Personal

Jack Reacher, Book 19

By: Lee Child

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • THE BLOCKBUSTER JACK REACHER SERIES THAT INSPIRED TWO MAJOR MOTION PICTURES AND THE STREAMING SERIES REACHER

“The best one yet.”—Stephen King

Someone has tried to kill the French president. How many snipers can shoot from three-quarters of a mile with total confidence? John Kott—a U.S. Army marksman gone bad—is one of them. After fifteen years in prison, he’s out . . . and there’s a G8 summit coming up, packed with enough world leaders to tempt any assassin.

If anyone can stop Kott, it’s the man who beat him before: Jack Reacher. And though he’d rather work alone, Reacher is teamed with rookie analyst Casey Nice. They’re facing a rough road, full of local thugs, double-crosses, and no backup if things go wrong. Reacher never gets too close. But this time it’s personal.

This edition includes the bonus short story “Not a Drill.”

©2014 Lee Child (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Reacher is the stuff of myth, a great male fantasy. . . . One of this century’s most original, tantalizing pop-fiction heroes . . . [Lee] Child does a masterly job of bringing his adventure to life with endless surprises and fierce suspense.”—The Washington Post

“Yet another satisfying page-turner.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Reacher is always up for a good fight, most entertainingly when he goes mano a mano with a seven-foot, 300-pound monster of a mobster named Little Joey. But it’s Reacher the Teacher who wows here.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times

A far reacher !

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes

What was one of the most memorable moments of Personal?

I liked the portion when the three "experts" were checking out the balcony -- ???

Any additional comments?

This was too easy for Reacher. I did like the ending , however - another meteor from Lee.

Ho-hum

What did you like best about Personal? What did you like least?

Lost my interest about halfway through.

Would you recommend Personal to your friends? Why or why not?

Not really.

Have you listened to any of Dick Hill’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Dick Hill is aging and so is Jack Reacher through him. It picked up after a bit, though.

Do you think Personal needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Jack Reacher was always an improbably character. The series peaked about 2 books back. Reacher is now turning into a predictable character without the idiosyncrasies he started with, making him...ho-hum.

When the past tries to haunt Reacher

Personal is Lee Child's 19th Jack Reacher novel. This time out, Reacher returns a favor to an old army colleague and finds himself caught up in an international manhunt for the elite of the elite world's snipers, one of which Reacher hunted and sent to prison back in his Army days. Jack works with both the CIA and British intelligence to trap the sniper being "protected" by a group of English, thuggish gangs ahead of a G8 summit.

Reacher's physicality has plenty of opportunities for display as he must disrupt three different UK gangs, all the while working through clues that are meant to confuse as much to lead to both the sniper and his ultimate handler. At the same time, Reacher trains and earns his creds with both a CIA rookie as well as an experienced, but lackadaisical Jame Bond wanna-be.

Dick Hill turns in his usual superb performance with a great range of voices at a pace that allows the listeners to fully explore the cerebral aspects of Jack's analytical approach to any and all situations.

Again ... fantastic

Where does Personal rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Lee Child has done it again! Jack Reacher will never get old as Child continues to let him evolve as a character. Excellent!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes ... knowing Reacher but also knowing that things will NOT turn out the way they are heading keeps you going.

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

Dick Hill ... is JACK REACHER. His mix of inflection is magnetic.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Bummer

Personal was a fizzle. I have read many of the Reacher novels and this was the worst. It was a disappointment. This might be due to the fact that this was the first one I listened to. The narrator used a different voice for each character. The voices for the women were creepy. They set a tone for the female characters that made listening unenjoyable. I usually would recommend the Jack Reacher novels. However with the creepy voices and a Jack Reacher that was not himself I would not recommend this book.

Another Reacher

Always fun to read another Reacher. The logic paths are strained and there is little sense of place (expected more in London) or character development. But Reacher is still fun to know.

.Enjoyable

IMHO, the story line was not on par with the others in the Jack Reacher series.

fantastic

first ever audio book, and I loved every minute. excellent narrator and story overall. recommend

it was kind of a let down

I'm used to all this action and in the end it just seemed to fizzle

Tons of fun.

This edition is fresh and fun. It reads like a movie script for a film I'd love to see!