This was my first Reacher book, but it won't be my last. It was so fast paced and action packed, exactly what I was hoping for. I will definitely be going back to start the series from the beginning.

Another Jack Reacher book, which I enjoyed. It did seem to start off a bit slow, but then it was all the regular Jack Reacher we have grown to love! I love the Jack Reacher books with all of the action and the characters that Jack meets. He is definitely not your average "investigator". But he is certainly a character and fun to read about. I found the book very well written and easy to follow. I am always anxiously waiting for the newest Jack Reacher to come out! I highly recommend this book!

Ballantine Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Past Tense. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Jack Reacher, in an effort to find his roots in rural New Hampshire, finds himself on a predictable path to trouble. Past Tense is more of the same, in that it follows a similar formula to previous novels. Reacher gets a ride, ends up in a town, finds trouble, and reacts accordingly.

At the crux of my problem with the book is the periphery plot line. The motivation of the shady characters is not apparently known and the author takes entirely too long in getting to the point. Having read all of the previous Jack Reacher novels, I knew how this one would end well before the final sentence. There is just nothing new here and I did not find the primary story to hold my interest. Readers who are Jack Reacher fans may enjoy the familiarity and the back story, but I personally found Past Tense to be a missed opportunity to give readers a look into Reacher's origins.

Lee Child’s fan favorite character, Jack Reacher, is back. He is in a tiny town in Maine looking for his roots. The home of his family may have the charm of small town America, but tiny towns like this can be clannish and Reacher is an outsider. But never one to back down from a challenge, he quietly researches his family. That is up until circumstances radically change in the blink of an eye putting a target on his back.

One of the many skills he has is hearing something wrong in his environment that will wake him out of a dead sleep. The domino effect of him investigating the noises he heard and coming to the rescue of a woman in trouble becomes his problem faster than a heartbeat. This act of kindness, done in only a way Reacher could, lands him on the wrong side of the law in a town he needs to stay in to help find his family. He understands it is a longshot, but never one to shy away from a challenge, he is determined to finish what he came to accomplish.

Meanwhile, a young couple from Canada is traveling through the area with a car that should be in the junkyard instead of on the road. When it gives them too much trouble to continue on, they are forced to stop for the night. Lucky for them it is by a small motel. But their luck soon turns bad as they find out the car will take more time to be fixed than they thought. Basically trapped in the small secluded motel, they become more and more uncomfortable. Soon it is clear something is desperately wrong with their situation. The owners appear to be keeping the couple isolated from others which makes them afraid of what might happen next.

Soon Reacher and the couple will meet. But when someone else brings weapons to the party, everyone knows bullets will fly and men will die.

I am a fan girl of Lee Child without apologies. His characters, quite notably Jack Reacher, are full of life and energy. They pop off the page with life. The perfect plotting will leave you guessing right up to the end. You will find yourself reading late into the night to see what happens next. Spoiler alert – Reacher survives the book. But of course all Reacher fans know that going in. Much like James Bond, he lives to die another day and we all expect him to.

Because Child is one of my favorite authors, I have read many of his books. My favorite is always the one I have just finished. Each time I read one of his books, I am reminded how he can pull me into the story with his eloquent turns of phrase that never intrude on the story he is telling. If you have only seen Jack Reacher on the big screen, invite him further into your life by reading one – or all of Child’s books. You will enjoy the depth of the character and story so much more. In my opinion, the book is always better than the movie.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Copyright © 2018 Laura Hartman

Jack Reacher decides to take a trip across the USA from east to west. He sees a place on his map where he believes his father was born, and decides to make a slight detour to visit the home town., maybe even the house and see if anyone remembers his father.
While Reacher is still on the road, a young couple from Canada stop at the only motel they can find in an isolated area. The manager seems OK and they check into a room. Their car is in need of some mechanical repair so the manager says he will contact the local mechanic for them. This is when things start to go wrong. The mechanic convinces them that the owners of the motel have done something to their car to make it immobile.
Reacher arrives in the town and seems to hit a dead end as even the local County records office have no one by that last name.
The young couple find that they are unable to leave the motel while Reacher continues his search with the aid of the local police.
I was a little disappointed as the storyline was good, but rather predictable.

This was my first Jack Reacher novel and I think I am hooked. The character was great and the plot really drew me into the story. I have to read the other books in this series now!

Jack Reacher is a nomadic guy who hitchhikes everywhere he goes. He doesn’t usually stop long in one place. But, he was intrigued to learn about the town where his father came from, so he decided to stop and visit.
In a subplot, a Canadian couple on their way to New York have a car breakdown and have to stop, so they find a motel that is located on an isolated road in the country. There, the car quits, so they are forced to stay until they can get a tow truck. Except that the two truck keeps getting inexplicably delayed for unknown reasons.

Meanwhile, Jack Reacher visits the site of the old mill where his father worked. He also defends a woman who was being attacked by a man outside his hotel room. But, this gets him in trouble with some unsavory characters who keep trying to get revenge on him throughout the rest of the novel.

The two plots eventually do come together and the ending was interesting. Jack Reacher’s character seems like a sort of modern day knight in shining armor type. He doesn’t look for trouble, but it finds him. He’s also very well able to defend himself, as evidenced by all the fights he wins. Maybe some of the previous books explain where he got his skills.

As a stand-alone novel, this one works fine. I think it would help a little if the reader got more background on the Reacher character, but since there are many books in the series before this one, dedicated fans probably already know all about the character. But, you don’t really need to have read the other parts of the series to understand this book. I think it was well-written and it kept my interest easily. I recommend this novel for anyone who likes the thriller genre. There was also some mystery element in the whole search for the mill site and the research that Jack had to do to find it after so many years. I think it will appeal to a wide range of readers.

Past Tense is my first Jack Reacher book but I was easily able to jump into the world and the story despite this being 23 books into the series.
Jack Reacher is traveling and see the sign for Laconia, where his father is from. Reacher decides to stop and see what he could find of his family history. Meanwhile, an unsuspecting couple stops at a motel with a very heavy and secretive suitcase. There car is having trouble and the people who live there help them. But quickly the couple find their “help” is something completely different.
About chapter 20 I really felt that Past Tense had turned into a taffy machine. Lee Child drags the story along stretching out portions of side stories that aren't needed and detracted from the most interesting story. These side stories pose no real danger or tension dragging down the pacing.
The writing suffers from the same pacing. It feels like Child is getting paid the paid by the word. Just say he closed the browser instead of describing each minuscule step. I only kept reading because I wanted to know what was going on with the couple trapped in the hotel; that was the most interesting thread in the book.
It's the couple story that seems most central and it's easy to see how Reacher's search for his family name intersects with this. This was the story that kept me reading. If I had not been invested in their story (at first, I thought it was going to be a psycho moment but expands into a more intriguing story), I would have just stopped reading.
Child gave Reacher and interesting story by searching for family history but thugs and apple farmers drag it down. This is my firs Reacher book, and will probably be my last.

I can always count on Lee Child to give me an interesting story with great characters and lots of action. I settled in with this book looking forward to a great read - and I wasn't disappointed! This book is vintage Reacher and once I banished the image of Tom Cruise as Reacher from my mind (really?!?! Tom Cruise?!?!) and pictured someone like Liam Neeson, I was good to go. Nothing against Tom Cruise, I actually like the actor - but definitely not for this character!

There are several plot lines that keep the story interesting as they weave back and forth. I guessed what the Canadians had stumbled into long before it was revealed, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the trip.

The book comes to an explosive and satisfying ending with Jack planning to hitchhike to San Diego. I'm looking forward to future tales of that journey!

Past Tense
A Jack Reacher Novel
By Lee Child

For those of us who are Lee Child fans, anxiously awaiting the next Jack Reacher episode, Past Tense does not disappoint. As with all in the series, there is a formula. We expect it, we demand it. Jack is on the road again, with somewhere or maybe nowhere special to go.

The story always starts slowly. Small things happen. Jack does not like injustice. He doesn’t like a man intimidating a woman. No one messes with this ex-Army MP. He is huge. He is laidback, but no one starts a fight with him and wins. EVER.

In Past Tense Jack sees a sign for a small town where his father was born. He decides to head in that direction. He doesn’t know much about the family and decides to do some research. A parallel story is taking place near his family’s old hometown. One with big stakes and people who will go to any lengths to make sure their secret is not uncovered. Needless to say Jack stumbles onto to this as the story unfolds.

Lee Child delivers once again with Past Tense.

Past Tense is the best Jack Reacher book that I have read in a while. The story is fresh and novel, and Jack is tasked with solving two mysteries in Past Tense, one involving his father’s early years and another about an abandoned motel where mysterious events are occurring. I thoroughly enjoyed both story lines and their resolutions and loved that Reacher was less focused on his toothbrush and clothing replacement and more focused on the cases. Past Tense is a welcome addition to the Reacher series.

Really enjoyed the storyline. Kept me entertained and as always love being able to read new to me authors.

This book has a lot to recommend it, but all you really need to know is that it's a Jack Reacher novel written by Lee Child. This time, Reacher is traveling from New Hampshire to California and delays his cross-country trek to visit the place where his father grew up, generating more questions than answers about his father. In the process, Reacher manages to get on the radar of a mob boss in Boston as well as an apple farmer who doesn’t appreciate trespassing on his property. Then there's a young couple who stay at a nearby motel after their car breaks down. There are some really strange happenings at the motel, and when things get dicey Reacher manages to show up just in time to do what he does best. If you enjoy an action-packed thriller with numerous twists and turns, or if you're a classic Reacher fan, you'll definitely enjoy the adrenaline-fueled ride with this book.

*I reviewed an advance copy of this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide a review and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source for this review.

Enjoyed this book and the plot twists. Felt for the main character who is on a search to find himself. The author develops both the plot and the characters which draws you in. Would definitely recommend this book. Look forward to future books by this author.

Note, I received an advanced review copy from NetCalley in return for my unbiased review.

Some how Lee Child can tell the same story over and over again, but make it exciting everytime. Reacher is always in one place and planning on walking/hitchhiking/taking a bus another place, but along the way gets distracted by something and stops early. Reacher then gets involved in something that he really should have no part of, but somehow it all works. Reacher also has a tendency to get in fights with multiple people at once and completely beating them up all while the police look the other way.

With that said, this book kept me entertained and up way to late at night reading "just one more chapter." Another great Jack Reacher book.

The annual wait for the next Reacher installment has yet to disappoint. No. 23 sees both Lee Child and Jack Reacher at their crackling best.

Former Army MP Jack Reacher hasn’t changed much over the years. He is a loner who travels around the United States with a toothbrush, passport, and (one would assume) an ATM card, since he has to pay for accommodations and food. Reacher often hitchhikes; he is unafraid, since few predators would try to mess with this imposing and muscular behemoth. As Lee Child’s “Past Tense” opens, our hero is eager to get from Maine to San Diego. He unexpectedly gets sidetracked and winds up in Laconia, New Hampshire, which was his dad’s hometown. Jack’s father, Stan, was a Marine who died thirty years earlier, but Reacher is curious to know more about him. He decides to look up old records and enlists the aid of, among others, Elizabeth Castle, a records clerk, and Carter Carrington, an attorney and census enthusiast.

Meanwhile, in a parallel plot line, two Canadians, twenty-five-year-old Shorty Fleck and Patty Sundstrom, are lugging a heavy suitcase. They hope to cash in on its contents and make a new start in the United States. Shorty, a potato farmer, is strong and good with his hands, but he is no genius. Patty is a former sawmill worker who is intelligent, intuitive, and proactive. Shorty and Patty are exhausted and their Honda Civic is on the verge of collapse, so they decide to stay at a motel while they rest and get their car repaired. In alternating chapters, we follow Reacher as he digs up information about his forbears, and gets into violent altercations with various thugs. Meanwhile, Patty and Shorty begin to suspect that the owner of the motel where they booked a room may be hiding something significant.

Child’s dialogue is terse and involving. He is a skilled descriptive writer who captures the forbidding nature of remote areas that have no cell service and are, to a large extent, cut off from civilization. As we have come to expect, Reacher uses his extraordinary fighting skills to maximum effect against the one-dimensional baddies he meets. There is plenty of bloodshed (life is cheap in this series), shrewd calculations--especially on the part of the good guys--and an Armageddon-like finale. Although this is a fast-paced and mildly entertaining novel, it is also too formulaic, predictable, and contrived to earn a glowing recommendation. The murky biographical details that Reacher gleans about his dad are hardly worth the mountain of trouble he lands in during his visit to the Granite State.

You just can't go wrong with a Jack Reacher novel and this is no exception. Jack is pulled back through history on rumor that his father, Stan Reacher, may still be alive. Despite his having gone to his funeral years before. What he finds in the now-defunct Ryantown is far more than he anticipated. Per usual, Jack and the natives do not get along well and he must deal with current and previous threats from Boston throughout. He also finds a previously unknown cousin is running a hotel way out in the boonies. And something is not quite right about the place. Helped a bit by a local old hippie, Jack follows his instincts and finds that a deadly game is being played at that remote hotel and returns to investigate further just in time to get in on the action. In the end, Stan Reacher turns out to be the "real" Stan......Jack's father having used his cousin's birth certificate to join the military when he is too young to join. While disappointed, Jack does find some peace in the fact that his father was indeed laid to rest.
Always thoroughly enjoyed I will admit that I would have liked to have had a bit more background in terms of the internal conflict Jack must have had since hearing his father may still be alive as well as that he felt after learning that was not.

Jack Reacher comes by his home town and gets a few surprises. The episode is full of violence as he rescues a young couple from a supposed relative. The writing is very good and the characters are very realistic. The spotlight shines on the evil men do, and once again Jack is the savior. Very good, but not the best of the Reacher series.

What can I say about the Reacher books that hasn’t already been said. One of the most iconic heros in literature today, and this one filling in the back story is better than most. Highly Recommended

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

Jack Reacher is back! I really enjoy this series… but please do not base the series off the movie with Tom Cruise because he is nothing like Jack Reacher.

The intensity of these books will keep you on the edge of your seat. You do not need to have read the others to read this one. But the series is worth the read.

In this one we watch Reacher look into his father’s life so we get a bit of his history. Reacher is a character that you will never know everything about but it is great to get a bit of insight.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.