Former Army MP Jack Reacher hasn’t changed much over the years. He is a loner who travels around the United States with a toothbrush, passport, and (one would assume) an ATM card, since he has to pay for accommodations and food. Reacher often hitchhikes; he is unafraid, since few predators would try to mess with this imposing and muscular behemoth. As Lee Child’s “Past Tense” opens, our hero is eager to get from Maine to San Diego. He unexpectedly gets sidetracked and winds up in Laconia, New Hampshire, which was his dad’s hometown. Jack’s father, Stan, was a Marine who died thirty years earlier, but Reacher is curious to know more about him. He decides to look up old records and enlists the aid of, among others, Elizabeth Castle, a records clerk, and Carter Carrington, an attorney and census enthusiast.

Meanwhile, in a parallel plot line, two Canadians, twenty-five-year-old Shorty Fleck and Patty Sundstrom, are lugging a heavy suitcase. They hope to cash in on its contents and make a new start in the United States. Shorty, a potato farmer, is strong and good with his hands, but he is no genius. Patty is a former sawmill worker who is intelligent, intuitive, and proactive. Shorty and Patty are exhausted and their Honda Civic is on the verge of collapse, so they decide to stay at a motel while they rest and get their car repaired. In alternating chapters, we follow Reacher as he digs up information about his forbears, and gets into violent altercations with various thugs. Meanwhile, Patty and Shorty begin to suspect that the owner of the motel where they booked a room may be hiding something significant.

Child’s dialogue is terse and involving. He is a skilled descriptive writer who captures the forbidding nature of remote areas that have no cell service and are, to a large extent, cut off from civilization. As we have come to expect, Reacher uses his extraordinary fighting skills to maximum effect against the one-dimensional baddies he meets. There is plenty of bloodshed (life is cheap in this series), shrewd calculations--especially on the part of the good guys--and an Armageddon-like finale. Although this is a fast-paced and mildly entertaining novel, it is also too formulaic, predictable, and contrived to earn a glowing recommendation. The murky biographical details that Reacher gleans about his dad are hardly worth the mountain of trouble he lands in during his visit to the Granite State.

You just can't go wrong with a Jack Reacher novel and this is no exception. Jack is pulled back through history on rumor that his father, Stan Reacher, may still be alive. Despite his having gone to his funeral years before. What he finds in the now-defunct Ryantown is far more than he anticipated. Per usual, Jack and the natives do not get along well and he must deal with current and previous threats from Boston throughout. He also finds a previously unknown cousin is running a hotel way out in the boonies. And something is not quite right about the place. Helped a bit by a local old hippie, Jack follows his instincts and finds that a deadly game is being played at that remote hotel and returns to investigate further just in time to get in on the action. In the end, Stan Reacher turns out to be the "real" Stan......Jack's father having used his cousin's birth certificate to join the military when he is too young to join. While disappointed, Jack does find some peace in the fact that his father was indeed laid to rest.
Always thoroughly enjoyed I will admit that I would have liked to have had a bit more background in terms of the internal conflict Jack must have had since hearing his father may still be alive as well as that he felt after learning that was not.

Jack Reacher comes by his home town and gets a few surprises. The episode is full of violence as he rescues a young couple from a supposed relative. The writing is very good and the characters are very realistic. The spotlight shines on the evil men do, and once again Jack is the savior. Very good, but not the best of the Reacher series.

What can I say about the Reacher books that hasn’t already been said. One of the most iconic heros in literature today, and this one filling in the back story is better than most. Highly Recommended

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

Jack Reacher is back! I really enjoy this series… but please do not base the series off the movie with Tom Cruise because he is nothing like Jack Reacher.

The intensity of these books will keep you on the edge of your seat. You do not need to have read the others to read this one. But the series is worth the read.

In this one we watch Reacher look into his father’s life so we get a bit of his history. Reacher is a character that you will never know everything about but it is great to get a bit of insight.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This review for Past Tense by Lee Child was provided for me by Penguin Random House via Netgalley. This is the twenty-fourth Jack Reacher novel. Most of the Reacher books read like a summer blockbuster, a lot of action at a very fast pace. Jack Reacher Himself is an enigmatic problem solver the blows in where ever the wind takes him. Past Tense should follow that basic formula, but for some reason doesn't or at least doesn't execute it very well. ]For the first half of the book the book switches points of view between Reacher doing family history research and a couple stranded in a Bates motel situation. During that first have brief glimpses of action take place showing the reader what could have been, but mostly it crawls on at a snails pace. Child's masterful descriptive writing is evident through out. It isn't until the beginning of chapter twenty-One that the books picks up to a true Reacher style pace. Once it does Past Tense does Become the rollercoaster thriller that we have become accustomed to. However, I think that getting to chapter twenty one is a hard ask for most readers with much faster means of entertainment at our fingertips. Past Tense is only a three out of five star read due to its average nature. If you have read them all than Past Tense is next on the list. I for one hope Reacher returns to summer blockbuster form in the next installment.

Two Canadians are heading to a new life in Florida. They get stranded in rural New England and find out they have been made the prey in a horrific game. Jack Reacher, in the process of making his way to San Diego, gets hung up in the same general area due to some old family history. As the story progresses, the reader is likely to be unsurprised much of the time but will still wonder exactly how upcoming events will unfold.

The mystery keeps getting deeper as you read and the twists keep coming. Interesting glimpse into Reacher's relatives.

Jack Reacher begins hitchhiking across the country but doesn't get far when he happens upon the small town where his father was raised, or so he was told. He decides to stay a few days and learn about his dad's history. It doesn't turn out as simple as he thought it would be.
A young Canadian couple is driving along a rural road when they have car trouble. The only sign for miles is for a motel. They go to the hotel hoping to get help, but didn't get what they were expecting.
No spoilers here, but it was a great read! This was my first Jack Reacher book, but it won't be my last!

Published by Delacorte Press on November 5, 2018

The fact that a new Reacher novel is published the day before an election is no excuse to stay home on Election Day. Get out and vote, then spend the rest of the day reading.

How often do thriller writers have fresh ideas? Not often enough. To his credit, Lee Child managed to invent something new in Past Tense. The main plot isn’t entirely original in concept, but the execution is unique. By the time the concept is revealed, the reader is hooked.

A relatively young man and woman from Canada are driving their Civic through New Hampshire when the car begins to overheat. They can’t abandon the car because they are carrying a heavy suitcase, the contents of which are a mystery. They’re on one of those tree-lined roads for which New Hampshire is famous, far from civilization, when they see a sign for a motel. Their car limps down a side road, where one of the motel owners fiddles with the car, then sets them up in room 10.

The next morning, the car won’t start at all. It will be another day before a mechanic can arrive. By that time, the couple have their doubts about the legitimacy of the motel and its owner. Their doubts are validated when they find themselves locked in room 10, their every word and action recorded on hidden microphones and cameras, as carefully selected guests begin to arrive in anticipation of . . . well, they know what will happen to the couple, but the reader doesn’t.

Meanwhile, Reacher is hitchhiking when he finds himself near the small New Hampshire town where his father was born. He decides to take a look. Being Reacher, it takes only a day before he has been in two fights and made two deadly enemies, one with ties to serious criminals in Boston. The town’s chief of police would like Reacher to leave before thugs descend on the town, spewing collateral damage in all directions. Reacher would like to oblige, but his investigation has triggered evidence that his father’s history is not what he expected it to be. Curiosity overcomes safety, so Reacher stays near the town, which is near the mysterious motel.

The motel storyline builds tension at a deliberate pace. Child weaves Reacher’s scenes into the story to add interludes of action, because Reacher is never in a scene for long before a jaw gets broken. Thus action and suspense are blended with skill so that neither the suspense nor the action become dull. The mystery surrounding Reacher’s father gives the story another dimension.

Reacher is one of the best thriller protagonists, not because he has the extraordinary fighting abilities that are standard issue for thriller heroes, but because he combines those abilities with close observation and deduction. He’s the Sherlock Holmes of thriller protagonists. If Sherlock had beaten villains to a pulp, he would have been the first Reacher. He also makes clever conversation without trying to be clever. It’s hard not to like Reacher.

But I liked Past Tense not just because Reacher is Reacher, but because Child allowed other characters to have their moments of glory. This isn’t a story of Reacher saving helpless victims, although he certainly plays that role. The victims, however, are resourceful and far form helpless. Child makes it possible for the reader to cheer for multiple characters, even for a few who are living normal, sedate, small town lives, simply because they are good, helpful people who aren’t filled with hate or anger. He even tosses in an understated love story to make readers feel good about the world, in between all the scenes of people getting maimed and killed. In the end, it’s all very satisfying, and one of Lee Child’s best Reacher novels.

RECOMMENDED

Loved this book. I have never read this author before but definitely will read more of his works. I had no clue there were other Jack Reacher novels available! It works well as a stand alone book. The jacket cover gives adequate detail to content. Characters are intriguing and their thought processes and conversations are easy to follow. I found this a quick, easy read. I can see this as a movie with Tom Selleck as the main character, Jack Reacher, as his description and mannerisms reminded me of the Hallmark Jesse Stone series.
I read this book as a complimentary copy from the publisher via Net Galley.The opinion expressed is my own. Thank you for allowing me to preview this book.

Easily one of my favorite Reacher books to date. It had everything I love about one of my favorite characters in literature inside a taut, mystery-cloaked thriller.

Excellent pacing, nail-biting tension, equally likable or despicable characters, and Jack Reacher being his usual unflappable self in the midst of it all.

If you love Lee Child and Jack Reacher, then this is one of the best of the series. Do not skip this book!

The last few Jack Reacher books seemed a little flat to me but Lee Child hit it out of the park with this latest installment. Book #23 finds Reacher heading from Maine to San Diego but he doesn’t make it far. His hitchhiking brings him to a classic Y intersection. The left road leads to Portsmouth, NH and the right to a town Reacher knows. Laconia, NH, is the town his father Stan was from but Reacher had never been there nor met any of his relatives, so he heads that way. Of course, Jack Reacher being who he is, we know there will be trouble and bloodshed soon in Laconia, and here Lee Child does not disappoint. This book gives us a look into Reacher’s history, and Reacher, the enigmatic loner, shows a bit more of a human side than usual with his interest in his past and concern for others. It kept me wondering how the two parts of the book were related and how it would all be resolved. I liked seeing the humanity in Reacher. I liked seeing how the “back of his mind” and the front worked together to defeat the bad guys. There were several other surprisingly strong characters in this book, especially Patty and Shorty who developed as the story went along and surprised me. I really enjoyed this book and would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review it. Mr. Child, I look forward to the next installment.

This is the second Jack Reacher book I've read (I started with #22 [book:The Midnight Line|33378951], which I also really enjoyed). I thought it was just great. Idk if it's a feature of the series to have two intertwining plot lines (prob not going back to find out, tbh, I do have my limits), but that is always one of my favorite literary devices, especially in a thriller, where it allows for multiple mini-cliffhangers. Both plots were interesting, suspenseful and well laid out, although I was disappointed to see Jack doing his genealogical research at the town clerk's office and not the library (note to author: librarians buy way more copies of your books than town clerks do). Jack himself seems less a character than a force of nature, implacable, obdurate, laconic and relentless. O ye lesser villains, why do you even bother submitting yourself to being swatted like so many flies, in such entertaining and endlessly inventive ways? Meanwhile, Patty and Shorty, the hapless hero and heroine of storyline 2, are pretty darn charming. Patty's clever, resourceful and downright plucky persistence makes the challenges the duo face as enjoyable as they are creepy, and you will be rooting for her all the way. Again, I was surprised at the poetic and lyrical way the author creates a physical and emotional world that draws you in, and makes the mythic character of Reacher relatable and realistic (okay, mostly). I appreciate having been able to read an e-ARC of this title, courtesy of publisher Delacorte Press, via Netgalley.

As always Lee Childs keeps you enthralled from the first line to the end of the book. Character development is great and plot/story line holds your interest so you are waiting to see what happens next.

When you come to a crossroads, should you really go the road less travelled? I am thinking a few people in this story may not think so! This is the second LC book that I have read and it is good! I love the writing style and how it is as though I am in the story talking to Jack. Whether you like the action, the intelligence/analysis aspect, the intrigue, the military, the wanderer, etc., I think you should check this story out! As I mentioned I have only read two of the Jack Reacher stories and I do not feel that I was missing any background that was necessary for this story.

There is a balance of common sense, street smarts and analytical thinking that is present in the story that I appreciate. There is one part where he is explaining his concerns and discussing how the front part of his head versus the back part or what I consider the “gut” feeling says. This story kept me captivated as well because there is more than one story going on from the beginning and I felt I knew how they would intersect, and I was partially correct, but I also enjoyed how the two stories also stayed separate. Jack has a very interesting family background and view which is a theme that is appears in this story with several different interactions and discoveries.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lee Child and Delacorte Press for the chance to read this book and share my opinions!

Another great Jack Reacher novel. These novels just get better and better. This is my go-to series to read over and over again!

Once again when I think that this series is finally going to get old it does not disappoint. Reacher is in Maine and when is dropped off by a man giving him a ride he finds a name of a town that jars a memory from his past. His father said he was from this town, but as you get further into the story you find more secrets about his father and from an incident in the 40’s during the war. Wondering about all of this continues to push him to find out what the truth is. Meanwhile, the other part of the book has a couple from Canada, Patty, and Shorty. They get stuck in a remote town, but really a motel. They don’t know that they have fallen into a trap until it is too late. Eventually, Reacher crosses paths with the two of them during their ordeal and he helps them to be on their way, but the action before that with the two of them is very good. Along with Reacher who once again goes back to the town he has been told not to go too. He is still searching for answers, and they help in a way to describe the character he has become. Another excellent book in this series and very much a must read. I received this book from Netgally.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

Once again when I think that this series is finally going to get old it does not disappoint. Reacher is in Maine and when is dropped off by a man giving him a ride he finds a name of a town that jars a memory from his past. His father said he was from this town, but as you get further into the story you find more secrets about his father and from an incident in the 40’s during the war. Wondering about all of this continues to push him to find out what the truth is. Meanwhile the other part of the book has a couple from Canada, Patty and Shorty. They get stuck in a remote town, but really a motel. They don’t know that they have fallen into a trap until it is too late. Eventually Reacher crosses paths with the two of them during their ordeal and he helps them to be on their way, but the action before that with the two of them is very good. Along with Reacher who once again goes back to the town he has been told not to go too. He is still searching for answers, and they help in a way describe the character he has become. Another excellent book in this series and very much a must read.

A different, more mellow and reserved Reacher book. Not a bad thing and it might attract more fans as a result but those that follow the series will need to warm up to it a bit.