Review: Personal

by Lee Child (Bantam)

There are a couple of fiction heroes readers have welcomed into their worlds with admiration and affection.

Some of the ones who have a permanent home on my bookshelves are Jason Bourne, Hieronymous “Harry” Bosch, Oliver Stone, and, my absolute favourite, Jack Reacher.

Lee Child always delivers, but Personal rates as one of his best. Perhaps it’s because of a change of scenery for the rugged ex-MP, or that, as the title suggests, it’s a personal threat he must face.

In Paris, someone takes a remarkable shot at the French president.

It’s so remarkable that US agencies believe there are only three men in the world who would be capable of pulling it off.

One of the men who must track the assassin down has an ace up his sleeve: Reacher owes him a favour and the drifter’s sense of honour drives him to answer a call to help.

The brief visit to Paris is perfect for Child to introduce readers to Reacher’s mom, adding even more depth to the character that so delights his fans.

In pursuit of the killer, Reacher then heads to London, where his skills and talents are once again robustly tested.

There’s only one problem with a good read like this: you can’t wait to get to the end, but then there’s a long wait until the next instalment.