Krishna
Another great story in the series. We have reviewed the earlier Jack Reacher books here : Killing Floor and Die Trying.
Hook Hobie had set up two warning systems to warn when danger came close (so that he could flee) since he had a big secret. But when suddenly he found himself with no running time, he decides to stay and fight.
Lee Reacher finds in Florida that an investigator (Costello) for a client called Mrs Jacob in New York is ‘asking about Jack Reacher’ in Florida. He convinces the man that he is a genuine swimming pool builder and wonders who would be looking for him. When two more people turn up asking for him and when he stumbles into the agent’s body (killed and finger tips – all of them – sliced off) he decides to go to NYC and find out who is looking for him.
Meanwhile a man with a burnt face and a hook for his hand (Called Hobie) tricks a rich man into giving him shares in his failing company and plans to take over from him. He is Hook Hobie. His agents are the ones who killed Jack, the agent and he learns that the man who is likely to be Reacher is heading to NYC, where he himself lives. He is determined to get to Reacher and find out who is looking for Reacher and why.
He saves the daughter of his boss, Jodie, who was his great friend, from two assassins in a spectacular scene and then realizes that the daughter was the one who tried to find him on her dead father’s request. She does not know why. So they set out to find out why.
When they visit the doctor he was seeing, they realize that he was friendly with an elderly couple (Hobies) and was consumed by something towards the end of his life.
They get an invitation to the couple.
In the meanwhile Hook Hobie wants to ruin the businessman and then, with the company in his hands wants to escape. He plans to bait Reacher to find him and be ready for Reacher when he comes – and kill the girl too so that all ties are neatly closed.
You learn about young Hobie in war zone (Vietnam?) , where he learnt to trade and grow rich and how he got into financial arm twisting and grew super rich but without a kind heart.
Now we see him (or his sidekicks) turning the screw on the businessman Chester mercilessly, including hooliganism and naked threats to get all his assets.
Meanwhile Reacher all but falls into a trap when they engineer a kidnapping of the girl by engineering an accident but escapes just in time. He goes to meet the elderly Hobies. They are looking for their son Vic Hobie but are being taken for a ride by an agent who took all their money and has been feeding them bullshit.
Reacher realizes that the photo is fake and proves it to Rachel, who discovers that Reacher loves him as she always did and jumps into bed with him. Reacher also learns that his friend had left a huge big house for him as his inheritance.
When the businessman’s wife Marilyn guesses that her husband is in trouble and puts up the house for listing with her friend Sheryl. Hobie comes as customer and takes her and Sheryl, after battering Sheryl takes then and Marilyn thinks fast and convinces Hobie that the company is in trust and plans to get them to escape.
Reacher is examining the case of Victor through his parents and Jodie is convinced that Victor is dead. He finds out otherwise when he goes to the forensic base of the army and meets his own erstwhile trainer. That man explains what Reacher needs to know.
Meanwhile Chester realizes that their lives are in danger as they watched two cops being killed by Hook. His wife was aware of it for a long time already and had a plan to escape by sending an investigator posing as their bank agent.
Jodie arrives with the agent and exposes him unwittingly. There is a chilling scene where Hook Hobie threatens them all and they realize they are as good as dead. When Jodie talks to Reacher, she learns that he is far away and Hook Hobie tells her that he will start on her in half an hour.
Reacher gets a coded message and is waiting for them in the front room. The last few pages where he tackles them are brilliant and in the best Lee Child tradition. The ending is nice, albeit with Reacher taking a shot in the last few pages as well.
8/10
– – Krishna