Rating: 
Summary: Suspenseful and It Rings True
Review: Although I found that this book didn't move with as much non-stop action as the first two in the series, it was still a gripping thriller. Child's portrayal of villains is so believable that it can scare the pants off you. Not only that he writes with such intesnsity, that the story just grips the reader until the end. His portrayal of Jack Reacher is insightful and believable as well. Reacher is a true drifter with uncommon talents which he has picked up in his previous life as an MP in the US Army. He's big and brawny, and extremely quick-thinking. In this book he is pitted against a villain that's just about as evil as they get, and he almost loses his life in the process of trying to protect someone who is very dear to him. This is a solid thriller, with enough action to keep the reader gong well into the night.
Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful Reacher thriller with horrible villain !
Review: Child's third Jack Reacher novel, featuring our ex-MP investigator hero who likes to travel around anonymously, serves up more of the action-packed intrigue we have come to expect from the first two entries in this fine series. Reacher is digging pools in Key West, with a part-time strip-club bouncer job, when a New York PI comes looking for him. Refusing to reveal his identity, Reacher is soon sorry when the man turns up dead a few hours later. Having learned that a mysterious "Mrs. Jacob" hired the man, Jack sets out for NYC to find out what's going on. The "Jacob" woman is soon enough revealed to be Jack's ex-boss's daughter -- one who had a crush on Jack that was secretly reciprocated. Soon the secret is out and the romance is on!!Meanwhile, in the big city, the Stone family, owners of a third-generation optics firm, is dealing with an unscrupulous (to say the least!) money lender, "Hook" Hobie, who uses his prosthesis to do bodily harm to anybody and everybody that crosses him. Hobie is such a horrid villain that we're in dread of him all book long, creating a suspenseful wish to have Reacher off him as part of the climax -- would he? While some might quibble this novel has a few flaws the editors might have caught or tried to straighten out a little, we readers are so busy keeping up with the chasing of clues and tracking a sub-plot involving missing servicemen from Viet Nam, that we're motivated to buzz along right 'til a satisfying finish wraps up most [but not all (!)] of the main character situational outcomes. And like all the other Reacher stories we've sampled so far, a heavy serving of entertainment and enjoyment needed no dessert!
Rating: 
Summary: Reacher returns
Review: Ex-Army M.P. major Jack Reacher is living a low key existence digging swimming pools in Key West and also working as a bouncer at a local strip club. His solitude soon gets shattered when first an elderly private investigator named Costello and then two well dressed wise guys come looking for him. When the P.I. turns up murdered in the local cemetery, Reacher follows his trail to New York City. After finding the location of the dead Costello's office and going through his files, Reacher determines that he was doing an investigation for one Leon Garber. General Leon Garber was Reacher's mentor in the military. He travels to Garber's residence in suburban New York to find the general's wake in progress. Greeted by Garber's attractive daughter Jodie, Reacher unfortunately learns that the general has just passed away. Jodie Garber, a successful lawyer, 15 years ago had a school girl crush on the strapping 24 year old Reacher. Concurrent with Reacher's exploits another plot is playing out. The two punks looking for Reacher in Key West are part of the crew of "Hook" Hobie. Hobie is an unscrupulous, sadistic fire scarred usurer loaning money in instances deemed too risky for banks. Hobie's severed arm was replaced in part by a highly polished and sharp hook prosthesis. His high rates of interest were guaranteed by acts of violence including torture, maiming and killing. Hobie was presently involved in a bridge loan of 1.1 million dollars to Chester Stone owner of a failing optical company. Hobie was scheming to turn this into the stealing of the assets of the company and Stone himself to the tune of 17 million. Jodie and Reacher team up when he learns that Costello worked for the law firm in which Jodie was employed. They visit the medical clinic where General Garber had been treated. Speaking to the doctor, they find out that the general was doing a favor for an elderly couple that also used that clinic. He was investigating the status of their son, a helicopter pilot missing in action in Vietnam for 30 years. Costello was sent by the general to find Reacher, to help him investigate. The missing son's name was Victor Hobie. Reacher's and Hobie's fate move inexorably forward to formulate a crackling, tingling plot that has the reader thirsting for justice. Child really hits a home run with "Tripwire" resurrecting Reacher's past to give us a deeper understanding of the psychology behind this fascinating character.
Rating: 
Summary: Child missed on this one.
Review: Having read KILLING FLOOR and DIE TRYING, I eagerly picked up a copy of TRIPWIRE. It is easily the weakest of the three. The villian, Hook Hobie, is like something out of a Marvel Comic book. Every time a character meets him, Child describes him all over again in the same terms, from the half burned face, to the J shaped hook where his hand should be. Reacher's relationship with Jodie seems rather strange. Especially when Reacher admits to being attracted to her when she was a child, it sounds downright creepy. I was,however, glad to see him ready to give up his paranoid, wandering lifestyle. The plot was barely interesting and any avid reader of mystery thrillers will figure it out long before Child tells us. I was glad that I picked this book up from the library. I would have felt cheated if I actually paid for it. I hope this isn't the beginning of the end for Mr. Child.
Rating:
Summary: Jack the evil killer
Review: I continue to enjoy Mr. Childs books, Jack Reacher is unbelievable galloping you through the book with exciting and stimulating moves. A double shot of Macho, a single of forensics, and a snifter of adventure with a champaign glass of tenderness makes for a great read. I will look forward to reading more of his writings at this point I have read five.
Rating:
Summary: Jack the evil killer
Review: I continue to enjoy Mr. Childs books, Jack Reacher is unbelievable galloping you through the book with exciting and stimulating moves. A double shot of Macho, a single of forensics, and a snifter of adventure with a champaign glass of tenderness makes for a great read. I will look forward to reading more of his writings at this point I have read five.
Rating:
Summary: A can't stop Jack Reacher Mystery
Review: I have now read all of Lee Child's books thus far, and am looking forward to the next one. In Tripwire, Jack Reacher has bummed around the country long enough to need to earn a little spending money. He is happily uncommitted and digging swimming pools in Key West, Florida when a private investigator comes looking for him. A short time after he stumbled across Jack in a bar, the investigator is killed. Jack returns to New York looking for anwers to the questions of who had hired the guy to find him; what they wanted to know; and why was he killed. His old mentor's daughter, Jodie was the one looking for him, and he locates her as she is attending the funeral of her father. Her father had been involved in an investigation that was leading into a military coverup when he had a heart attack and died. He had been trying to help two old people find out what had happened to their son in Viet Nam. Jack takes on the job of completing the search, the suspense builds as he gets closer to the bad guy, and we are introduced to the long time love he has had for Jodie who was way to young for him back when he was in the military. The new twist in this book happens when Jodie's father leaves his house along with all the resulting responsibilities to Jack in his will. Will he have to give up his life of anominity and drifting as the spirit moves him? It's a great read.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed feeling about balyhooed new action hero.
Review: I was anticipating non-stop action and mayhem,but I have to agree with one reviewer stating that this is less action packed than the previous two.In any case,I am willing to give Mr.Reacher further chance by trying to catch up on his previous books.I have to say that I did enjoy the few action parts and am amazed when Reacher finally takes charge;but the climax is like that of a tv movie.So simple,considering the build up and the plot twist is just fine.I'm still looking forward to being a Reacher convert and am excited over the entire series.
Rating:
Summary: Another kick*** thriller from Mr. Child
Review: Lee Child outdoes himself with this one. I am a big admirer of his novels, but the twists and turns kept even me guessing almost to the end. While the action is fast and plentiful, Mr. Child does not neglect characters along the way, making his novels thoroughly enjoyable on many levels.
If you haven't availed yourself of the pleasures of this series, Tripwire is a great place to start.
Rating:
Summary: You will want to skip ahead
Review: The accumulated reviews of this novel tell you all you need to know about character and plot: Jack (NMN) Reacher, bumming about Key West, without advance knowledge, revives a youthful/mutual attraction and inherits a home near West Point from the woman's father, his former C.O. This leads into a tangle of interlocking plots as a presumed KIA involved in corporate schemes and a group of MIA scamsters dreaw Reacher and his companion into a puzzle solution while a brutal kidnapping/multiple murder plot develops. Much of the mystery for Reacher is the large scale/small scale villiany which envelops him: just who is the bad guy. This is what the ultimate solution discovers.
Just looking at it tells you that this is a very thick book. What is worth knowing is that the writing - detail and description- sometimes gets in the way of the development of plot. After a while I started jumping ahead a paragraph or two ( no, I didn't spoil it by going to the end, but.....I advise you not to do that either, the wait is worth it). Perhaps a bit of judicious trimming would improve what is a very good read. Certainly worth a few bucks.
| 
