Rating: 
Summary: Lee Child At His Best
Review: Some people want Vice President-elect, Brook Armstrong dead. They tried to kill him in September. They had the silencer on the gun and the perfect location but the bullet missed. No one in the crowd heard the gun shot. Armstrong's hair stirred as the bullet moved past him but he thought it was nothing more than the wind. The attempt was a failure and no one noticed. They would try again. Soon. ...So begins Lee Child's newest and best book to date, WITHOUT FAIL. ...This is the sixth in the series. WITHOUT FAIL takes the readers behind the scenes of the Secret Service and shows us how they react to situations, why they do what they do to protect the people they're hired to protect, and we also get to see the measures they go through to do their job successfully. Lee Child's books get better and better with each addition to the series. WITHOUT FAIL is a real page-turner with plenty of excitement all through it. Child has not only made a detailed study of his character, but he has delved into the workings of the military and government. Yes, on occasion Reacher and Neagley sometimes seem to have superhuman powers, but the readers will willingly forgive those moments to cheer on the heroes of this story. This new fast paced novel not only keeps you on your toes trying to figure out who wants to kill the Vice President-elect but also keeps you wondering why. Child gives us the answers to the questions as the book progresses. We start to understand how personal childhood experiences control our actions as adults. In WITHOUT FAIL, Child has written a wonderfully thrilling story. I highly recommend this well written book.
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Summary: Jack Reacher is back and he's better than ever.
Review: Lee Child's latest novel, "Without Fail," is a top-notch action-adventure novel that will delight Lee Child's established fans and earn him some new ones. "Without Fail" features Jack Reacher, the formidable ex-military man who answers to no one but himself. Reacher can be deadly or compassionate and a more appealing mythic hero would be hard to find. This time around, M. E. Froelich asks Jack to help her protect the Vice President elect of the United States, Brook Armstrong. Froelich is in charge of the Secret Service detail that is assigned to keep Armstrong safe as he travels around the country. Of late, Armstrong has received a series of threatening letters from an anonymous source. Froelich was in love with Jack's late brother, Joe Reacher, who died tragically in the line of duty, and she knows that Jack is a terrific investigator with a sharp mind and unerring instincts. Froelich wants to be certain that there are no gaps in the security that she is providing for Armstrong and she believes that Reacher is the man who can help her. He agrees and he brings on board a former military associate, a woman named Frances Neagley, who is now a security consultant in Chicago. Neagley is as well trained and as sharp as Jack himself, and she and Jack make a great team. Reacher and Neagley put their heads together to answer some tough questions. Who is threatening Brook Armstrong and why? Does someone have a personal vendetta against the Vice President elect? Or is the perpetrator a disgruntled individual who has a grudge against the Secret Service or perhaps against Froelich herself? Reacher and Neagley call upon all of their considerable investigative resources as they consult with representatives of both the Secret Service and the FBI to track down the killer or killers before they carry out their threats. During the investigation, Froelich and Reacher find that they are attracted to one another. This adds another complication to an already tense situation. Child's novel is fast-paced and entertaining. As always, his details about firearms and investigative procedure add authenticity and background color to the plot. The characters are all finely drawn, and Reacher has never been so commanding and astute as he is in "Without Fail." The denouement of the book is both surprising and unpredictable. In every way, "Without Fail" delivers the goods. It is an action-packed thriller that will have you turning pages quickly to see how the situation will play out. If you are not yet a fan of Jack Reacher and Lee Child, don?t be surprised if you soon join the ranks of those who are.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good but gun lore sadly lacking
Review: I thought this was a pretty good adventure tale, which got better as it went along. My biggest beef is that the author really needs a firearms consultant. Numerous errors in this regard ruined the ending a bit for me. I can handle an author who thinks there are safeties on Glocks, but [SPOILER ALERT] guns that just go click instead of discharging for no reason, other than it's been sitting in a drawer for five years, and the hero expected that? I thought he was going to say he removed the firing pin, which would have been rude, but at least comprehensible. And supposed army veterans going into battle with their pockets full of loose rounds of ammunition? Ever heard of extra magazines?
Rating:
Summary: A COMPLEX THRILLER SURE TO PLEASE
Review: England born, New York based thriller writer Lee Child has made an impact on his chosen genre with his first five novels. Much of the acclaim he has received is undoubtedly due to the creation of his memorable protagonist, Jack Reacher. Jack is a cool, canny and collected former military cop who needs all his skills and know-how in "Without Fail." A female Secret Service agent comes to Reacher with an astounding request: "I want to hire you to assassinate the Vice President of the United States." According to her this is the only way to test the security system she has in place to protect the newly elected V.P. When she makes this request, she does leave out one significant detail: a team of accomplished killers have already drawn a bead on the Vice President. They, of course, are not aware of Reacher's involvement. Child has spun a complex, unsettling thriller that will satisfy the most ardent suspense fiction fan. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Layer Upon Layer of Mystery and Violence
Review: This is a complex thriller, and in it we see Jack Reacher a little differently than we have in previous outings. He has been asked by a woman who was involved with his now-dead brother to help her find weak spots in the Secret Service protection of a newly-elected Vice-President. This meeting with M.E. Froehlich opens up a little of Jack's history to us and the life that he and his older brother led while they were growing up as army brats in various army bases throughout the world. We also see Jack request the aid of a former co-worker from the army. Neagley is the female equivalent of Jack - brilliant, well-trained and oh so cool. Jack and Neagley make a formidable team. Not only do they find the weaknesses in the Secret Service protection detail, they hunt down and take retribution themselves on the bad guys that not only threatened the Vice-President, but who hurt and killed people who were close to them. Child's writing is spare and chilling. Yes there is violence, but it's not over-drawn and seems to flow as part of the story and helps build the terrible tension that is simmering throughout the whole book. His form of writing keeps the reader hurriedly turning pages to find out what happens next.
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Summary: Not A Failure: A Great Thriller!
Review: The Secret Service classifies serious threats of assassination in two ways. They are separated into those assassins that want to commit the assassination and get away as compared to those that want to commit the assassination and are perfectly willing to die for it in the process. In either case, the Secret Service knows that if the assassin really wants to do it, then they can't be realistically stopped. M. E. Froelich knows this and she also knows that the Secret Service has never lost a Vice President. As team leader, guarding the newly elected Vice President Armstrong, she does not want to be the first. She has a plan and her boss has given the unprecedented okay to bring in outsiders. "'I want to hire you for something," she said. "On a kind of posthumous recommendation from Joe. Because of what he used to say about you. He
talked about you, from time to time."
Reacher nodded. "Hire me for what?"
Froelich paused again and came up with a tentative smile.
"I've rehearsed this line," she said. "Couple of times."
"So let me hear it."
"I want you to assassinate the Vice President of the United States.'" Actually, what she really wants is for him to use his military training and other skills and tell her if he could successfully get to Armstrong. By using the memory of his dead brother (who she worked with and was a lover) who at least on level was trying to emulate him as well as the fact that Reacher finds the exercise interesting, she gets him to agree to the attempt with specific goals and recommendations in mind for improvement. Reacher brings in Neagle with whom he has worked with before (see other novels in this series) and together they identify some manageable weaknesses in the plan. Reacher explains the problems to the Froelich and then pushes her for the real reason he was brought in as the Service would never bring in outsiders unless they were very concerned. As it turns out, there is a credible threat against Armstrong's life. It is serious and seems to be coming from either a current or former agent of the Secret Service. Since almost everyone is under suspicion, Reacher and Neagle are asked to identify the threat and stop him or her while Froelich continues to coordinate her team's protection of the Vice President. Reacher and Neagle begin to chase the assassins across country and back again while Armstrong's life hangs in the balance until a fateful showdown in the snow in Wyoming. As a parent of school age children, there are not that many books anymore that keep me up past midnight reading. Quite frankly, there aren't that many that can keep me up past ten anymore for that matter. However, this one did it and was thriller in every sense of the word. While it does not plow any new ground really in the Jack Reacher character development, we learn a few new things that reinforce the way he is while at the same time, having a heck of good twisting story to read. This novel has plenty of action and the last 50 pages are very good as Reacher takes care of business his way. This novel is the sixth in the series featuring Jack Reacher. While this one, more than the others could be read as a stand alone, I would recommend otherwise. A few things are covered briefly in this novel that might diminish the reading pleasure of some of the other novels in the series. The first novel of the series is Killing Floor...This is one author definitely worth reading.
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Summary: An excellent book. The first that I've read by this author..
Review: But not the last one I'll read by this author. Lee Child has set up a tight story with many twists and turns. The action is fast and the plot raises and barely gives you time to catch your breath before it raises again. The ending is superb and fascinating. This is absolutely well worth reading. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Favourite so far
Review: I've recently discovered the Jack Reacher series - this is the third I've read and by far the best. I enjoyed all of them but loved the side of Reacher that we see in this novel. A little more cerebral and little more emotional. The complexity of his emotions in relation to his brother was enlightening. The plot was intriguing and the characters engaging. Only two criticisms - one was the fate of the kindnapped wife of the FBI techo was a little unbelievable given the brutality of the other crimes these two committed. Also, I found it hard to believe the motivation behind the crime. Do people really hang on to a grudge that strongly and for so long?
Rating: 
Summary: Cardboard characters and preposterous plotline
Review: Come on. Jack Reacher, hired by a top secret service field officer to "consult" and beef up the security afforded our vice-president, is given no ear piece with which to communicate with the other secret service agents he is ostensibly monitoring and spends over 90% of the book carrying around a ceramic knife rather than a gun. This leads to some really preposterous moments like when Jack, sensing someone is in a church belfry noisily climbs ladders pirate-like with his knife in his teeth and thinking thoughts of how surprised the bad guy's going to be when invincible Jack bursts through the trap door. Most of this book is concerned with letting us know that Jack is really a tough guy and his ex-military female side-kick is . . . my gosh, even TOUGHER. Disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: As good as the genre gets
Review: Jack Reacher returns in this lengthy and compelling thriller revolving around the Secret Service. Upon the recommendation (and reputation) of his deceased brother - who was a former Treasury agent - Reacher is asked to perform a security audit on the Vice President's security detail. Ostensibly, the reason is simply to validate the new team's level of preparedness. But nothing is quite as it seems - and Reacher soon understands that there are very real, very imminent threats against the VP. We encounter Neagley - another ex-Military Cop; Froelich, the talented (and attractive) head of the VP's Secret Service detail; Stuvesyant, Froelich's hard-edged boss and a cast of others. All in all, a pretty interesting lot. But, simply put, it is the storyline - not the characters - that stand out. Unlike some of Child's previous works, the bad guys remain shrouded in mystery almost throughout. Tracking their steps along with the Federal Agents, we feel much of the same frustration, indignity, and anger that they feel. Ultra-competent, the would-be assassins are able to elude the perimeter defenses of the VP on multiple occasions. The tension mounts as the threats become more and more tangible, affecting other Secret Service employees and finally threatening the lives of the protaganists themselves. Child has done an exceptional job. If you enjoy thrillers, find "Without Fail" today and move it to the top of your queue. Child definitely has not failed with this exceptional novel.
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