Tripwire (Jack Reacher, Book 3)

Product Information

The provisional title for Tripwire was The Hook, but that name was scrapped as Putnam believed the title was not "punchy" enough. [5] Putnam also believed The Hook would remind people too much of Peter Pan. [6] Reception [ edit ] I have seen self-described conservatives object to Child's "liberal" leanings. This is manifested by Reacher's predilection for competent women in the military and law-enforcement. Other "objections" accrue to Child/Reacher's occasional comment on US foreign policy and perhaps to Child's general critique of the police and the military. I think Child's view, as an Englishman and as expressed through his hero, is more subtle. What we learn later as part of the twist at the climactic moment is that Reacher doesn’t actually go to St. Louis but is still in New York. Why didn’t he go? And this is the actual quote in the book: “Why fly himself all the way down there when there were telephones, and he had already built a working relationship with Conrad?”

I don't read thrillers much (except The Executioner and The Destroyer as a teen), but like those pulps, Reacher often beds an off-the-charts beautiful woman. "Spectacular" seems to be Child's favorite feminine superlative. All are uber-competent. She is often ex-military or has a current career in law enforcement. I will read the next in the series hoping for a bit more of a story but I can guess there will be a bad guy who Reacher doesn't know at first then gets entangled with and defeats whilst bedding a gorgeous female (but not defeating the bad guy whilst bedding the female – just to clear that up). The next book could decide if I continue with the series or not. I will definitely be having a break whatever happens.

Customer reviews

So we come to this show stealer, Marilyn Stone. With enough lines to garner her a nod from the Academy, she did more than steal a scene or two; I began to look forward to her scenes as Child drew her as tough and resourceful as a certain 6’5 former MP. Child’s characterization and dialogue are usually good and with Mrs. Stone, he outdid himself. The detective had been hired by Reacher’s old friend and commanding officer’s beautiful daughter Jodie. Garber had been conducting an investigation into a MIA American soldier in Vietnam, and now Reacher and Jodie must continue. I could go on and on, but I won't. Tough guy characters need tough-guy prose. To properly craft terse, tough-guy prose, Child needs a good editor. He doesn't have one.

I mentioned at the start of this review how Child had a habit of characters repeating questions constantly. Reacher is as bad as anyone else in the book about making people ask the same question over and over without answering as well as repeating himself multiple times. In fact, at a climatic point in the book when someone has called him with critical information Child has Reacher asks this person to explain it to him FOUR TIMES to be sure he understands it.A more realistic book, in comparison to all the very unrealistic things he does in this series. It's probably because this plot follows more of a crime show storyline of detective work by Reacher and lady vs the previous books he was in situations without all the info or a way to investigate through normal channels.

The prologue describes Victor Truman "Hook" Hobie's carefully planned escape route in the event of somebody discovering his "really big, well-guarded secret". His "early-warning system" consists of geographically-located "tripwires" that will warn him that he has been discovered. The first is eleven thousand miles from his home in the United States and the second is six thousand miles out. His response to their activation would be to tie up loose ends, cash in, transfer his assets, and disappear without trace. Over thirty years of quiet success have made him feel somewhat secure. But he did not expect both alerts to arrive on the same day. Lee Child began writing Tripwire in spring 1997. [4] The book was published on 15 June 1999 in the United Kingdom [1] and the American publication followed on 28 June of the same year. [2] Unfortunately, his prose is like fingernails on a chalkboard. Most irritating of all, it's not irredeemably bad, it just needs a good editor. Who is Lee Child's editor? Does he even have one? One of the joys of reading fiction is discovering new characters and one of the even greater joys is finding a character who steals the show. In film parlance, this is usually a supporting actor or actress but can even be a scene stealing bit player with only a few lines. Estelle Reiner in When Harry Met Sally did just that when she famously stated, “I’ll have what she’s having.” Supporting actor Christian Bale took over “The Fighter” and I actually had to look up the star of that film – Mark Wahlberg – because Bale’s performance was all I could remember. Likewise, Joe Pesci’s performance stands out in Goodfellas, more so than De Niro or Ray Liotta. And I cannot forget John Goodman’s portrayal of Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski, nor the actor who won the Academy that same year in the best supporting actor category for his role in Good Will Hunting – Robin Williams. The second thing that seemed to define this book was Reacher not having full confidence about everything. He seems more human in this and at the same time even more awesome than regular humans. It looks like he's wrong about a lot of things and he still keeps at it, like a sledgehammer.Okay, more like it. I have found myself running hot and cold in the Reacher series. There can be a huge eye roll factor in some of them...and there is a bit of that here. However...this one is very well constructed and the story pulled me in and wouldn't let go. He's not so sure that he wants to "own" a house - or to let the house "own him". If he weren't head-over-heels for Jodie Garber this would be a no-brainer. Therein lies an unusual problem. Okay, don't get too excited now. According to Child, Reacher is 6' 5" and about 250 lbs of hard muscle. This is what that might look like. I totally don't buy that Reacher would tell a total stranger so much private personal info over Jodie's cellphone.