Review: A young Jack Reacher in the era of pay phones and faxes
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 16, 2012
As familiar as I am with author Lee Child's name, I had never read any of his books until now. I usually read a couple of Kindle Singles a month, and when I noticed that "Deep Down" was the #1 Single even before its publication date, I preordered it. If "Deep Down" is representative of the Jack Reacher series, I'll be back for more.The story is set in Washington, DC, in 1986. Narrated in the third-person point of view, the story concerns a new sniper rifle that could give US military forces an advantage in combat. It's become apparent that someone is leaking classified information. The "someone" appears to be one of four women officers, all West Pointers, who are giving testimony to a Congressional group and asking for funding for the new weapon. Reacher is called in to play an undercover role to ferret out the one who's leaking information.It wasn't supposed to be a dangerous assignment: just sit in on the hearings, keep a low profile, and chat up the four women until he figures out which one is the culprit. Using his intuition and powers of observation, he soon learns the truth, but it's something far more sinister than a few leaks about a sniper rifle. And the truth could very well cost him his life as the story built to a suspenseful, violent climax.Prior to reading "Deep Down," my favorite suspense thriller character was Nelson DeMille's John Corey. Now, John Corey will have to share the spotlight with Jack Reacher. The two characters are as different as night and day - Corey's wisecracking sarcasm contrasting sharply with the laconic Reacher - but both are memorable characters."Deep Down" included an excerpt from Child's next full-length Jack Reacher novel, A Wanted Man. I've already preordered it.