Jack Reacher walks alone. No job, no ID, no last known address. But he never turns down a plea for help. Now a woman tracks him down, because she needs a hand with her new job.
Her task? Protecting the Vice President of the United States. From someone threatening to kill him.
And so Reacher, with nothing but his toothbrush and the clothes he stands up in, enters a very exclusive club at the very heart of Washington power: the offices of the United States Secret Service. Here he must literally put himself in the line of fire, pitting his native cunning, surly charm and instinctive but controlled violence against the wiliness of bureaucrats and the ghosts from his own past - as well as the brutal ruthlessness of the mystery assassin.
"For most fans of Lee Child the greatest draw is his military police tough guy Jack Reacher, who cuts through nests of bad guys like a laser-guided Arnold Schwarzenegger. To be fair, Reacher is more of a thinking girl’s beefcake - I can see Russell Crowe already angling for the movie part."
"Lee Child’s protagonist, Jack Reacher, is a hero in the Dirty Harry style, a man who lives by his own principles...Produces a surprising twist when it's least expected."
"Lee Child writes edgy American thrillers to rival the likes of Thomas Harris and John Grisham."
"Sixth in seriously good series featuring Jack Reacher…Exciting, absorbing and intriguing, with hero big and bold enough to handle the percussive action."
"Lee Child has inexorably pulled himself into the upper echelons of thriller writing with a series of tough, lean and perfectly crafted novels featuring ex-US military cop Jack Reacher…the series just goes from strength to strength as Child hones his abilities. …This is the most kinetic Reacher novel yet, full of the brilliantly orchestrated set pieces that are a specialite de la maison with the author. The action here is relentless, but never at the expense of character – Child is canny enough to keep dark shadows from Reacher’s past a key part of his motivation. And the skill that the British-born Child is so proud of – his faultless evocation of the American landscape – is the final icing on a very tempting cake."
Crime Time
"If Without Fail doesn’t hook you on Lee Child, I give up… what may be the best of Child’s austere thrillers."
New York Times
"Lee Child can now rub shoulders with the best thriller writers in the world….Child has created an all-purpose action hero who combines all the positive elements of the great detective, the professional solder and even the great Western legends, such as Shane, who drift peaceably into town and find themselves sorting out other people’s problems."
"Jack Reacher is a most magnetic creation, tough, cool and ultimately moral man who walks a very thin line."
"From one of Britain’s most successful thriller writers, outstanding dialogue, a super-cool hero and enough twists to have you reading way past your bedtime…explosive stuff."
Daily Record
"A good, edge-of-the-seat thriller."
"Reacher is the toughest, meanest and most honourable of characters, and in Without Fail Lee Child gives him his best outing yet…..This is Lee Child on top form, with more action, cool characters and outrageous storylines than any ten other crime writers could come up with."
"You cannot help but enjoy the well-constructed plot of what is a good old-fashioned nailbiting, page-turning thriller."
