61 Hours (Jack Reacher Series #14) Book

I'm going with 3.5 stars on this one. There's only one reason I can't nudge it up to 4 stars, which I'll explain at the end of the review (with plenty of advance warning.)

Jack Reacher novels fall into two categories. One is the big city, ABO, non-stop action, heavy violence thriller such as Gone Tomorrow. The other is the small town, slower-paced, watching and waiting type---more mystery than thriller. 61 Hours is in the second category, although it does get pretty exciting later on. I'm cool with both kinds, but the adrenaline junkies probably prefer the action-packed ones.

A bus accident leaves Jack stranded in the fictional town of Bolton, South Dakota in the dead of winter. Brrrrrr! Cold and getting colder. Snow and ice and wind...and more snow. And of course, the town has problems only Jack can fix. Murders in town, a mysterious abandoned military site a few miles away, a biker in the local prison, and a midget called Plato down in Mexico all combine to give Reacher's solving skills a workout.

Less action, but a lot of fun stuff here. I loved the interaction between Jack and the voice on the phone in Washington. Also the discovery of the original purpose behind the military site. Very cool and creepy. And there's a new angle on the old drug running plot element which caught me off guard and then made me laugh at the end with its final effects on the town. We also get to learn a little more about Jack's childhood, thanks to a certain snooper.

This concludes the spoiler-free portion of my review.

***********WARNING! STOP READING NOW TO AVOID SPOILERS!**************









SPOILERS COMING.....


















The inconclusive ending was frustrating and unsatisfying, so I can't go up to four stars. I don't mind not knowing everything, but we should at least get to find out how Jack escaped from the explosion and see him exiting town with another successful problem taken care of. The last we see of him, he's trying to get out before the flare hits the fuel, and we're left hanging until October. No fair! I think Child made a tactical error with this ending, but I guess now it's all about selling more books more often.