Die Trying

“Get a problem, solve a problem,” he said. “That's my rule.”

Die Trying is the second novel in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. Published in 1998, Jack Reacher (a former military policemen) makes the Terminator look effeminate. He's what our American colleagues would call a “bad ass”. He wanders the USA getting into all manner of scrapes. Living off the grid, ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time and kicking bottom.

Having run short on cash, Reacher has paused in his travels. He is working in Chicago as a doorman when he stumbles into the kidnapping of FBI agent Holly Johnson. Thugs whisk the pair across the United States. Back in Chicago Holly's colleagues piece together the puzzle of her sudden disappearance. And so Reacher gets involved in a kidnapping plot that has massive implications for the U.S. government. As you do ....Arriving in a remote area of Montana, Reacher and Holly find themselves up against the Militia. Beau Borken is their leader, a ruthless megalomaniac intent on more than simple secession from the Union. Holly is the daughter of a US Army general officer - the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She's defensive about her family connections and has had to work hard to dispel notions of nepotism. So it's a while before she reveals to Reacher that she's also connected in a significant way with the President.Further complications only add to the chaos and confusion. The FBI has a mole named Jackson working under deep cover within the militia. But the militia itself has a mole infiltrated into the Chicago FBI team. They keep Borken informed of every step taken against him.There are also political complications too, since Holly is the President's own beloved godchild. Much against his natural inclination, the President rejects the advice of Attorney General Ruth Rosen. Rosen favours an all-out assault on the militia hideout. Instead, the President backs the hard nosed White House Chief of Staff Dexter. He is apprehensive of the political repercussions of a Waco-style bloodbath. This would make the militiamen into victims and martyrs. So, Dexter on behalf of the President instructs the FBI and Army to avoid using their full force.Unfortunately, the FBI believe that Reacher is the leader of the kidnap team. Major Reacher's old commanding officer, General Leon Garber, arrives to convince them otherwise. To the White House's relief, the events in northwest Montana remain unknown to the general American public. In the end efforts by militia survivors to get media attention are discredited due to their resorting to exaggerations and conspiracy theories.

In my opinion, this is a better tale than the first Reacher book: Killing Floor. Why? Well, this is much more a straightforward action hero story. Killing Floor had Reacher playing detective. It also had a first person narrative too. This meant that it was up to Reacher to tell the reader how awesome he is. As Child writes Die Trying in the third person other people react to Reachers actions. This makes it more more readable and the narrative is more powerful.

So, in the end, of course the plot is daft. And yes, its like something from a 1980s action movie. But its all entertaining enough despite its obvious flaws. This novel went beyond my expectations. But make your own mind up, read it for yourself!

Time to pick up a copy of the next book ....