Lee Child never disappoints me. Past Tense is classic Jack Reacher, with a bit of added intrigue as it has a little about Reacher's father and grandparents mixed in. On a whim, because he happens to see a sign pointing to the small town where his father was born, Reacher stops off to do a little family history research. He talks to the town clerk, visits the local library, and begins to wonder if there are violent tendencies in his family tree. Of course, trouble finds Jack Reacher, and his innocent questions about the Reacher family get him mixed up with some of the most violently evil bad guys you could ever imagine.
There's a twist at the end that catches Reacher by surprise.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. 23 books into the series, returning to Jack Reacher feels like returning to an old friend - one with his toothbrush in his pocket, pressing his pants under the mattress and eating at the local diners. I loved catching up with Jack and the opportunity to see the way he thinks again.
This book starts out with two stories - following Jack as he does some research on where his father grew up and following a couple who got stranded at a motel. Their car broke down in the middle of nowhere and they end up at a mostly deserted motel with just the 4 men who own it - who are helpful but weird, or weird but helpful, depending on how they look at it. The creepy factor slowly begins to build for them - and even more for us as we can see more than they can of what's coming their way.
I loved watching the tension build and waiting to see how the two storylines would eventually converge. This was a great read and reminded me how much I love spending time with this character - already looking forward to #24!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the digital galley of this novel.

Book twenty three in the series was just okay for me. I have been a Jack Reacher fan ever since a friend recommended the books to me and I went back to the first one and caught up. That was quite a few books ago so I have been sorry to see that I haven't liked some of the latest books nearly as much. This one is so fragmented by the dual point of view presentation that it just moved too slowly to keep me completely interested. I was over 75% into the book before Reacher even arrived at the motel where the second story was taking place. Even then the book was almost finished when he finally met the two people involved in the motel incident. To add to my disquiet, I had figured out what was going on at the motel much, much before the author decided to let readers in on the plot. That really shouldn't happen with an author as experienced as Lee Child.

I went back and forth in my thinking of whether to assign this book two or three stars, so finally decided it was a three star experience for me. I have to say I do miss having a full Jack Reacher adventure written in the style of the early books. I'm beginning to get gun shy about picking these books until I can read lots of reviews. That's a shame.

We find a different kind of Jack Reacher in this novel. The intersecting storyof a young couple held captive appears to be the driving force. Reacher’s search for his roots, intersects with a young couple, at the end of the novel. Although we know a mile away that it will be coming. It is, after all, what Reacher does. The book will be popular with many, but I am not sure how many fans will be satisfied.

Jack Reacher is back in the new Lee Child book Past Tense.

In this story, Jack is about to start a cross-country hitchhiking trip when he bumps into a small town. A town that he as only heard of but never saw before. It is the town that Reacher’s dad called home.

As with any Lee Child novel, going into this town kicks off an adventure turning Jack Reacher into a reluctant hero. At the same time, Jack is looking at his dad’s past a couple driving to New York break down at a hotel close to the same town.

Without giving much of the plot away, you can bet the there are people in town who don’t like Reacher digging into the local business. At the same time, the couple at the hotel find them self in a life or death situation. When Reacher’s quest intersects their plight, he jumps into action.

Overall this was a fun read. However, it was the slowest Jack Reacher book I have ever read. I was well over a quarter of the way into the book before there was any real action.

The dialogue was sharp and help to build tension. It takes a while to figure out what is going on behind the scenes. Lee Child again has created a local conspiracy the likes of which Reacher can’t help but unravel.

I think any fan of past reacher books will enjoy this one. Even with the slower start once it gets going the story moves and before then end becomes a real page-turner.

Past Tense will release on November 5th, 2018

Definitely better than the last Reacher book. This is back to form - or at least closer to it. Have read it three times already, and I'll admit it's made me a little homesick (NH born and raised). They say you can't go home again, and Reacher is forced to, and he deals with it in a very Reacher way.

I've read every Jack Reacher book and loved them all so I was so happy to get an advanced copy of this one. I started reading before bed one night, planning on just reading for a few minutes but ended up forcing myself to stop at 50% through the book because it was getting so late. But I needed to find out what was going to happen to the couple at the motel. I didn't find the storyline about Reacher's father quite as interesting but I like how it all came together in the end. Felt like a modern day Most Dangerous Game and I loved it.

I've read every Jack Reacher book to date, and this is one of my favorites.

Jack, still drifting, (will he ever stop finding trouble?) decides to make a pit stop in a small New England on his way to San Diego. Do a little digging into the old Reacher family tree.

Parallel to Jack, a Canadian couple is also traveling. They have car trouble, get a motel room, and it only gets weirder and weirder from there.

I couldn't read fast enough to find out where these two lines would intersect.

Thank you, Jack Reacher, for being the greatest superhero ever.

Oh, my goodness! Returning to a Lee Child book is like revisiting a cherished old friend! I didn't realize how much I had missed my super hero, Jack Reacher. There are two stories playing, both of which center around a ghost town in New Hampshire, where a Reacher family once resided. You find yourself on pins and needles, waiting for the two plots to come together, and when they do, it's DYNAMITE!

This is the 23rd book in Child’s Jack Reacher series. Reacher is in New England about to head to California when he decides to take a detour to Laconia, New Hampshire, the town where he thinks his father was born. Along the way, as always, he stumbles into trouble, this time with the locals. But he wants to find out more about his father. At the same time, a young couple from Canada, stumbles upon a motel in the same area. But the motel is much more than that. As you would expect, these two stories will converge, but probably not as quickly or in the way you would think. A typical Jack Reacher story, with Child’s typical staccato writing style. A decent addition to a series that still needs a shot in the arm to return to earlier days.

Jack Reacher's journey takes an unexpected turn when he discovers the town where his father grew up. Genealogy searches don't always turn out the way you expect them too. Meanwhile two Canadians are starting a new life and detour into the same area. Their paths cross and things are not as they expected. Jack family isn't a close one and finds out his father is not who he thought he was. Will this make a difference in future books?

I am hesitant to rate this book. Jack Reacher fans will probably welcome it, especially since it gives some information about his family background.

This is my first Reacher novel and I guess I am just not a fan. I am not fond of stories that are seemingly fantastical and I found myself skimming over some of the action. I have skipped all prior 22 Jack Reacher novels and now I guess I know why.

In the latest installment of Jack Reacher, we find Reacher in the Northeast US headed out west. On his way, he comes across Laconia, New Hampshire which just happens to be the town his father was from. He decides to make a pit stop to dig up a little history on this small town and find out a little more about his family history.

At the same time, 2 Canadians find themselves with car trouble and stranded at a motel that just happens to be in the middle of nowhere, although close to where Reacher is digging up information on his family.

This book goes back and forth between Reacher and the Canadians, and if you are a reader of the series, you know that eventually the 2 will collide. It was an exciting read and definitely kept me guessing. I love how we see more and more of Reacher's personal life in each book, as well as his strong character always fighting for what's right. The thriller, the mystery, the action, and a little bit of the gruesome brought together a very enjoyable book.

Jack Reacher on his quest to find out about his fathers family history in a small town stumbles in a bunch of fist fights that make him assassination target number one in town, and single-handedly rescues a couple of Canadians from a horrible fate.
This was a very entertaining read, yet ... wow ... everything from dialogs, characterization to happenings was amazingly far fetched. That was like a comic strip. I do not remember the first Jack Reacher (the only other one I read from this series) being quite this implausible.
But I must have enjoyed it anyway, the story was mostly fast paced, I did skim a few pages when Jack became a thinker, but didn't feel like putting the book away, which is a good sign ;)

I enjoyed this book immensely, it had a little twist that I liked. The characters are well written. There was lots of action which is what I am looking for when I read Lee Childs books. I felt like I was with them and part of the story.

Jack Reacher - you love him and you hate him, at the same time. He is such a complex character that you waver between the two. On the one hand, he is a simple man who wants to be left alone, to walk where he wants to walk and do what he wants to do. Yet he is an honorable man who wants to right the wrongs he sees. He simply must help the “damsel in distress”, because it’s in his nature. This is where the trouble starts, when he enacts his own brand of justice. Most people would call the cops, but not Jack. He either severely hurts, or kills, the offenders. And in this book, you get both. All he wants to do is visit his Dad’s hometown to research a little bit of history. What he gets is quite a bit of trouble for two very different reasons. He could ignore it all and walk away, but he doesn’t. He is the judge, jury and executioner, all in one, because that’s his nature. Love him, hate him, it’s just Jack. The supporting cast in this book is simply wonderful. Very well drawn with great descriptions and emotions, you immediately root for them. The story though, of Jack searching for his roots, really make this book top notch. You can’t go wrong with a great story. Just read it already!

Having read, and enjoyed, a number of other titles in the Jack Reacher series, Lee Child’s latest (#23) did not disappoint. In fact, I would say that <i>Past tense</i> is one of my favorites. As always, ex-military MP, Jack Reacher is on the move – this time he sets out on a journey from Maine to California to enjoy a bit of warm weather in the coming months of winter. Along the way, he gets sidetracked while hitchhiking through New Hampshire by a fork in the road where he chooses the path to Laconia - his father’s birthplace. While there, he decides to do a little digging into his ancestry.

About the same time, the car of a young couple from Canada breaks down about 20 miles away. They happen upon a remote motel set in the woods run by a seemingly nice young man and a couple of his friends. Soon the couple begin to doubt that all is as it seems and things turn downright suspenseful - and creepy.

If you’ve met Jack Reacher before then you know that if there is one thing he likes better than solving a puzzle, it is that he has no use for bullies or injustice. And he is not one to be crossed. Both storylines eventually cross and come to a thrilling, albeit a tad Reacher-style violent, conclusion.

I like both Jack Reacher movies, but have never read any of the books until now. I really enjoyed the book. The stored moved at a steady pace and was full of action. I am definitely going to get some of the other books now.

I have read every Jack Reacher book so far and now I’ve had the privilege of reading the soon to be released latest in a series of spellbinding stories. Never have I been disappointed and never have I considered any less than a five-star adventure. If it is possible to be addicted to a book series this is the one for me, and at 100 to 120 books read per year that says much. Familiar with the character Reacher still sometimes leaves me wondering about his past and this book goes far into answering those niggling curiosities. A rather stout individual of hardy stock and physically less challenged than many of us lesser mortals, Reacher seems to find trouble with little effort on his part but always up for doing the right thing he readily dives into the turbulence to right the wrong. Having a background and training as a Military Police specialist he is well equipped to handle himself and quickly disperse of any would be miscreants he encounters as he travels about just to see what makes up the country. Mind you he accomplishes this without the latest in weaponized gadgetry. He does not even own a cell phone, yet he exists. One would do well to embrace the Jack Reacher series for untold hours of enjoyable reading, but beware, these books could upset plans if you need to be in bed by a given time.

Jack Reacher lives nomadically. Since he mustered out of the military, he gives into his wanderlust. He walks, he hitchhikes, he busses. He goes wherever the wind blows. This time on a trip between one somewhere and another, he notices a town name he's heard of before. It's the small town his father grew up in....and subsequently left to join the military at 17. Since Reacher is on no timeline, he decides to take a day to find the old family homestead and perhaps flesh out his late old man's story. Along the way, he discovers not everything is as it seems, and his father's story abuts a bit of mystery. Everything you expect in a Reacher novel.
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