Jack Reacher books - any good?

[AnonYonimousBird]

I know I am late to the party, but I keep hearing about JR books - are they for kids/teens, or are they "grown up" books?

And, furthermore, are they actually any good or just holiday/beach fodder to read with only one eye open? I genuinely know nothing about them and as the name keeps popping up I am interested to know!

Looking for some reading material for DH for over the holidays, he always leaves it til the last minute and I suspect deepest rural France may not have a massive supply of books in English!

I love them !
definitely for adult or late teens since they are quite violent.
Jack is an ex US Army major,, now a drifter who travels round the USA odd jobbing and crime solving. I like the way every novel is set in a different location. Jack travel light with a Toothbrush and a debit card and little else.

I find them compulsive reading. I you like crime/ action/ thrillers then they make great holiday reading. Knock spots off James Patterson, I don't like his style at all. Too predictable.

I am also a great fan of Elmore Leonard.

There is also a film starring Tom Cruise but I don't think it was very good. TC not right for the title role. jack is a very hard man.

Hope you enjoy.

Yes, I reckon your DH will enjoy them.

I love, love, love Jack Reacher. He can kill a man with his bare hands but seems to be quite hot in the sack too

Both attributes which I would not think apply to Tom Cruise.....

Portofino - I'm with you there!

Well, I think I may get one (do you need to read them in order???) and see what we think.

Thanks all.

I love Jack Reacher. The first one is Killing Floor, but each one is stand alone so you don't have to read them in order. Because he is a loner and he travels, each book has a different location and a different cast of characters.

You're going to read one and you're going to love it and then you'll be so happy that there are 16 more books to read.

Love 'em! Originally bought one several years ago in a supermarket for DH to read on hols. We ended up ripping it in half so he could start reading it before I finished Sheer escapism, each year I buy two copies of the latest for DH & I to read on the first night of pour hols, and now that DS (15) has nearly caught up with the backlog, this year will be 3 copies

A guilty pleasure, like eating your kids Easter eggs in my opinion (not the most amazing quality but satisfying).

I enjoyed reading them but thought it a bit far fetched that an army veteran drifter would be given such a free reign in a town to solve a crime.

I've just finished the fourth (The Visitor). The first three were absolutely brilliant. I just couldn't put them down.

This last one not so good I think. Could be a need a break for a while though.

Really though they are very good. Some things you have to suspend your belief for ie Jack never seems to change his clothes or own anything other than a toothbrush. Secondly that he honed his superpower skills in the military police. Bit unlikely, but hey who cares...!? He's such a hero .

My dh never reads books until we go on holiday then 0n day 7 when he's run out of magazines and old papers he starts moaning about wishing he'd brought a book. This year I have a copy of The Killing Floor hidden away for him and I think he'll love it.

I read half the first one and got bored clearly i'm in the minority though. When i'm through with my current SK obsession may revisit.

I read a good book which seems similar called covenant by dean crawford... might be more similar to dan brown anyway i thoughtvit was good :)

I love them but never read them one after the other as they are very similar. I love Jack's thinking skills and logic. It's probably a load of old rubbish but it sounds brilliant to me! Fantastic body as well Each book I read I get slightly bored near the end where the final showdown is related in laborious detail so I skip that and get to the part where he's won the battle and all the bad people are dead and the good people who are still alive (there are always a couple of casualties) are returned to normality and he gets back on the road again.

Definitely light reading though.

Fab! I got my first one at Heathrow. They are easy reading

Far better than the rubbishy film

I love them. You could also try David Baldacci, I'm working my way through him at the mo. I find them a bit slow to start, then impossible to put down.

I've read all of them now, some are definitely better than others, although I did swear I wouldn't buy any more when Lee Child sold out to Tom Cruise. Seriously, how the fuck did he give the ok for that casting!

Worth dying for probably my favourite out of them all

I read the first one and then the last one and now I am desperate for the August release one which sounds fantastic and different. I think anymore would be overload, like Harlan Coben ( who I love but have to space out)

Out of interest which actor do you imagine Reacher to look like?

Liam Neeson is pretty much how he looks in my head. The film Taken was very Jack Reacher in style I thought.

Not an actor but in my head he's Martin Johnson (ex England rugby player) In terms of size, build and looks

I prefer the earlier novels to be honest. I used to buy each book as soon as it came out but have found the last couple a bit disappointing. They seem to have lots of descriptive page filling rather than the story lines from the earlier books

Agree about Tom Cruise. Refused to watch the film. Also thought they would have been better with Killing Floor or a more action packed book to make into the first film

Thanks all, sounds like if I get DH the first three say, then that should see him through a holiday quite nicely!

Either Liam Neeson or Martin Johnson is fine by me...... . So glad you said that, otherwise that dweeb TC would have been stuck in my memory!

Couldn't resist, first one ordered to arrive tomorrow!!

He'll love them:) my favourite is " the hard way" but they are all good and quite addictive.

Don't be put off by Tom cruise and I notice the books have been released with pics of Tom on the cover. This would put anyone off- maybe you could cover them with nice paper instead:)

AnonYonimousBird - he will be your slave forever!