Suicide bombers are easy to spot. They give out all kinds of tell-tale signs. Mostly because they're nervous. By definition they're all first-timers. Riding the subway in New York at two o'clock in the morning, Reacher knows the twelve giveaway signs to look out for. Watching one of his fellow-passengers, he becomes sharply aware: one by one, she ticks off every bulletpoint on his list. So begins the new heartstopping new thriller starring today's most admired action hero, the gallant and enigmatic loner Jack Reacher.

About the Author

Lee Child is British, but after he was made redundant from his job in television, he moved with his family from Cumbria to the United States to start a new career as a writer of American thrillers. He now divides his time between France and New York. All his novels feature the maverick Jack Reacher, and all have been international bestsellers.

Prizes

Jack Reacher, faces his most implacable enemy yet in the new thriller by the double no.1 bestseller Lee Child .

Reviews

When a young woman blows her brains out on a New York subway a few feet from Jack Reacher, he becomes understandably perturbed. His quest to find out why takes the large and lethal Clint Eastwood-like loner back to the Cold War and reveals a connection to presidential politics in this 13th Reacher novel (after Nothing to Lose), complete with cover-ups and numerous intriguing twists. The government is hiding something, and al Qaeda wants something-but what? All the while, goons from both sides assault and kidnap Reacher and two cops who are his companions. Reacher concludes that the Pentagon staffer who killed herself had some kind of information critical to national security. As the dead and injured pile up, the ever-resourceful and vengeful Reacher takes on nearly a score of the bad guys in an exciting climax to an enthralling book that is as satisfying as its predecessors. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/09; coming in June is a debut thriller, Even (LJ 3/1/09), by Child's younger brother, Andrew Grant.-Ed.]-Robert Conroy, Warren, MI Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Enhances his status as a mythic avenger...You'll be left with a thumping heart and a racing pulse but, be warned, Chapter 63 will give you nightmares. Evening Standard Has the switchback plotting and frictionless prose that are Child's trademarks. Unlike most of the series, though, it's narrated by Reacher himself. His lone-wolf habits and brusque, technophobic decodings of the world are always a pleasure, though how he maintains fighting fitness on a diet of pancakes, bacon and coffee is one of the world's great mysteries. Guardian Read this before you read any other new thriller, as the master of suspense and action is back on scorching form. Shortlist magazine 20090430 Child's writing is both propulsive and remarkably error-free, and he's expert at ratcheting up the tension...the folks he deals with consistently underestimate him...You want to scream at them, 'This is Jack Reacher for pity's sake, he'll eat you for breakfast!' He will, you know, and that's why we keep coming back for more. Los Angeles Times A real cracker that keeps the reader involved from start to finish Edinburgh Evning News Lee Child's Jack Reacher books are among the most popular crime novels right now - the're good fun and super-tense...One of his best. Heat So good at what he does...Much of the guilty pleasure delivered by Mr Child's books comes from their fine-tuned, obsessively deducted use of data...culminates in a blow-by-blow,stunningly well-choreographed showdown...effortlessly larger than life. New York Times One of the most suspenseful sequences Child has written yet...the kind of patriotic vigilante fantasy a lefty can love. There's no doubt Reacher is kicking butt for democracy. Newsday Restless drifter Jack Reacher...invariably gets himself in to the kind of trouble that mkaes you wish Child's publisher printed his books on waterproof pages so you don't have to stop reading them after you've stayed up all night and have to take your morning shower. Child really is that good at heroic suspense writing. Philadelphia Inquirer Reacher is [Raymond Chandler's] Marlowe's literary descendant, and a 21st-century knight - only tougher. This is the 13h book in Child's terrific series, and it's the most provocative and thrilling one yet...the summer's best thriller. Minneapolis Star-Tribune

All good thriller writers know how to build suspense and keep the pages turning, but only better ones deliver tight plots as well, and only the best allow the reader to match wits with both the hero and the author. Bestseller Child does all of that in spades in his 13th Jack Reacher adventure (after Nothing to Lose). Early one morning on a nearly empty Manhattan subway car, the former army MP notices a woman passenger he suspects is a suicide bomber. The deadly result of his confronting her puts him on a trail leading back to the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s and forward to the war on terrorism. Reacher finds a bit of help among the authorities demanding answers from him, like the NYPD and the FBI, as well as threats and intimidation. And then there are the real bad guys that the old pro must track down and eliminate. Child sets things up subtly and ingeniously, then lets Reacher use both strength and guile to find his way to the exciting climax. (May) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.