Persuader by Lee Child (Reacher #7)

With Reacher, there's no such thing as too relentless.

Persuader starts with a shoot-out in which Reacher shoots a cop. Hold the phone...Reacher shot a cop? We’re off and running! I expected the rest of the story to be just as surprising and action-packed, and it did not disappoint. Lee Child kept me fully engaged from start to finish in the 7th Reacher novel. I couldn’t put it down if I tried.

This Lee Child novel switches between timelines, not typical for a Reacher story, but it works. By learning about Reacher’s past with Quinn, we get why this mission is personal and why he refuses to quit, even when the odds look impossible. Quinn is both believable and menacing, and in my humble opinion, he earned every ounce of Reacher-style justice.

The story is told through Reacher’s eyes, so we only know what he knows and what he thinks. That narrow focus makes every twist hit harder. The flashbacks aren’t filler; they give us a deeper look at what drives him.

Persuader delivers the full Reacher experience: Grit, tension, justice served hot. And not a wasted page in sight.

Echo Burning by Lee Child (Reacher #5)

Somewhere between the lies, the heat, and the horse ranch, my attention wandered off for a nap.

I wanted to love Echo Burning. I really did. Reacher, Texas, and trouble should’ve been a winning combo, but this one dragged like a flat tire in the desert. Between the endless heat, the constant lying, and a story that never seemed to hit its stride, I found myself setting it down more than I picked it up. Still, Reacher stays true to form: calm, calculating, and delivering justice when it counts. It just took a lot of dust and detours to get there.

Without Fail by Lee Child (Reacher #6)

 He's the guy who always knows where the exits are.

Jack Reacher doesn’t need a badge, a title, or a chain of command. All he needs is a mission and the occasional partner who actually gets him. Enter Frances Neagley. Without Fail tosses Reacher into unfamiliar territory: the Secret Service wants him to find weaknesses in their protection detail for the Vice President–elect. Basically, they’ve asked the wolf to audit the fence.

Reacher is the perfect man for the job. He thinks first, acts second, and somehow gets lucky, but only because his version of “luck” comes from obsessive observation. He doesn’t miss a detail, and he never takes shortcuts.

I loved the setup. It’s Reacher doing what he does best: Solving problems no one else can see. It’s also fascinating to watch him drop into a hyper-political, bureaucratic system and still make it look like he owns the place. His brain doesn’t care about titles or protocols; it only cares about what works.

I will die on the hill that Neagley is his perfect partner. No flirting, no drama, no romance subplot that eats up half the story. Just mutual respect and total trust. She’s steady, smart, and every bit his equal. Together, they’re like a tactical version of Sherlock and Watson if Watson had zero tolerance for nonsense and a black belt in efficiency.

My favorite moments are when the bad guys wake up staring into the sun and end up buried in snow until spring. It’s darkly practical and exactly what you’d expect from Reacher: no speeches or glory, just let nature take its course. Problem solved.

This book leans more procedural than some of the others, but never loses the momentum. The pacing is classic Lee Child with each chapter building the tension until you realize you’ve been reading for hours and don’t care that it’s 2 a.m. I do that a lot, don't I? But sleep is for people not trying to prevent assassinations.

Reacher never comes off as overconfident to me. He’s deliberate. Every assumption he makes, he tests. Every risk he takes, he calculates. When he’s arrogant, he’s earned it. And when it comes to rules versus instinct, I’d take Reacher’s gut over the Secret Service handbook any day. Or any agency's handbook for that matter.

If I could’ve brought one more person into this story, it’d be his brother Joe. It's a shame he got killed off earlier in the series. The two of them working with Neagley would be unstoppable. Lone wolves with matching moral compasses. Justice would be swift, clean, and probably come with a side of buried villains.

Without Fail isn’t just another Reacher novel. It’s a reminder that the man’s skills fit anywhere: On a battlefield, a back road, or in the highest levels of government. And Neagley is proof that trust doesn’t need flowers and candlelight. Just competency and quiet loyalty.

Running Blind by Lee Child (Reacher #4)

Reacher is dragged into danger by reputation alone. He trades fists for forensics in this twisty mind game.

This novel takes place early in the Jack Reacher series, and you can tell. Reacher hasn’t yet developed the social filter he uses later in life. Here, he’s driven mostly by curiosity. Women are being murdered with no trace left behind, and in a world of modern forensics, that’s impossible. The killer’s need for control over every aspect of the crime immediately made me think it wasn’t about personal rage or revenge. There just wasn't enough ... mess. It was about precision. And that made the FBI’s profile feel off from the start.

Lee Child handles the gender dynamics perfectly. I especially like that Reacher treats women as intellectual equals. His “Reacher Method” is usually a mix of logic, intuition, and force, but in this story, logic and intuition take the lead, showing just how sharp he is. He’s not just brawn with a lucky brain; he’s brains and brawn in perfect balance.

The constant movement from city to city felt more like a backdrop than a plot driver. Even though the murders happen across the country, the atmosphere stays tight and claustrophobic, as if the whole story takes place in one small, tense town. That’s masterful storytelling.

And the solution to the murders? Didn’t see it coming. Just butter my biscuits and call me George. That twist floored me. I'm trying hard to not spoil it here.

Reacher’s relationship with Jodie didn’t add or take away from the main case, but it helped explain why he can’t settle down. You can already feel that relationship coming to its natural end, even if he doesn’t yet realize how much it’ll affect him.

I loved the ending and I loved that it fit Reacher’s world. You can’t have a traditional wrap-up with an untraditional character, and that’s exactly why it worked.

The Houseguest by L. H. Stacey

Enjoyable enough, but the secret tunnels deserved more screen time.

 

After finishing The Houseguest by L. H. Stacey, I had to do a little internet research to figure out exactly who the “house guest” was supposed to be. Honestly, it could apply to multiple people. The title wasn’t as obvious to me as it probably should’ve been.

From page one, I admit I was judging Madelaine’s decisions. She’s worried about moving into Liam’s house with her little girl, her gut is screaming don’t do it, and… she does it anyway. Predictably, it turns into an almost fatal mistake. Liam gave me psychopath vibes from the start, so even after Maddie finally left, I knew he’d be back.

One thing I really liked was the house itself. Secret tunnels, hidden doors, all the classic Gothic suspense décor. I kept waiting for Liam to start creeping through the walls like some deranged Scooby-Doo villain, but nope. Since this is book one in Stacey’s “House of Secrets” series, maybe she’s saving that for the sequel.

Where the book lost me a little was in its formula: bad guy shows up, girl lands in danger, girl runs for help, good guy swoops in, cue the happily-ever-after. It’s basically the skeleton of a Harlequin Intrigue novel, complete with unnecessary sex scenes. (Yes, I skipped them. Zero contribution to the plot.) The romance was flat-out predictable, but the suspense at least kept me turning the pages.

My final verdict is four out of five stars. It didn’t break the mold, but I still liked it. And I might even check out book two if only to see those secret tunnels finally get the screen time they deserve, ideally without Captain Obvious holding the flashlight.

The Pawn by Welz Bailey

Turns out the real villain in The Pawn isn’t the killer. 

It’s the editor.

Clara Strong had me in her corner from page one. She’s a mess, sure; alcohol is a freight train that keeps trying to derail her life. But she fights it with grit, stubbornness, and the occasional bad decision. That’s the kind of protagonist I like: Complicated, vulnerable, and brave.

However, we need to talk about "Alabama". I chose this book for my 50 states challenge, but this "Alabama" doesn’t exist. It could have been set in Any Northern Small Town, USA. The conversations weren’t Southern, the voices weren’t regional, and if it weren’t for an alligator or two, you’d have no clue you were south of the Mason-Dixon. I’d bet my next sweet tea that the author has never spent more than a weekend in the South, if that.

The good news is that the twists and turns worked. Bailey threw suspicion on everyone, including a deputy at one point, and kept me flipping pages. The story built slowly but steadily until I couldn't put it down. Clara’s personal baggage also kept things interesting, especially her history with the town and her brother’s disappearance, which stoked both her drinking battles and her investigative fire.

The not-so-good news in my humble opinion is the supporting cast leaned a little too cookie-cutter, and the dialogue didn’t ring true. Add in the grammar stumbles, punctuation slips, and the word “inevitable” showing up like a drinking game gone wrong, and, well… let’s just say Bailey’s editor should’ve been the first suspect arrested. I think it would have felt less cookie-cutter if the dialogue was right, but I'll have to wait for the next book to see.

The think is this is a debut novel, and for a debut, it’s very good. Clara Strong has the makings of a great series character, and I’m looking forward to her next case. But please, Ms. Bailey, fire your editor before book two. Clara deserves better.

The Reckoning by John Grisham

A "reckoning" of my patience. Grisham lost me somewhere between endless backstory and zero suspense.

 

I tried reading The Reckoning by John Grisham, and wow. What a slog. I used to enjoy his legal thrillers, back in the days of The Firm and The Pelican Brief, but this one was heavy on history and light on suspense. I kept waiting for the courtroom fireworks, the twists, the clever plotting…and instead, I got a meandering story that never grabbed me.

Some books you put down reluctantly. This one, I happily set aside. Sometimes the reckoning is knowing when to quit.