Pun Salad

There's a Jack Reacher movie coming out next month, starring Tom Cruise as Reacher. Color me skeptical about that casting choice, but Lee Child, the author, seems OK with it. Coincidentally, the movie is based on this book. (So, as you may have noticed, I got the "movie tie-in" edition with Cruise's mug on the cover.) I probably kind of spoiled the movie by reading it. That's OK too; I'd rather spoil the movie by reading the book than vice versa.

The plot: a small Indiana city is shaken by a mass murder. Five innocent victims are gunned down by an expert marksman shooting from a parking garage. The cops spring into action, execute a brilliant crime scene investigation, and arrest an ex-Army sniper. The evidence is overwhelming, the case is a seeming slam-dunk. But the arrestee claims they have the wrong guy. And demands that they "get Jack Reacher."

(Yes, it's page 50 and we haven't even seen Reacher yet. To make up for it, he's on nearly every page afterward.)

I thought I knew the story. Cliché! Old Army buddy Reacher rescues his pal, returning an old favor or something. Whoa, that turned out to be wrong.

As usual, Reacher is a masterful, dogged, investigator. His adversaries are a ruthless and nasty bunch, but Reacher is also resourceful and deadly. Lee Child's prose is deceptively spare, conveying a lot of mood and character in short punchy sentences.