while I still enjoy reading them, I've broaden my wish list.....now, about THIS book.....it's fast paced and Jack takes little time in getting his revenge, but my problem with THIS book was the "book within the book".....he was after an old nemesis any way but lee kept going back to 10 year old flashbacks to set the stage of just how bad this old nemesis was, problem being, it seemed to take half the book...jack reacher doesn't need a half book or so to "set the stage", heck, just say what he did wrong and we'd believe the mission.....but every water wave and every tree and new room he enters gets 10-15 pages of in depth description so you can imagine just how long this "other book" was.....just too much for me....it just felt this was done in effort to write yet another 500 page book--which so far all of them have proven to be....think i'll shelve jack reacher for a while and go back to the more thrilling and come back to jack later...

I figure this is the 18th of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books that I've read. I'm picking them off like Reacher in a shooting gallery. And it was perhaps the best one, although they were all good. I loved the telling of the two stories, 10 years apart, that Child uses to slowly reveal the back story. The fight scene where Reacher ultimately takes down the giant Paulie was awesome. And the wrap up at the end is formulaic Child but I thought this one was particularly suspenseful and kept me breathless. Very well done all-around. The Pursuader was great. Trouble is, I'm reading this series faster than he's writing them!

Lee Child as created a great character in Jack Reacher, sometimes the novels are a bit far fetched which spoils it slightly but always an easy read.I tend to read a few other books between reading Jack Reacher books or I would start to find them a bit the same.Steve WhitcombeThe Persuader is a good read but starts to get a bit to far fetched for me, although I am sure I will continue reading Jack Reacher books, once you are into the books its hard to watch the films with a very small Tom Cruise playing Jack Reacher.Steve Whitcombe.

It's really hard to review a book without spoiling the plot! I will try my best.Reacher witnesses an attempt to kidnap a college kid from campus, in the melee, a cop gets shot. You spend a lot of time wondering if Reacher's moral compass has broken. He doesn't seem worried about the innocent cop who got killed.Reacher manages to get the young lad to safety and back to his family. The boy's father, a "rug" importer, is extremely grateful and also security conscious, so offers Reacher a job with his security team, and a room in the family's remote mansion. Again, you're left wondering if Reacher has crossed to the dark side.However, Reacher does spend at lot of time protecting the wife and boy & himself from the other "bouncers"', whilst also trying to find out a bit more about who would want to kidnap the lad and why. The main question is what is his father REALLY importing?The plot keeps you guessing right up until the end. Child introduces new characters and obstacles along the way to keep the story interesting and flowing. His characters are written with consistency, and Child's description of pretty much every person and place is so rich you can imagine them as clear as day.

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed a Lee Child action thriller, even on this a second reading. I particularly appreciated the scene, often remembered and teasingly built up in anticipation, of the fight between Reacher and Paulie. I can happily ecommend the book to anyone who has not yet read it for this alone.This time Reacher is undercover, investigating a drug dealer, and more importantly, an old enemy. There is of course, an intelligent love interest too. There is unusual gadgetry and there are gun battles as well as fist fights. This is another cracking good read.

Wasn’t as easy to get into the story as the previous six books, but once I did it was very good. I like the fact that Reacher always deals out his justice when he feels it is deserved. What I didn’t like was too many pages describing how he feels about the girl. All you really need to know is that she is attractive and he’s going to go to bed with her. You can use your own imagination.I would recommend this book as a good read.

An intriguing start to this Jack Reacher story with our hero/anti-hero on the spot when he is sucked into a kidnap attempt. While rescuing the intended victim Reacher accidently shoots dead a police officer and is forced to escape taking the young man he has saved with him. Of course Lee Child is leading us up the garden path and nothing is what it seems. Reacher is in fact on the side of law and order working undercover to infiltrate a notorious criminal organisation and locate a brutal killer he thought he had assassinated ten years previously. The plot zooms along with action and intrigue all the way. Lots of baddies get their just deserts (the goodies also take their share of casualties) and the final showdown is everything you would expect from a Reacher adventure. I think Lee Child has created an all action hero that many of us think highly of, but are wary of admitting it, because he is more interested in obtaining justice than sticking to the letter of the law that all too often favours the villains. Vigilantism of any kind is politically incorrect and fraught with danger but do Reacher fans secretly admire him partly because he is so single minded in righting wrongs regardless of the consequences? As a fan since I read the first book in the series I am obviously prejudiced but if you want a cracking good read I would recommend 'Persuader'.

First of all - I love the Reacher series (and I'll be buying 8 in a couple of mins) but this one wasn't quite as gripping at the last. Although, oddly, others have reviewed it as a page turner.It's hard to put my finger on why I didn't enjoy it so much as the others. I thought about it halfway through and this is probably the first book where (despite knowing this is a franchise) I didn't get the impression that Jack was going to make it to the end. But not sure why that would put me off. I also found myself page turning during a fight sequence at the gate house (trying not to give anything away). It was 4-5 pages of "he hit me here" and "I stood on his hand" and I wanted to get back to the storyline.But it was full of suspense with Reacher having to 2nd guess what the people around him knew as he went undercover to try and retrieve a missing female agent. Would still recommend it...

I enjoy these books (Lee Child). Comfort reading, I think it's called. When I haven't got one to read I miss it.If you read for fun (rather than for work) I would suggest that you try at least one Lee Child book. Obviously, you won't impress anyone, but you'll be left with a feeling that the good generally conquer the bad.A bit like The Lone Ranger or Bonanza one hundred years ago ... but definitely worth a read.

Devotees of Jack Reacher know what to expect: improbable victory against overwhelming odds. Persuader ticks all the boxes. The pace is unrelenting, the violence is gruesome, the corpse count high (even by Reacher standards).If it were believable, it would be repulsive. But this is a thriller that knows its audience and delivers. It begins with a chance encounter in a Boston street, develops -through a kidnap which may or may not be genuine - into the weird lifestyle of a Persian carpet salesman who may or not be genuine. To reveal more would be unfair and, anyway, dauntingly complicated.In time, the plot develops a counterpoint which is sustained to the end. Lee Child's achievement in this book is to keep a firm grip on the many strands of a complex plot without - once the first premise is accepted - overstepping the bounds.It will spoil no one's enjoyment to disclose that there is a romantic involvement, nor to mention that in the end Reacher moves on. Where to? The next unlikely tale, of course. And will we follow? Of course.

Lee Childs Jack Reacher. Absolutely fantastic series if you havnt read any yet then i can not recomend a better series of books. You will be hooked after the first page and as soon as you finish you will buy every book in the series. Everyone needs a bit of Reacher

OK so I met Jack Reacher a little late in the day, but the plus side to this is all the books were available to read one after another. Which I did. Waiting now for the next installment has me excited with anticipation, so much so that I am revisiting some of my favourite Reacher adventures, and this is by far the best. It is everything a thriller should be with the added joy of having a twist..... at the begining. From that point on the plot grips, beautifully realised characters are introduced and two different time periods within Reachers life are wonderfully entwined. This not only adds to the suspense of the main tale, but gives background to the reasons, Reacher is who he is and does what he does. Reacher shows vunerability, faults and (whisper it) weakness, but this all adds to his intrigue and fleshes out his personality even more. I could not put this book down the first time, enjoyed it even more the second. the only question for me now is which Reacher to reach for next. Die Trying I think.

Another well-written novel, but jumping from the present day to 10 years ago was confusing - I didn't always know which I was in!It was unusual for it to be written in the first person; I am reading them in strict order so it will be interesting if this continues.

I have only been introduced to Jack Reacher over the past 12 months, having been drawn to Lee Child's novels in a bid to find a more inspiring read than I had been recently experiencing. I have not been disappointed.Each book is a satisfying read, but "The Persuader" is my favourite so far. The storyline has you hooked from the beginning, when you discover, with horror, that our hero has "crossed over to the dark side" and has shot dead a cop. Of course, this is Reacher, and so the story unfolds and you realise just how far he will go to reap revenge on past enemies.Jack Reacher is the epitomy of an action hero; fearless but with a sense of compassion. Child's coins the phrase "Men want to be him. Women want to be with him". This certainly seems to be the case as Reacher never fails to "bed the leading lady". He is a complex character, but highly likeable and leaves you wanting to find out more. I can't wait to read on!!

Another enjoyable if formulaic Jack Reacher book.You know what to expect from these books, Jack is a loner and is recruited to deal with some trouble. He goes in and deals with it.I liked this story more than some as the set up was interesting and the villains seemed to have a bit more character and motivation than sometimes. I can see this as a decent film for the future with a few tweaks here and there.Definitely worth a read if you like Jack Reacher or have a couple of spare hours to kill.

As with most Reacher books,there is action from page 1 when somebody is shot.What stars out as a simple case with a rug importer develops into something complex.Reacher drifts around anonymously but you can guarantee when he visits a small town 2 things will happen:1 There will be trouble2 Reacher will be in the middle of it.Lee Childs has created a character, like a modern day Clint Eastwood, who you know can do anything.Even if he is outnumbered by 4 to 1 you know that 4 people will end up in hospital and Reacher walks quietly away.

Thoroughly enjoyed this story I think one of my favourite Jack Reacher tales. It was a little bit different to his previous books but I enjoyed the surprising and exciting twists and turns. The first chapter you think oh what has he gone and done now and it is a relief when all is revealed in further chapters.