Guest Blog - One Shot

Lee Child does not write cozy English mysteries and Jack Reacher is not a conventional hero. He is an ex-military police officer who has left the army and convention behind. After living a life regulated by Army rules, Reacher has chosen a life of wandering. He not only doesn’t own a home, he doesn’t own a suitcase. When the clothes he is wearing become dirty or torn, he simply purchases new ones and discards the old. He puts his clothes under the mattress at night so that they will look pressed in the morning.

This unconventional hero does have qualities that make him larger than life. He is a smart and meticulous investigator. He has an uncanny sense of survival. Despite the clothes under the mattress and the disposable razors, Reacher has appeal.

One Shot begins with a sniper shooting five people as they leave their office building after work. Everything leads the investigators to a former US Army sniper. When arrested, James Barr says little in his defense. He asks the DA to “Get Reacher for me.” In Miami Reacher hears about the slayings and immediately gets on a bus headed for Indiana and what looks like an open and shut case.

I could hardly put down the book. Life just kept getting in the way of reading the next chapter. Now that I have finished the book, I am not really sure whether Child is a good writer or not. Was it just the action? Was it the plot? Was I attracted to the characters? It is pretty obvious that no one from this novel is going to make it into the next book I read by Child. After all, Reacher just got on another bus and headed for a different city.

One Shot had a very satisfying if violent ending. Reacher found the bad guys and rescued the innocent victims. There was a sense of justice that brought me satisfaction. I am looking forward to reading another of his mysteries and meeting Jack Reacher again. Even if he is wearing the same clothes he had on three days ago.