Worth Dying for Book

Lee Child has had his readers biting their fingernails even more insistently than usual since his last novel. The author usually delivers one book a year featuring his laconic, super-resourceful hero Jack Reacher, but we were informed by his publishers that there would be a very briskly delivered successor to the last book, 61 Hours -- and the reason was not hard to see. A significant number of Reacher admirers had been startled by the fact that the ex-military policeman appeared to be dead at the end of his latest outing. But we can relax -- here’s the new book, Worth Dying For, with the tough Mr Reacher alive and kicking, and more than ready for another helping of pulse-raising action. Initially, we are not told how Jack Reacher survived the seemingly-terminal events of the last book, as he makes his way south to an unwelcoming part of Nebraska in the dead of winter. He fetches up in a town in the grip of the powerful, manipulative Duncan family, and the cowed townspeople have no fight left in them. In a sleazy hotel, he encounters the town's alcoholic doctor, and the two end up driving to a house where they come across a grim case of domestic violence. And Child admirers won’t be surprised to learn that Jack’s life is soon on the line -- as usual. The stage is set for violent confrontation.Lee Child, with each new book, effortlessly sails to the top of the bestseller charts – a feat already achieved with Worth Dying For. The secret? There are no frills with the business-like Mr Child - just copper-bottomed storytelling skills, fully on display with this new book. The frigid Nebraska setting here contrasts tellingly with the hot action. --Barry ForshawRead More