Not Just A Gentleman

You see a woman with a crutch in one hand, hangers with clothes in another hand, and she is pushing open a door. So what does a gentleman do but stop and give her a hand. This is exactly what Jack Reacher does but he is not just a gentleman. In fact what happens next is not expected and most likely would be handled differently by any other "gentleman". The name of the book is “Die Trying” and this is the second book in the series by Lee Child.

When he takes the clothes from the lady and turns around, there are two men with guns in front of them - and another by a car on the street. This is not something you would expect in the middle of the day on a busy street. Being a thinking man, Reacher considers his options of what to do. Either he does nothing at this time and waits for another opportunity or he reacts and possibly some innocent person on the street could get hurt. He decides to wait for another opportunity.

Jack does not know who this lady is and she does not know who he is. She knows with her bum knee she is unlikely to escape from these men. She suggests Jack take the opportunity to escape when that opportunity presents itself. Jack will not leave this feisty lady to fend for herself. She is an FBI agent but this is not the reason she has been taken. Even the connections she has (her father is a general and her godfather is the president) are not the only reasons she has been kidnapped.

The lady learns very quickly that Jack is not just any ordinary guy. He displays his skills in dealing with these kidnappers in several different ways. For one, he gets the kidnappers to provide the lady with some comfort – mattresses to lay on and sit on. he realizes mistakes made by the kidnappers. He also manages to protect the lady in the middle of the night when one of the kidnappers try to take advantage of her – even though he is changed to a barn wall. She realizes he is not going to leave her alone in this situation.

The reader also learns a lot about Jack and his skills. A great example is how he conditions himself when firing at a long distant target. This description is very impressive and demonstrates the control he has. It is also interesting how he determines that there must be somebody inside the FBI who set up the lady FBI agent. He also figures out the plans this paramilitary group has behind the kidnapping. After thwarting their plans and rescuing the lady he rides off into the sunset.

Many of Reacher’s qualities make him the kind of character I like to read about. I plan to continue reading more books in this series.