The Hard Way by Lee Child ***

Reading dates: 06-31 May 2022

#1 Killing Floor
#2 Die Trying
#3 Tripwire
#4 The Visitor
#5 Echo Burning
#6 Without Fail
#7 Persuader
#8 The Enemy
#9 One Shot
#15 61 hours

My 11th Reacher out of 24 and my 4th one this year. I love the character and I understand it is really hard to maintain a series like this. The kidnap, the main set up in The Hard Way, was a bit meh and predictable. The story takes place in NYC and, surprisingly, East Anglia in the UK. While Reacher finds the usual trouble  girl, guns and does his thing, the resolution of this one is very satisfying.

I enjoyed Lee Child observing the UK’s idiosyncrasies and the differences in mood, pace and built environment between the continents. I have said it before: I think I read a lot of crime fiction for its travel writing characteristics and Lee Child never disappoints on that.

Any wisdom gained? Yes, on restaurant chairs this time:

Reacher had read somewhere that there was a science to building a restaurant chair. It had to be durable, obviously, and good value for money, and it had to look reasonably inviting, but it couldn’t in reality he too comfortable or the patrons would sit all night and a potential three-sitting evening would turn into an actual two sittings and the restaurant would lose money. Portion control and table turnover were the important facrots in the restaurant trade, and Reacher figured chair manufacturers were totally on board with the turnover part.