Still enjoyable but not the best Jack Reacher.

If you could sum up Personal in three words, what would they be?

Villains too cartoonish.

Would you recommend Personal to your friends? Why or why not?

Despite the shortcomings this Jack Reacher is still a good read and Lee Child's writing is still way ahead of the average thriller writer. The author clearly wanted to set a Reacher story in his home country. Unfortunately the location seems restrictive. The UK is a much more intimate setting compared to the huge geography of the U.S. Policing is much more formal and centralised in England and Reacher's semi-forced collaboration with the forces of law and order makes him more of a bystander than usual. He still makes his own decisions and drives the storyline but he seems much more constrained than in previous books. The villains are too exaggerated to be truly believable; a sniper who is just too good to be true and a gangster who is physically huge and supposedly terrifying but actually comes across as not particularly bright and all too easily provoked into poor decisions.

Which character – as performed by Jeff Harding – was your favourite?

The only characters I can clearly remember from this story are Reacher himself who Jeff Harding voices to damn near perfection, the sniper who in my memory has little dialogue, the main villain who is an East London character (very different to a cockney and well voiced by Harding) and Reacher's U.S. government minder who was a bit insipid compared to Reacher's previous female companions. I recall there was a mysterious British authority figure. (Presumably Special Branch) but I can't picture him in my head and remember very little about his part in the story. There were some Russian or Eastern European gangsters but they didn't make much of an impression on my memory.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It left me reasonably satisfied but wanting more. For the first time ever when reading a Lee Child I found myself thinking of ways it could have been better.

Any additional comments?

It was a light and fluffy Reacher novel that at least assuaged the itch until the next real story comes out. Having said that I'll almost certainly read it again at some point and would definitely read it in preference to some other so called thrillers out there at the moment. Even when not at his best Lee Child still writes a great tale.

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4 people found this helpful

Good but not his best!

What made the experience of listening to Personal the most enjoyable?

Certainly not the narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

The pace of the story

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jeff Harding?

Wouldn't look for him specifically

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

There's a sniper out there and, for Reacher, its personal.

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Dissapointed

Any additional comments?

After reading all previous Jack novels, this was the first I listened to, whether that had a negative impression or not I'm not sure but I was disappointed in his story/action content.

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Back on form

I've read and/or listened to every Reacher book - some of the recent releases I wish I had left on the shelf, as they had spoiled the memory a little but 'Personal' is a return to form; at least in my opinion.
I still haven't forgiven Lee Childs for the decision to okay Cruise in that quickly forgotten film, but at least I can listen to Jeff Harding; who sounds as imagine Reacher would sound even if his East End London voices in this book sounded more like Australians.

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Great read

This book has a quality story line and was well read. Very enjoyable! Thank you

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Great Listen

This book made me excited to switch it on . The story was great ,I just love the authors thinking and strategy .recommended highly.

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Not the best Reacher but still worth a listen

Not the best Reacher but still worth a listen. A little slow in some places but I still enjoyed it.

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A really great Reacher!

I'm a fan of the Reacher series. For reasons unknown I missed this one out when it was launched. Re-visited it and Personal is a really fun read. Lots of action, fast paced and beautifully written. Child's writing is fantastic and its fun just to listen to the voice. Regardless of plot. Jeff Harding also delivers a superb performance. Very enjoyable and would highly recommend.

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Usual Jack Reacher

especially liked the UK location. if you like Jack Reacher you'll like this one. I also like the fact that he is being dragged into the 21st Century with regard to modern technology.

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another good book by a very good writer

good book read by a good and fimiler vose maybe it is a good move to get the same person to read all the books as it gives you a good feel for the books before you start to listen

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