Tripwire (A Jack Reacher Novel) |
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Lee Child
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Pages: 544 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0553811851
Pub: Bantam Books Ltd
Pub date: 2000-02-03
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 639
Editorial Review:
Ex-military policemen Jack Reacher is lying low in Key West, digging up swimming pools by hand. He is not best pleased when a private detective starts asking questions about him, but when the detective, Costello, turns up dead with his fingertips sliced off, Reacher realises it is time to move on. Soon (as in Child's two previous excellent thrillers Die Trying and Killing Floor) Reacher is up to his neck in lethal trouble involving a vicious Wall Street manipulator, a mysterious woman (of course) and the livelihood of a whole community. Even the fate of soldiers missing in action in Vietnam is stirred into the brew. But this is not a book by one of the new breed of US thriller writers: Child prides himself that, as an Englishman, he writes American thrillers that are utterly convincing in milieu and toughness of action, without a trace of English sensibility. This new one is no exception-- every bit as lean and compulsive as its predecessors, it also builds on the freshest aspect of those books: Reacher may be a tough, epic hero, but he always remains human and vulnerable. Here's one for that long plane or train journey. --Barry Forshaw
Reader Reviews:
Nowhere near his best... (0/1 people found this helpful)
I think this is the third Lee Child book I've read and it is by far the worst, mainly because it's kind of boring. Not an awful lot happens, the "twists" stand out a mile, not a lot of deduction happens and by far the worst crime, one interesting subplot peters out rather than merging with the main plot in the finale.
Read it if you're a completist, but don't start the Reacher series with this, as you won't continue with it. Killing Floor and The Hard Way are both much better.
The hype (0/8 people found this helpful)
I don't understand what the hype is all about regarding Lee Child and his character, Jack Reacher. I think I've read too much Andy McNab, Harlan Coben, James Lee Burke and others who KNOW what they're talking about to be able to put up with Child. Lee Child simply doesn't know what he's talking about, whether it's guns or surveillance or action or sex or whatever. His books are heavy with padding--meaningless description. His characters are one dimensional at best. His plots are simple and unnatural. But the main problem still is that Lee Child simply hasn't had contact with reality--hard, violent, brutal reality--and writes with a naivete that is merely stupid.
This is how 'low brow' thriller writing should be done... (2/2 people found this helpful)
Jack Reacher novels are always pretty good. Child's got a knack for keeping what are essentially quite similar stories fresh and interesting.
Here, however, he turns it up a notch and delivers probably the finest Reacher novel I've read.
While the novel is not going to win any awards for great literature, the so called heavyweights like Dan Brown and Michael Reilly could take a leaf out of Lee Child's book when it comes to penning a good thriller.
The story begins when a man sent to find Reacher by a woman Jack's never heard of turns up dead behind a motel in Florida with his fingers cut off. Reacher's curiosity is piqued and he journey's to New York to find out why the man had to die, and what it has to do with him.
His search brings him face to face with his own past, and with Victor `Hook' Hobie.
Hobie is far and away the best villain to feature in any Jack Reacher novel I have read so far. A man with a secret that he will go to any lengths, no matter how brutal or sadistic, to protect. For the first time, you feel that Reacher has met an adversary worthy of the name, and as the book winds towards its climax, it grabs hold of you and won't let you go.
An essential read for Child fans and a great book in its own right to keep the Reacher virgin entertained, I honestly can't recommend this book enough.
A thriller on many levels (3/3 people found this helpful)
Tripwire was my first introduction to Lee Child's work. I guess the best testament to it's impact is that I've now read, and continue to read, his novels. Featuring the ex-MP turned drifter: Jack Reacher, the book features Child's consistant and skillfull ability to blend highbrow whodunnit, action and adventure, and a fair vat of violence, without either losing or patronising his audience. Highly recommended.
Thrilling..Gripping and Unputdownable!! (3/3 people found this helpful)
I loved this book. I started off with the first of the series and haven't been able to read them quick enough since! There are some really nice twists in this book and if you like fast paced stories then this is definitley for you.
He is as good a writer as Grisham but the content is a lot grittier.
Enjoy!!!
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Crime, Thrillers & Mystery -> Thrillers
Books -> Subjects -> Crime, Thrillers & Mystery -> Authors, A-Z -> C -> Child, Lee
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> General