Die Trying

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Extreme violence, awesome force. Whoever did that, I wouldn’t want him to get mad at me, that’s for damn sure.’”

While held captive by the kidnappers Reacher impresses Holly with his calm, brains, physical fitness. He even tries psychological games on the kidnappers to gain some upper hand. Holly specializes in finance and has a resume to die for, but she feels like she is always walking in her father's shadow, a high ranking member at the white house and her Godfather is the president himself. So, Holly makes a very nice bargaining chip.On the flip side, the behavior of some of the villains did not make any sense. They had planned such an elaborate conspiracy but acted like fools at times. My “no spoiler” policy forbids me from saying anything else. The plot still seems like something lifted from an action movie and doesn’t bear much scrutiny even though it gets the job done. I was questioning several points like how the U.S. president is so concerned with politics that he turns a blind eye to a group of murderous conspiracy nut jobs who have kidnapped the daughter of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I know this was written pre-9/11 shortly after the Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents, but it was also after the Oklahoma City bombing (Which is never mentioned.) so it seems crazily unrealistic to think that the government would just try to ignore these yahoos. While Reacher and Holly spend a restless night in an old barn, Holly's fellow FBI agents are searching for clues to her disappearance. The director of the FBI is notified and placed in charge of the case. The Chicago office where Holly was assigned takes lead on the local aspects of the case, paring those in the know to just the agent in charge and two trusted agents. The investigation begins slowly.

I enjoyed this a little less than book one ( Killing Floor) in terms of plot, but that's mostly due to the fact that the whole dangerous militia group thing annoys the shit out of me as a rule. My library has got some books in the series and I shall try out a few more. In fact I am in the waiting list, for the next book in the series- Tripwire, from my library. I very much appreciated that the female character featuring in this story (Holly) was a strong, brave, intelligent woman, totally badass in her own right. She played a good supporting role.

Under normal circumstances, Holly would be well-equipped to handle herself. She is one of the strongest female characters to appear in this series, but with her bum knee, which she injured in a soccer game, she could use a little help. Reacher, of course, is there to provide it, and he and Holly together will have to struggle mightily both to defend Holly's virtue and to prevent the militiamen from accomplishing their objectives. He embraces it. Understands his philosophy implicitly, revels in his physical being,his conventions and values. He defends those he loves, those he does allow into his world, with a loyalty bar none while never letting go of the notion that he is alone and being perfectly comfortable with that. After Reacher fails to take advantage of an opportunity to escape during the night, Holly insists that he let her handle things. However, she ends up owing him when, during another stay, one of the kidnappers, Peter Bell, tries to rape her. Reacher breaks free of his restraints, kills Bell, hides his body, and re-restrains himself before the others become suspicious. Holly finally and reluctantly accepts his help after this. he’d lived and served all over the world most of his life. Outside the United States. It had left him knowing his own country about as well as the average seven-year-old knows it. So he couldn’t decode the subtle rhythms and feel and smells of America as well as he wanted to.” Awaiting Holly is a psychotic killer who is referred to as the commander by his followers. He is also building a room from which nobody can escape.

The world building was terrific. I like the way Lee Child includes all the details about things like weaponry, snipers, militia, getting out of certain situations and the physics behind certain acts. It all adds to story and the realism. Ok, I suspended disbelief and read on, but really, it was too long and too grisly for me. I quite like Child’s short, choppy style of writing action sequences, while some of his descriptions can get almost poetic. There’s a lot of blood and guts and torture, which will appeal to a lot of readers. I just like a good story with interesting characters – I don’t want to see the horrific brutality, thanks.This was so bad. I started out really enjoying this series, but I'm losing interest. It's disappointing. Lee Child writes entertaining novels – the very nature of action thrillers makes the stories unrealistic. I get that. I really do. But, what I would have preferred was a more believable plot. The execution could have been a bit better.

Still, the flaws here are the kinds of things you’d expect from the genre and not the pure stupidity of the first book. That makes me think that maybe this series is worth a read after all. I can wholeheartedly say that this book totally went above and beyond my expectations. It is a brilliant and intense mystery/thriller story with tons of action and several heart-stopping moments. If compared to the first book in the series, the plot is more complex and the characters have more depth. Surprisingly good! I can’t remember the last time I felt like my heart was going to burst from excitement while reading a book. Die Trying kept me on the edge of my seat the entire way through.When Holly's father finds out his daughter has been kidnapped,he along with Holly's staff with the FBI are hot on her trail. They have pictures of the kidnapping, but they think Reacher is one of the bad guys. The thing I love about Lee Child's writing is that it matches his protag to a tee. Short and snappy offerings, says what needs to be said without fanfare, and delivered with wit and a smoothness that only Mr Reacher can get away with. Smooth as a whistle. As cool as a cucumber. But he delivers cooler word usage than this, that's for sure. Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born. The novel has three prequels: The Enemy (set eight years before Killing Floor and published in 2004), Night School (set one year before Killing Floor; published in 2016), The Affair (set six months before Killing Floor; published in 2011). [1] Plot summary [ edit ]