Status
Available
Series
Genres
Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Jack Reacher was alone, the way he liked it, soaking up the hot, electric New York City night, watching a man cross the street to a parked Mercedes and drive it away. The car contained one million dollars in ransom money because Edward Lane, the man who paid it, would do anything to get his family back. Lane runs a highly illegal soldiers-for-hire operation. He will use any tool to find his beautiful wife and child. And Jack Reacher is the best manhunter in the world. On the trail of vicious kidnappers, Reacher learns the chilling secrets of his employer's past . . . and of a horrific drama in the heart of a nasty little war. He knows that Edward Lane is hiding something. Something dirty. Something big. But Reacher also knows this: He's already in way too deep to stop now. And if he has to do it the hard way, he will.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member CharlotteBurt
This has been one of my favourite Jack Reacher books so far, even though I figured out much of the twisty plot before Jack did.
LibraryThing member justabookreader
I’ve read a number of Lee Child’s books and there is one overriding thing I need to remind myself to do each time I start one --- forget reality. Please don’t take this to mean that I don’t like the books, because I do, it’s just that his characters, Jack Reacher in particular, always end
Jack Reacher is back in New York City and spending time in a café drinking coffee, a favorite pastime of his. One evening, he sees a man get into a car and drive away. The next day, he’s approached about the small but rather forgettable event and ends up drawn into a kidnapping case that also involves a handful of rouge mercenaries on call for the U.S. government. Unsure of how to walk away from the group he’s found himself oddly tied to because he can’t be certain that the kidnapped mother and daughter will be safe, he gets drawn deeper into the case and goes out of his way to help rescue two people he’s never met.
Oh, Reacher, how do you manage to rescue so many people in so short a time? Also, how is it you manage to always be in the right place when trouble happens? I want to be annoyed with these books because there is a huge disconnect between what happens and general reality (You know, reality for normal people.) but I can’t be. Once I let go and fall into these books, I can’t help it, I’m stuck until I find out that Reacher has managed to save someone, stop something from blowing up, or just save the world in general. I’m not a thriller reader either but these books put me into some sort of catatonic reading mode and I have to finish and find out that everything has worked out fine in the end. I say that because everything always works out fine in the end. At least that’s been the case for the books I’ve read in the Reacher series.
A co-worker of mine lends these books to me and I’ll admit there have been a few bombs along the way but for the most part, I enjoy them. They’re one off books which can be read in one sitting and you don’t have to have read them in any sort of order to understand the plot. By the way, the plot is pretty much always the same --- something bad happens, Reacher shows up, saves the day. These are books you pull out on a rainy or slow day and you just read. You’ll be entertained by the end and glad that a co-worker loaned you that book. You’ll also be tempted to write something nice about their sharing abilities so they loan you more.
Show More
up in the craziest situations that a person, a sane person, would have walked away from or never become involved in to begin with. But, that is what also makes them interesting, so now I just go with the forget all reality tactic and I find enjoy the books much better. Jack Reacher is back in New York City and spending time in a café drinking coffee, a favorite pastime of his. One evening, he sees a man get into a car and drive away. The next day, he’s approached about the small but rather forgettable event and ends up drawn into a kidnapping case that also involves a handful of rouge mercenaries on call for the U.S. government. Unsure of how to walk away from the group he’s found himself oddly tied to because he can’t be certain that the kidnapped mother and daughter will be safe, he gets drawn deeper into the case and goes out of his way to help rescue two people he’s never met.
Oh, Reacher, how do you manage to rescue so many people in so short a time? Also, how is it you manage to always be in the right place when trouble happens? I want to be annoyed with these books because there is a huge disconnect between what happens and general reality (You know, reality for normal people.) but I can’t be. Once I let go and fall into these books, I can’t help it, I’m stuck until I find out that Reacher has managed to save someone, stop something from blowing up, or just save the world in general. I’m not a thriller reader either but these books put me into some sort of catatonic reading mode and I have to finish and find out that everything has worked out fine in the end. I say that because everything always works out fine in the end. At least that’s been the case for the books I’ve read in the Reacher series.
A co-worker of mine lends these books to me and I’ll admit there have been a few bombs along the way but for the most part, I enjoy them. They’re one off books which can be read in one sitting and you don’t have to have read them in any sort of order to understand the plot. By the way, the plot is pretty much always the same --- something bad happens, Reacher shows up, saves the day. These are books you pull out on a rainy or slow day and you just read. You’ll be entertained by the end and glad that a co-worker loaned you that book. You’ll also be tempted to write something nice about their sharing abilities so they loan you more.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Aloel
Jack Reacher was alone, the way he liked it, soaking up the hot, electric New York City night, watching a man cross the street to a parked Mercedes and drive it away. The car contained one million dollars in ransom money. Edward Lane, the man who paid it, will pay even more to get his family back.
On the trail of a vicious kidnapper, Reacher is learning the chilling secrets of his employer's past...and of a horrific drama in the heart of a nasty little war. He's beginning to realize that Edward Lane is hiding something. Something dirty. Something big. But Reacher also knows this: he's already in way too deep to stop now.
The only way to find the truth, as they used to say back in the service, is to do it the hard way. So Reacher starts over at square one. He sweats the details and works the clues. What started in NYC explodes three thousand miles away in the sleepy English countryside with Reacher striding alone in the shadows, armed and dangerous, and invincible.
Show More
Lane runs a highly illegal soldiers-for-hire operation. He will use any amount of money and any tool to find his beautiful wife and child. Then he'll turn Jack Reacher loose with a vengeance—because Reacher is the best man hunter in the world.On the trail of a vicious kidnapper, Reacher is learning the chilling secrets of his employer's past...and of a horrific drama in the heart of a nasty little war. He's beginning to realize that Edward Lane is hiding something. Something dirty. Something big. But Reacher also knows this: he's already in way too deep to stop now.
The only way to find the truth, as they used to say back in the service, is to do it the hard way. So Reacher starts over at square one. He sweats the details and works the clues. What started in NYC explodes three thousand miles away in the sleepy English countryside with Reacher striding alone in the shadows, armed and dangerous, and invincible.
Show Less
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Another day, another city. Jack Reacher is in New York enjoying a coffee and sees a man drive away a car. Unusually for him, he returns to the same cafe the next day and gets hired, again unusual for him, to find the car and driver and his employers wife and child - kidnap victims. Ever sucker for
Punchy as ever, managaing to keep the details that make it interesting without burdening the reader with excess, this is Jack Reacher in as good a form as ever. The descriptions of England were pretty good for someone who's been in the States for a while, though keeping the american terms grates when you know the local words. Pints don't come in mugs or pots either here or in the USA. However this is a minor gripe in a well written thriller.
Show More
a pretty girl, he agrees. All the way along something feels off, and only once in England does he realise what his mistake was - but has he realised in time to save the girl?Punchy as ever, managaing to keep the details that make it interesting without burdening the reader with excess, this is Jack Reacher in as good a form as ever. The descriptions of England were pretty good for someone who's been in the States for a while, though keeping the american terms grates when you know the local words. Pints don't come in mugs or pots either here or in the USA. However this is a minor gripe in a well written thriller.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MSWallack
While I enjoyed The Hard Way, I didn't find it quite as compelling as some of the more recent Reacher novels; I found myself somewhat disinterested in the resolution of the mystery. That said, while I wasn't exactly surprised by the solution and ending, it wasn't quite what I expected either, so I
Show More
did enjoy it. This was another one of those books that got better as it went progressed with the early sequences taking a bit too long. Show Less
LibraryThing member HRHBOB
A Jack Reacher Novel.
In bestseller Child's 10th novel to feature ex-army MP Jack Reacher (after 2005's One Shot), a sidewalk cafe encounter in New York City plunges Reacher into one of his most challenging—and thoroughly engrossing—adventures to date. Acting out of "reflex and professional
In bestseller Child's 10th novel to feature ex-army MP Jack Reacher (after 2005's One Shot), a sidewalk cafe encounter in New York City plunges Reacher into one of his most challenging—and thoroughly engrossing—adventures to date. Acting out of "reflex and professional
Show More
curiosity" (and the promise of a generous fee), Reacher agrees to help sinister ex-army officer Edward Lane, whose posse of six Special Forces veterans are even more ominous than he, track down his kidnapped daughter and trophy wife. Since the kidnapping of wife number one five years earlier ended in her death, Lane cautions Reacher that he will not brook police interference ("You break your word, I'll put your eyes out"). From Lane's quarters in the West Side's venerable Dakota apartment building to the shady sections of SoHo and Greenwich Village, the author's atmospheric descriptions make Manhattan a leading player, with menace lurking at every intersection. The inevitable showdown, on a farm outside a tiny English village, ranks as one of Child's most thrilling finales. Show Less
LibraryThing member bibliobbe
This is the latest in the Jack Reacher series. Others in the series to have made it into the Top 100 include Killing Floor and One Shot. Helpfully, in this book, the only official law enforcement officers are minor characters, so no chance that they could turn out to be baddies. In this case of a
Show More
kidnapping that never seems quite right to Reacher, the baddies are mercenaries with a grievance. Reacher is an amazing soldier who can, it seems, take on half an army with a couple of guns and a mirror – think Rambo with more normal clothes. Unlike my usual choice of fiction, but enjoyable for all that. This one has a number of twists in the plot, but my favourite came on the very last page. A definite recommendation for thriller fans. Show Less
LibraryThing member edwardsgt
This was my first Jack Reacher following friends' recommendations. It is a fast-paced action thriller which carries you along with the plot twists and it is only afterwards you start to think about the holes in the story. This one attracted me as it was partly set in New York City and partly in
Show More
Norfolk, somewhere I know. The NYC scenes and settings seemed authentic to someone who doesn't know the city and so were the Norfolk ones, albeit mostly not real places. A good read if you don't think about the plot too deeply. Show Less
LibraryThing member jouni
Basic storyline is simple, but told in a wonderfully thrilling way! Good guys turn bad, bad guys turn good and at the end it really doesn't matter at all. Couple nice turns and twists at the end re-build the tension up nicely.
LibraryThing member ctfrench
Millionaire/mercenary Edward Lane hires Jack Reacher to find his wife, Kate, and stepdaughter, Jade. Both were kidnapped on a shopping trip and Lane is willing to pay whatever it takes to get them back. Patti Joseph has been surveilling Lane and his group of killers since the kidnapping and
Their investigation leads them to a civil war in Africa, where Lane abandoned two of his men, both of whom Patti suspects actually killed her sister at Lane’s behest. From there, it turns to England, where Reacher uncovers a brutal truth that places his and Lauren’s lives in mortal danger.
Jack Reacher is one of the coolest characters written. A former Army MP and loner by nature, he travels the world with only the clothes on his back and a toothbrush tucked in his pocket. He seems to drift in and out of people’s lives like a fine mist, leaving behind mayhem at the very least and murder at most, but always justice. Child’s style is gritty and bare-bones and compelling. He finely attunes this thrilling read with action-packed suspense, a workable mix of amiable and malevolent characters, and the ultimate draw: good versus evil. One of the best books yet in the Reacher series. This reader looks forward to many more.
Show More
subsequent death of her sister, Anne, several years earlier. Anne was Lane’s former wife and Patti suspects he used her kidnapping as a cover-up for her murder. She puts Reacher in touch with former FBI agent, now private investigator Lauren Pauling. Like Patti, Lauren is haunted by the death of Anne Lane, and she and Reacher team up to try to find out what really happened then and now. Their investigation leads them to a civil war in Africa, where Lane abandoned two of his men, both of whom Patti suspects actually killed her sister at Lane’s behest. From there, it turns to England, where Reacher uncovers a brutal truth that places his and Lauren’s lives in mortal danger.
Jack Reacher is one of the coolest characters written. A former Army MP and loner by nature, he travels the world with only the clothes on his back and a toothbrush tucked in his pocket. He seems to drift in and out of people’s lives like a fine mist, leaving behind mayhem at the very least and murder at most, but always justice. Child’s style is gritty and bare-bones and compelling. He finely attunes this thrilling read with action-packed suspense, a workable mix of amiable and malevolent characters, and the ultimate draw: good versus evil. One of the best books yet in the Reacher series. This reader looks forward to many more.
Show Less
LibraryThing member missmath144
Another Jack Reacher adventure, read by Dick Hill. Very enjoyable (but not for the faint of heart). I particularly like Dick Hill's interpretation of the Reacher stories. In this one, Reacher is contracted to help solve the kidknapping of Lane's wife. Lane's first wife had been kidnapped and
Show More
killed, and so the plot thickens. Show Less
LibraryThing member sookmei
Good investigative story - find out how the mystery unravels on this tale of a kidnapped mother and daughter!
LibraryThing member Zare
Jack Reacher finds himself involved in a very mysterious kidnapping case – simply by being the only witness of the money exchange between victim representatives and the kidnappers.
But victim is not exactly what may be called an average family man – he is an owner of small private military
Reacher will soon find out this is not a simple case but the one he’ll have to solve the … hard way.
Great action and Reacher is as good as it gets :)
Recommended.
But victim is not exactly what may be called an average family man – he is an owner of small private military
Show More
contractor company. Reacher will soon find out this is not a simple case but the one he’ll have to solve the … hard way.
Great action and Reacher is as good as it gets :)
Recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member crazybatcow
Oh... it's the best Reacher novel so far! Nice pacing, unexpected twist, bad guys, good guys, troubled guys... and Reacher was able to fix them all up in the end!
No politics, some sex - but it wasn't detailed and only a few pages in total - and an almost believable scenario (well, more believable
No politics, some sex - but it wasn't detailed and only a few pages in total - and an almost believable scenario (well, more believable
Show More
than some other Reacher books, but it was still a bit over the top). More mystery/suspense in it than some other of Child's books, and a bit less violence. Actually, there is very minimal Reacher violence until late into the story 'cause it's mostly Jack trying to figure things out for the first 2/3 of the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Reacherfan
If you haven't read any of the Reacher books, then this is a good one to start with. As the story opens, we join Reacher as he's doing what he loves best, drinking coffee. Then someone joins him asking him what he saw the night before. That simple question puts Reacher in the middle of something he
This is such a great and easy read. The Hard Way has outstanding plot twists and turns. I HIGHLY suggest this, you won't be sorry.
Show More
doesn't want to be in. After a while, he gets involved with some people who were all in the Military, and were special forces. It seems that the leader of this crew has a wife and she's kidnapped. It's up to Reacher to sort out everything and come to a shocking truth that leads to a violent ending. There's just one way for Reacher to solve this, the only way he knows how, the hard way. I don't want to say to much more than that. This is such a great and easy read. The Hard Way has outstanding plot twists and turns. I HIGHLY suggest this, you won't be sorry.
Show Less
LibraryThing member rwt42
Another good crime novel from Child, I keep reminding myself of the half-dozen Scandinavian crime writers I've tried and what a difficult time they had doing what someone like Child seems to do effortlessly: write an exciting story, create interesting characters, and make you come back for more.
LibraryThing member mikedraper
Once again, Reacher arrives at an arbritrary destination and trouble follows him.
In this tenth episode of the Jack Reacher saga, Reacher is enjoying his coffee at an outdoor restaurant in New York. From his many years as a Military Police Officer, he's fully observant of his surroundings. He spots
The next night, Reacher's back at the spot when a military looking man with a British accent asks if he noticed anything the night before. Reacher tells him about the man and that he can describe the car. Hearing this, the man requests Reacher to accompany him to see his boss, Edward Lane.
Lane lives at the Dakota House. He tells Reacher that his wife, Kate, and her daughter, Jade, have been kidnapped. He states that what Reacher saw the night before was the man with the ransome money leaving the pickup. Lane adds that he was the victim of a kidnapping five years ago. His wife, Anne, was kidnapped and when he went to the police, she was killed. That's his reason for not wanting police involved this time.
Even though Lane is surrounded by a group of mercenaries, it's obvious that they don't have investigatory skills. Since Reacher does and because he always helps those in desperate need, he volunteers to help.
The investigation proceeds slowly as the kidnappers call and increase their demand. Later, Reacher is able to be on his own. He contacts the FBI agent who was in charge of the first kidnapping.
Lauren Pauling, sill feels guilty about Anne's death. However, Reacher feels that he can trust her so they work together to try to solve the case.
This is a fast moving, constantly suspenseful story, complete with plot twists, deception and action packed adventure. Reacher, as always, is one of the most courageous, dependable, and resourceful characters in fiction.
In this tenth episode of the Jack Reacher saga, Reacher is enjoying his coffee at an outdoor restaurant in New York. From his many years as a Military Police Officer, he's fully observant of his surroundings. He spots
Show More
a man cross his line of vision, get into a Mercedes and drive off.The next night, Reacher's back at the spot when a military looking man with a British accent asks if he noticed anything the night before. Reacher tells him about the man and that he can describe the car. Hearing this, the man requests Reacher to accompany him to see his boss, Edward Lane.
Lane lives at the Dakota House. He tells Reacher that his wife, Kate, and her daughter, Jade, have been kidnapped. He states that what Reacher saw the night before was the man with the ransome money leaving the pickup. Lane adds that he was the victim of a kidnapping five years ago. His wife, Anne, was kidnapped and when he went to the police, she was killed. That's his reason for not wanting police involved this time.
Even though Lane is surrounded by a group of mercenaries, it's obvious that they don't have investigatory skills. Since Reacher does and because he always helps those in desperate need, he volunteers to help.
The investigation proceeds slowly as the kidnappers call and increase their demand. Later, Reacher is able to be on his own. He contacts the FBI agent who was in charge of the first kidnapping.
Lauren Pauling, sill feels guilty about Anne's death. However, Reacher feels that he can trust her so they work together to try to solve the case.
This is a fast moving, constantly suspenseful story, complete with plot twists, deception and action packed adventure. Reacher, as always, is one of the most courageous, dependable, and resourceful characters in fiction.
Show Less
LibraryThing member BookWallah
“The Hard Way” is a well paced action thriller with sufficient twist and turns in the plot to keep one engaged and interested. Dips into murky world of mercenaries and gets a tad too gruesome at times. Recommended for all thriller devotees.
Just stumbled into the middle of Lee Child’s highly
Just stumbled into the middle of Lee Child’s highly
Show More
popular Jack Reacher series and this was my FIRST foray. Here is my personal evaluation of Reacher to see if I have the formula right as I keep reading. Jack is a middle aged loner. He has no possessions and no home. As an ex military policeman he developed superb observation and detective skills. As a large man he is fearless and prefers to fight with his hands or whatever weapons present themselves. He likes women, but not enough to stay attached to anyone more than one book. His idea of justice is such that the traditional legal system is not required. My prediction is that he does not have to look for trouble and that trouble will find him. We will read another and see how accurate I am… Show Less
LibraryThing member sjames78226
This is the first Jack Reacher Ive read, cant wait to read then all. Absolutely hooked
LibraryThing member DavidGreene
This was the first Lee Child Jack Reacher novel I read. It immediately got me hooked on the series.
LibraryThing member MaryWJ
another standard Reacher story - and a good guy to have in the constant series of crises which arise around him!
LibraryThing member ritaer
Reacher becomes involved in solving kidnapping of mercenary leader's wife only to discover it was a planned escape and that he must rescue her and her child
LibraryThing member sms352
Another great Jack Reacher Novel; story starts in New York City ends in England. If you like Lee Child you will enjoy this one too!
Reacher is helping a man find his kidnapped wife. It turns out this has happened before with wife #1. Lane wants no police involvement; because his first wife ended up
Reacher is helping a man find his kidnapped wife. It turns out this has happened before with wife #1. Lane wants no police involvement; because his first wife ended up
Show More
dead. Reacher hooks up with a former FBI agent who is haunted by how things played out when heading the investigation into the kidnapping of wife #1. Toss in some sister loyalty and you have a great read. Show Less
LibraryThing member nbmars
This is number ten in the crime/adventure series featuring Jack Reacher, an ex-Military Police officer from the Army Criminal Investigation Command, or CID. (He retired after thirteen years, having received an honorable discharge “with hiccups” in his career, on account of being “not a very
Jack is “a lonely man” by choice, and, as Stephen King describes him, is “the coolest continuing series character now on offer.” He’s 6’5”, 250 pounds, early 40’s, short fair hair, and blue eyes, and women gravitate to him like iron filings to a magnet.
At a New York City cafe, Jack happens to witness a kidnap ransom retrieval. Edward Lane, the victim’s husband, hires Reacher to find his wife Kate and her daughter Jade. This sort of trouble isn’t new to the husband; his first wife, Anne, was kidnapped and killed five years previously. On the one hand it seems like a suspicious coincidence, but on the other, Lane runs a lucrative overseas mercenary operation that attracts a lot of enemies. This business, Operational Security Consultants, subcontracts to contractors of the U.S. Government (many layers to help eliminate oversight). These mercenaries help fight wars in the Third World in which the U.S. wants (surreptitiously) to affect the outcome.
For assistance, Jack enlists the help of the retired female FBI agent, Lauren Pauling, who worked on Lane's first wife Anne’s kidnapping. Pauling is ten years older than Reacher but “he liked what he saw.” [Gotta love an author whose hot male protagonists find older women attractive!] They proceed to collaborate in many ways….
The story moves to the English countryside outside of London, and the tension ratchets up. It would not be spoilery to say that Jack ends up once again saving the day, because that’s his role.
Discussion: Jack is unbeatable and indestructible. He’s the strong, silent type, and seems to require little more in life than his fold-up portable toothbrush. (There’s no mention of toothpaste to go with it – probably would just bog him down….) He travels around without a suitcase, without a permanent home, and without clothes, books, a Blackberry, an IPhone, an IPad, grooming tools, deodorant, or condoms. And yet, needless to say, he knows lots of stuff, and has lots of talents.
Evaluation: Why are these books so appealing? I have no idea, but I enjoy them almost as much as my husband, who loves the fantasy of an invincible male with no responsibilities or obligations. There’s not an ounce of nuance anywhere, and yet I’ve never read a Reacher book I didn’t enjoy. (I also never read one I didn’t forget in a week, but that’s another issue.) These books are written as a series, but can be read as standalones.
Show More
cooperative guy.”)Jack is “a lonely man” by choice, and, as Stephen King describes him, is “the coolest continuing series character now on offer.” He’s 6’5”, 250 pounds, early 40’s, short fair hair, and blue eyes, and women gravitate to him like iron filings to a magnet.
At a New York City cafe, Jack happens to witness a kidnap ransom retrieval. Edward Lane, the victim’s husband, hires Reacher to find his wife Kate and her daughter Jade. This sort of trouble isn’t new to the husband; his first wife, Anne, was kidnapped and killed five years previously. On the one hand it seems like a suspicious coincidence, but on the other, Lane runs a lucrative overseas mercenary operation that attracts a lot of enemies. This business, Operational Security Consultants, subcontracts to contractors of the U.S. Government (many layers to help eliminate oversight). These mercenaries help fight wars in the Third World in which the U.S. wants (surreptitiously) to affect the outcome.
For assistance, Jack enlists the help of the retired female FBI agent, Lauren Pauling, who worked on Lane's first wife Anne’s kidnapping. Pauling is ten years older than Reacher but “he liked what he saw.” [Gotta love an author whose hot male protagonists find older women attractive!] They proceed to collaborate in many ways….
The story moves to the English countryside outside of London, and the tension ratchets up. It would not be spoilery to say that Jack ends up once again saving the day, because that’s his role.
Discussion: Jack is unbeatable and indestructible. He’s the strong, silent type, and seems to require little more in life than his fold-up portable toothbrush. (There’s no mention of toothpaste to go with it – probably would just bog him down….) He travels around without a suitcase, without a permanent home, and without clothes, books, a Blackberry, an IPhone, an IPad, grooming tools, deodorant, or condoms. And yet, needless to say, he knows lots of stuff, and has lots of talents.
Evaluation: Why are these books so appealing? I have no idea, but I enjoy them almost as much as my husband, who loves the fantasy of an invincible male with no responsibilities or obligations. There’s not an ounce of nuance anywhere, and yet I’ve never read a Reacher book I didn’t enjoy. (I also never read one I didn’t forget in a week, but that’s another issue.) These books are written as a series, but can be read as standalones.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Kathy89
Couldn't put it down. The hero witnesses a ransom drop and becomes involved in finding the missing wife and stepdaughter of a wealthy man who heads up a military for hire band of ex-soldiers. Jack who was an MP himself recognizes what they are and agrees to help with locating the wife and
Show More
stepdaughter while in the back of his mind he knows that something is off. He enlists the help of a woman who is former FBI who still has lots of contacts and was involved in the abduction of the man's first wife. Show Less
Awards
Gumshoe Award (Nominee — Thriller — 2007)