Since hardly anyone reads this blog anyway, I think I can safely admit—without becoming a public laughingstock—that Major Jack Reacher is one of my all-time role models! Yep, I said it. Big words, I know. But anyone who reads the thriller Die Trying will definitely find themselves admiring Lee Child’s ex-military cop hero from that point on.
Jack Reacher. Role Model. Period.
My role model, Major Jack Reacher, in the second installment of Lee Child’s excellent series (which I picked up again after some 20 years and accidentally reread) finds himself in the back of a van—alongside a very attractive FBI agent. She’s been kidnapped. My role model, Major Jack Reacher, just so happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up in the van by accident. The hopelessly dumb kidnappers in Die Trying don’t just toss him out of the van—they drag him with them. These poor fools have no idea what kind of trouble they’ve just signed up for.
Because my role model, Major Jack Reacher, is strong, smart, highly trained, cunning, and more Sherlock than Sherlock Holmes himself (see: The Hound of the Baskervilles). (Just watch how he analyzes the girl at the beginning.) His sense of justice is off the charts. He’s also the best sniper around. (You can bet a few people are gonna take a bullet to the head.)
Did I mention he’s strong? (Dude, crazy strong! Which really comes in handy when you need to rip chains out of a wall.)
He can pick any lock. (Well, not every single one—there’s one that gets the better of him. ONE. MASSIVE. LOCK. You think that’s gonna stop him? Don’t worry, don’t worry!)
Die Trying – and Reacher sure doesn’t!
So, when it turns out that the kidnapping is just the opening move of some evil conspiracy, my role model, Major Jack Reacher, gets down to business: he uncovers EVERYTHING and brings this whole circus crashing down.”
Die Trying is the second book in the series, but my role model, Major Jack Reacher, is already almost fully formed. Almost, because this early in the series, he still has a few doubts and fears—though luckily they don’t hold him back for long. Sometimes he gets knocked down—but those moments only stoke his thirst for revenge even more. (So yeah, not only is he more Holmes than Holmes, he’s also more Chuck Norris than Chuck Norris.)
That said, in this book the good Major is still capable of occasionally pondering what it would be like to live a more normal life. (Not something he does later. But come on—have you ever seen a demigod just chilling at home?) And Holly, the FBI agent, is the kind of woman you’d give up the drifter lifestyle for… (Although, honestly, every woman Reacher hooks up with is that kind of woman.)
Oh, right—speaking of Chuck Norris, you think Reacher wouldn’t take him down? You’re wrong, man. If the old guy stepped out of line, he’d be toast too!
Rating: 8/10
Yes, yes, you’re right—there’s a lot of math and counting. Maybe too much. But hey, who’s perfect? The ending’s a bit abrupt? So what?! It’s 400 pages long—it ends when it damn well pleases! And the over-explaining here and there? Alright, that’s enough complaining.
Die Trying (Jack Reacher #2) by Lee Child
432 pages, Paperback
Published in 2012 by Berkley
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Reviews of the series:
Die Trying (#2)
Tripwire (#3)
One Shot (#9)
Past Tense (#23)