ONE SHOT by Lee Child starts with what appears to be a
random, rush-hour sniper attack in a Midwestern town. Five
persons are gunned down by the coldly calculating murderer
before he slips away and blends in with the afternoon
commute.In spite of being a bit of a backwater town, the
police are able to break the case through first rate
detective and forensics work and the evidence trail leads to
a former Army sniper with a troubled past named James Barr.
The suspect refuses to speak to his lawyer about the crime;
his only request is "bring me Jack Reacher". The case is
open and shut, but before the DA can go to trial the suspect
is seriously injured in a jailhouse brawl and is left
comatose. In the meantime the mysterious Jack Reacher
arrives and surprises everyone with information that
promises to put the shooter on Death Row. The remaining cast
of characters includes the DAs daughter, who is the
suspect's defense lawyer, the local beautiful news anchor,
the grizzled small town detective, a nasty cell of the
Russian mob, and the residents of small town America.
This book is definitely worth a read. Lee Child does a nice
job of putting together a story that has the flavor of the
classic police drama -- it has the feel of a very good
episode of "Law and Order" or "Homicide: Life on the
Street". If you are a fan of that style of story telling you
are in the right place with ONE SHOT. I was concerned at
times that the story was going down formulaic paths, but
there are enough twists to keep things interesting. In some
ways the author does rely more on caricatures instead of
character development, but I was willing to forgive that
since the story moved along so briskly. One negative comment
that I hope is taken seriously... if a British author is
writing about events that transpire entirely in the USA they
must use American English spellings of words. It may seem
silly, but there is something quite distracting about "Tyre
Stores" and "Midwestern neighbourhoods". Its little things
like this than can pull you out of an otherwise competent
and enjoyable read.
Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state
of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a
slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says:
You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me. And
sure enough, from the world he lives in–no phone, no
address, no commitments–ex—military investigator Jack
Reacher is coming. In Lee Child’s astonishing new thriller,
Reacher’s arrival will change everything–about a case that
isn’t what it seems, about lives tangled in baffling ways,
about a killer who missed one shot–and by doing so give Jack
Reacher one shot at the truth.…
The gunman worked from a parking structure just thirty yards
away–point-blank range for a trained military sniper like
James Barr. His victims were in the wrong place at the wrong
time. But why does Barr want Reacher at his side? There are
good reasons why Reacher is the last person Barr would want
to see. But when Reacher hears Barr’s own words, he
understands. And a slam-dunk case explodes. Soon Reacher is
teamed with a young defense lawyer who is working against
her D.A. father and dueling with a prosecution team that has
an explosive secret of its own. Like most things Reacher has
known in life, this case is a complex battlefield. But, as
always, in battle, Reacher is at his best.
Moving in the shadows, picking his spots, Reacher gets
closer and closer to the unseen enemy who is pulling the
strings. And for Reacher, the only way to take him down is
to know his ruthlessness and respect his cunning–and then
match him shot for shot...
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