WORTH DYING FOR - Lee Child - Bantam - $39.99

Diehard fans of Lee Child’s tough guy Jack Reacher know that this is the first time that there have been two books featuring their favourite character in the one year. This is book number 15.
The previous title 61 Hours was published in April this year and Lee Child made a promotional visit to NZ at that time drawing big crowds wherever he went. That earlier title has sold over 43,000 copies in NZ, a huge number by any standards.

Lee Child (pic left) told me when he was here in April that his books sell more per capita here than anywhere else in the world. This new title released only a week ago has already sold more than 8000 copies in NZ . Amazing figures really.

At the end of 61 Hours Jack Reacher was trapped in an inferno and was racing up many flights of stairs trying to escape. Well we now know he got out but at the opening of this new story just a few days after the conclusion of the last one we find he has suffered some fairly severe injuries and he is as mad as hell about it.

He’s hitching through the deepest, remotest Nebraska, is dropped off at a cross roads and finds himself at a remote motel where the only other guest, the local doctor is slowly drinking himself into stupor. It soon becomes clear to Reacher that something is not right in this part of the country with everyone, including the drunk doctor, terrified into submission by the local Duncan family.

Reacher of course should just move on but that is not his style, he can’t leave it alone and before long he is totally embroiled and when he learns of an unsolved case of a missing eight year old girl he knows he must solve the case. Classic Reacher stuff of course, The Duncans want him out of the picture of course, preferably dead, and before long Reacher is even more battered and bruised than when he arrived.
Can’t say too much more without giving the story away but needless to say it is a cleverly complicated plot and Jack Reacher is in scary tough form.

Footnote:
I reviewed this title with Kathryn Ryan on Radio NZ National this morning.