Marilyn's Mystery Reads

Jack Reacher is back, and that’s a good thing.  Actually, it’s a great thing because no matter how quickly Lee Child adds another novel to this series, it’s not often enough for me.

 Although Reacher has been out of the army for years (he was in military intelligence) and has no fixed address, the powers-that-be are able to find him.  As Reacher says, “You can leave the army, but the army doesn’t leave you.”  Especially when you have talents that organization needs.

An unknown sniper has tried to assassinate the president of France, and the U.S. military is afraid the gunman might be an American.  When Reacher is taken to meet with his former commander, General O’Day, he’s told that the list of possible gunmen has been narrowed down to four–one from Russia, one from Israel, one from Great Britain, and John Knott, the American that Jack Reacher put in prison to serve a fifteen year sentence. 

But now it’s sixteen years later, and Knott has been released.  Naturally he’s been under close surveillance, but although he returned to his Arkansas home when he completed his prison term his home is empty and his whereabouts unknown.  Knott was an expert sniper when he was in the army, and while he was in prison he devoted himself to vigorous exercise to keep in combat-ready shape.

The army believes that the sniper is going to attack one of the members of the G8, the organization of eight leading industrial countries, to redeem himself after his failed attempt on the French president.   Knott is known to be able to shoot to kill at fourteen hundred yards; if he is the gunman, he is a very dangerous man indeed.

When Reacher and CIA employee Casey Nice get to Knott’s home it’s deserted, as expected.  But inside the run-down house there are multiple photos of Reacher with bullet holes and knife wounds in various parts of his body.  It’s all too clear that if Knott is the sniper who is trying to assassinate a member of the G8, Reacher is another of his targets.   As Reacher recognizes, the army’s plan is for him to be used as bait to get to John Knott.  As the novel’s title says, it’s very personal.

Lee Child’s novels are nearly impossible to put down.  It’s not that the reader doesn’t know that Reacher will be victorious (after all, he’s the hero of the series), but the cleverness of the plotting and the incredible detail keep one riveted.  Even if you, like me, are totally unfamiliar with the military or snipers, Personal will have you hooked until the last page.

You can read more about Lee Child at this web site. 

Check out the complete Marilyn’s Mystery Reads blog at her web site.