First published in 1998 Die Trying is the second book of the Jack Reacher series. This is an opportunity Lee Child took to build more about the character of Reacher.

Reacher has reached Chicago and is walking past a dry cleaner’s shop when he noticed a woman with a crutch struggling with her cleaning. Ever the gentlemen Reacher takes hold of the cleaning and also opens the door for her and walks her to her vehicle. When he next looks up there are three men pointing guns at him and the woman.

Both are then transferred to a van and handcuffed together and are bouncing around in the back. They introduce themselves to each other the woman is an FBI agent named Holly Johnson. It dawns on Reacher that there is clearly more to this story and Reacher connects with her. Her father is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff and she also happened to be the god-daughter of the president.

They realise that they are in the middle of a right-wing militia’s plan and were beginning to realise the scale of the problems they were beginning to face. They are in the middle of a mountain valley that is cut off from the outside world. There are plenty of ravines and rapid water and thick forests. The militia are heavily armed and are set for a war against the federal government in Washington DC.

This is a gripping thriller, believable when you consider the large number of right-wing nut jobs in the USA. This is a page-turning thriller that keeps you hooked and wondering how things will turnout for Reacher. The fast paced thriller has plenty of drama leaving you trying to work out who will overcome in this battle. ( )

Could we just have a book without FBI agents who have gone bad? I hope that is not a continuing theme in this series.

I liked the third person narrative and the accompanying wider focus on more than just Reacher’s thoughts and actions. And other characters had a chance to be heroic. But really, does there have to be attraction and sex between Reacher and the woman protagonist? It was pretty incongruous with the rest of the story and seemed like it was included because it was expected and not because it fit or made sense. ( )

This book is ok. I had a hard time getting into the story. I did eventually get more interested but it tended to drag in places. I did like how it kept changing views throughout the book. I am not a huge fan of military books and this one has a big military presence in it so that may account for my lack of interest. ( )

So much better than book #1! Jack Reacher seemed incredibly distant and remote to the point of boring in the first book (Killing Floor). In this one, he was far more sympathetic and engaging. ( )

June 18th