Rating: 
Summary: Good all around book
Review: This is my first time reading a Lee Childs, Jack Reacher novel but I was impressed. I found the book entertaining and difficult to put down. Mr. Childs writes as I would. Although I am not a martial arts or weapons expert, I had no problem visualizing the moves and weapons. I have also lived in Boston so I had no problem visualizing the New England countryside as well.What I did find was the mention of how to bypass the kitchen metal detector a bit disturbing since now I am almost tempted to try it out to see if this is true. If I am curious and I am not a bad guy, , , , I felt sad that the side plot to find Ms. Teresa Justice aka, Teresa Daniel's only received about a page worth of information. I also have the impression that the son Richard and the mother Elizabeth will have a future role in Mr. Childs book since their final fate was never really explained. Otherwise a good book. I am going to put Mr. Child's name on my list of authors to read.
Rating: 
Summary: One Of His Best
Review: I've read all the Reacher novels, and this one did not disappoint. While he makes some quite rudimentary plotting mistakes in his early work, this one is as close to perfect as he's gotten. The great thing about the series is that you don't really have to read them in order, Each one is it's own little time capsule, not relying on the others for plot or character definition. So if you are new to Reacher, this is as good a place as any to start. Pick it up...you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Violence as an Art Form
Review: Former Military Police officer Jack Reacher is back for a seventh time in "Persuader", the latest from talented thrill writer Lee Child. While walking down the streets of Boston, Reacher bumps into a "ghost" from his past - Quinn - a man who Reacher thought he had killed a decade prior. Through a license plate, Reacher traces Quinn to Zachary Beck, a suspected heavy in the drug trade. Reacher teams up with DEA agent Susan Duffy, who is heading an "off-the-books" sting of Beck in an attempt to free one of Duffy's agents who had infiltrated Beck's operation, but was found-out. In concert with the DEA, a kidnapping of Beck's college-student son Richard is staged. Reacher plays the "hero", rescuing Richard and, in the events that follow, gets inside the reclusive Beck's illicit business. Reacher gains Beck's trust and, through a couple of convenient "accidents", is given a security job to fill the unplanned vacancies. Woven through the story through a series of flashbacks is the tale of the sadistic Quinn, gradually unveiling the root of Reacher's vengeance. Child writes with razor sharp efficiency and clarity: a tight plot with no pretense of embellishment beyond the requisite violence and mayhem. Child's Reacher is the ultimate stoic loaner - Clint Eastwood's "man without a name" in a modern setting where the villains are meaner and the guns a lot bigger. Child writes with a clear and unambiguous sense of right and wrong, of good and evil. And while Reacher runs no risk on canonization, the bad guys are so devoid of any redeeming social value that the contrast is crystal clear. "Persuader" is high adrenalin fiction without excuse: blunt, brutal, and suspenseful: a true page-turner and the ultimate summer read.
Rating: 
Summary: Good + Too Violent
Review: I really liked Child's take on the "just the facts ma'am" tough guy prose. But -- just too violent, for me; too brutal, too much horrifying torture. I won't read another, and if I could take it back, I would unread this. Some things aren't meant to be put into the mind....
Rating:
Summary: Major Jack Reacher - Military Police
Review: Any other Jack Reacher aficionado, waiting for "The Enemy" as I was, will be
rewarded with this unexpected and explosive adventure from his past life in
the army. New Years Eve at a new posting, Reacher is probably the only
sober high ranking military policeman in the Western Hemisphere, so he is
instructed to investigate the death of a soldier in a motel room - a soldier
who turns out to be a General. Then being told to inform the General's
wife - accompanied by a young woman lieutenant - they discover she has been
murdered. It's only chapter two. The danger of starting this breath-taking
and absolutely riveting book after supper, means you are likely to be up all
night. Reacher is younger, and in the army he is nastier - he makes
enemies. Finding he is being framed for murder - and also tightly bound by
the hierarchies and regulations of military life, he decides that his only
alternative is to investigate on his own. He takes absence without leave and
his lieutenant decides to go with him - they are a refreshingly businesslike
team too. Reacher shoulders his way through a minefield of boobytraps in
pursuit of the almost unproveable truth of his innocence, and she, cool,
brave and efficient. In the background is the fall of the Berlin Wall and
its effect on Cold War warriors and the armies of the world. Also in the background of this brilliant thriller, are details of Reachers
family - his elder brother Joe from "The Killing Floor" - and his enigmatic
mother in Paris, who is dying but courageously tells them both to push off .
Rating:
Summary: Jack Reacher -- great leading man in great thriller!
Review: It was tough not to like Jack Reacher when we tried our first Lee Child novel, "Killing Floor". Back in "Persuader", the seventh in the series, our amazing hero Reacher is his usual one-man army in tracking down relentlessly a man he thought he killed ten years ago as a military MP. The book opens fast as Reacher gets involved in what looks like a kidnapping, kills a couple of bad guys, and then by accident, a cop. This gains him access to the fort-like New England estate of the kid he saved; and we all figure out pretty soon that the Beck family is crooked. That the Becks don't seem to be calling the punches though implies some higher level villains are involved. Our hero goes on to figure it all out, kill off a bunch of the banditos single-handedly, while rescuing a DEA agent whose undercover op has gone bad. The DEA boss, Susan Duffy, helps Reacher with weapons, intelligence, and a little lovin' for good measure! Some clever flashbacks to the story of ten years ago almost gave us two mysteries in one near the end of the book. We have come to expect hard-nosed thrills and chills from Child, and this book is no exception. While Reacher is an immensely likable, talented, and clever man, he is also a ruthless killer who breaks necks and assassinates his foes with hardly a backward look. That he's always on the side of truth and justice probably lets us let him get away with it, but there are many moments in the story not for readers with weak "fortitudes". That we can hardly turn the pages fast enough is its own recommendation, as is our desire to seek out his latest novel of suspense as well as the earlier ones we've missed. You shouldn't need much more persuadin' than that!
Rating:
Summary: Tough, dysfunctional, zen-like and fascinating!
Review: I came reluctantly to the Persuader after having devoured Barry Eisler's Hard Rain and Rain Fall and thinking nothing could be better than John Rain! Wrong. Jack Reacher is an incredibly appealing (as long as he's fictional) character of a different sort. Also a solitary loner, he has no home, no ID, no belongings except what he's wearing, doesn't know how to operate a washer and dryer -- military brat, West Point, graduate, former Army MP. He has no sense of place and doesn't understand commitment. But it is this rootlessness, fear of nothing, and ability to fit into strange situations - that makes these stories so compelling. Also the fact that he is so solidly in character, and never leaves it that other than learning that he is 6'5" I don't recall any other description of him, just of what he sees. Persuader is my first Jack Reacher read. After finishing it I went immediately to The Killing Floor and am now listening to Echo Burning. Next will be Tripwire. The books stand on themselves and I feel no need to read them sequentially. They're all great so far.
Rating:
Summary: One of the hottest thrillers of the summer season
Review: Jack Reacher, a nomadic doer of good deeds, makes his seventh appearance in one of the hottest thrillers of the summer season. His latest adventure has him going undercover into the household of a purported drug dealer in an effort to catch him in the act of transacting a deal. Of course, the good are in danger and the bad will die.
There is really nothing profound about the Reacher novels. They are quite simply about a man trying to "do the right thing". Reacher is unable to live with any kinds of roots, therefore, he wanders from one difficult situation to the next. They are all quite excellent and satisfying reads. This current one is no exception-- well plotted with rapid fire pacing and characters that, in spite of their comic book appeal, will long linger in the minds of the readers. You will need little persuading to read PERSUADER.
Rating:
Summary: Well plotted, with nice plot reversals
Review: This is the seventh and latest in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Reacher is a former military cop who reached the rank of major before before let go in the downsizing of the '90s. He has a total indifference to possessions, and travels around the country staying in cheap hotels. The Reacher novels are successful because Child is usually good at plot twists and reversals. Although Reacher's background is in police work, much more emphasis is put on his combat skills, which seem to equal Delta Force. Persuader begins quickly with a kidnapping and shootout. Reacher quickly finds himself infiltrating a smuggler's household where he will be killed if discovered. Child pushes the limits of plausibility at times -- Reacher seems to be without fear and sticks around when a more sensible person would run -- but stays within the limits enough that I could enjoy the book. Persuader plays to Child's strengths in that the plot keeps moving quickly enough and throws the reader off guard that the momentum covers up any small errors. If you are looking for a thriller with plenty of action, this book does the job nicely.
Rating:
Summary: Getting Persuaded The Hard Way: Persuader by Lee Child
Review: In his seventh Jack Reacher novel, Reacher once again finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time to stay out of trouble. At night in Boston, he spots a man that he knows shouldn't be walking around alive get into a car and drive off. Back when Reacher was a military cop running investigations Francis Xavier Quinn was as dirty as they came and had allegedly died. Apparently he is alive, driving off before Reacher can stop him and all he has is the plate to work with to find him again. Reacher tries to use his old contacts to find the owner of the license plate but it has been years since he was in the service. Instead, he gets in deeper with the arrival of two Federal Agents who want to know why he is asking questions. They have researched Reacher extensively and believe that he is the kind of person who just might be able to help them. Francis Xavier Quinn who Reacher wants desperately for reasons gradually explained throughout the entire novel through the use of flashbacks, is part of a larger group that the Federal Agents have been going after. Their problem is that their investigation is a rogue operation and as such off the books and does not exist. They can't bring in anyone connected to law enforcement without getting into major trouble and now one of their own, an undercover officer, has gone missing and they have no idea where she is now. They strike a deal with Reacher that in exchange for finding their agent they will allow him to hunt down Quinn. Reacher goes undercover and begins a shadowy game of intrigue where nothing is as it seems. Full of the usual twists and turns created by Lee Child in his novels; this latest book in the series is another intense enjoyable read. Well written for the most part despite one very stupid and clichéd scene towards the end, this book reflects a coldness of character not seen in Jack Reacher in the earlier novels. Reacher has always been portrayed as a distant, loner type individual who values his privacy and keeps his human attachments to a minimum. However, the cold tone extends throughout the book. Even in a couple of love making scenes, which seem to be inserted as gratuity and not plot development, his character remains cold and detached. However, that is a minor quibble and may reflect nothing more than the ongoing story arc, which transcends several of the novels in the series. As in any complex series, the reader who starts from the very beginning, "Killing Floor," will enjoy this book the most. However, it could be read as a stand alone as much of the flashback sequences do not concern the previous novels, but instead reflect back further on Reacher's military career. Reacher remains well worth the read from cover to cover regardless of where you start in the series.
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