61 Hours by Lee Child

This fast-paced Reacher novel is all about justice, as most of them are. The bad guys are motivated by greed, not vengeance. However, I believe Reacher sticks around to finish the job for revenge. No redemption in this story.

Jack Reacher is on a tour bus in South Dakota in the middle of winter. The bus has an accident an hour from any town. He, along with the group of elderly tourists, finally get taken to a small town that features a brand new prison complex for state and federal prisoners. The prison is the economic boom for the town. The small town also has a biker gang living in a camp that used to be a military installation. It’s this biker gang and the mysterious camp that drives the events Reacher gets involved in and which require his unique honed skills.

It’s a long book. Nearly four hundred pages. Mr. Child tends to describe everything and everyone in great detail. As the title infers, the story takes place over sixty-one hours. Each chapter ends with how many hours to go, lending to the overarching sense of urgency. Within the story, the bad guys are driven by the same timeline, which is not known to Reacher and local law enforcement.

I always enjoy Reacher’s dialog and interactions with people. He even has a long-distance friendship develop with a woman who is currently doing the job he did when in the military. The book has several points of view besides Reacher’s. Though there is a mystery surrounding the former military installation and some red herrings around the identity of the killer, the book is a thriller. The points of view heighten the suspense. My only complaint with this book is the ending. It’s too open ended. I’m not sure why Mr. Child chose to end where he did. This is book fourteen so the audience to read book fifteen was already there. The ending didn’t take away the enjoyment of the ride, though. Well-written. Good characterization. And I could feel the cold of the South Dakota winter Reacher had to suffer. He’s not a cold-weather person.

Some profanity. No on page or off page sex. And the violence is not gratuitous. This one can be read without reading other Reacher books. If you’ve never read a Jack Reacher novel, there’s enough character background in this one to help you understand who he is. I’ll rank this one seventh for the year. Four stars only because of the ending, otherwise, I would give it five stars.

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3. Weapons of Remorse by Chevron Ross
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5. The New Iberia Blues by James Lee Burke
6. Framed by James Scott Bell
7. 61 Hours by Lee Child
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