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| | Description | Jack Reacher is back.
The countdown has begun. Get ready for the most exciting 61 hours of your life. #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child’s latest thriller is a ticking time bomb of suspense that builds electric tension on every page.
Sixty-one hours. Not a minute to spare.
A tour bus crashes in a savage snowstorm and lands Jack Reacher in the middle of a deadly confrontation. In nearby Bolton, South Dakota, one brave woman is standing up for justice in a small town threatened by sinister forces. If she’s going to live long enough to testify, she’ll need help. Because a killer is coming to Bolton, a coldly proficient assassin who never misses.
Reacher’s original plan was to keep on moving. But the next 61 hours will change everything. The secrets are deadlier and his enemies are stronger than he could have guessed—but so is the woman whose life he’ll risk his own to save.
In 61 Hours, Lee Child has written a showdown thriller with an explosive ending that readers will talk about for a long time to come. | |
| | Product Details | | Author: | Lee Child | | Hardcover: | 400 pages | | Publisher: | Delacorte Press | | Publication Date: | May 18, 2010 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 0385340583 | | Product Length: | 6.3 inches | | Product Width: | 1.33 inches | | Product Height: | 9.31 inches | | Product Weight: | 1.31 pounds | | Package Length: | 9.0 inches | | Package Width: | 6.2 inches | | Package Height: | 1.3 inches | | Package Weight: | 1.35 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 451 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 451 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
324 of 334 found the following review helpful:
 Genuinely tense May 04, 2010
By Julia Flyte
61 Hours is a good, solid Jack Reacher novel. It's not one of the all time greats, but it's very far from being the worst either. It has momentum and unexpected twists and the tension builds slowly but steadily to a gripping ending. Lee Child seems to have taken on board some of the criticisms lobbied at his recent books. Reacher doesn't display unbelievable deductive powers, he doesn't bed any women in improbable circumstances and he doesn't always get things right.
The book is set in freezing South Dakota in the middle of a snowstorm. Reacher has hitched a ride on a bus tour of senior citizens. When the bus crashes, he finds himself in Bolton, the location for a recently built prison and headquarters for a gang of meth dealers. A drug dealer is in prison, facing trial, and the key witness is under police protection. The deputy chief of police asks Reacher to help him figure out what's going on and to keep the witness safe. From the book's outset we are counting down 61 hours to a major event, although it is some time before it becomes clear what that will be.
One of the things I particularly liked was the way that we learn more about Reacher's army background, personal history and appearance than we have to date. He develops a relationship that is his most honest and open in a long time. As usual, he is able to see things and reach conclusions that the local police can't. In the words of one character, he's "the sort of guy who sees things five seconds before the rest of the world."
Readers should be aware that this is the first Lee Child book that is not entirely self-contained. It ends with a cliff hanger and the words "to be continued". If you don't want a five month gap between installments, you may choose to wait to read this closer to the release date of the next book later in the year (it's due October 19).
148 of 172 found the following review helpful:
 Less Action A Disturbing Trend for Lee Child May 22, 2010
By Ken45140
I am a Lee Child fan, have all of the Jack Reacher books, and have read each at least twice. The power, logic, hero-beats-the-bad-guys structure has appealed to me from the very beginning. Jack Reacher is an everyman hero, and excels in logic, straight-forwardness, and of course, physical strength. His knowledge is seemingly boundless, his intuition and deductive skills impeccable, and his fighting skills unsurpassed.
Thus, it is with growing dismay that I see the action sequences, that are so evenly distributed throughout the early books in the series, giving way to less action, more talking, less fighting (physically) the bad guys, and more developing clues. If you go back and read the other books from the very beginning, you find action sequences spread somewhat evenly throughout the book. There are enough clue-seeking, puzzle-solving steps interspersed to give the entire story a great flow. Who among us does not like to see the bad-mouthing, evil guys get a poke in the eye?
So, now we have 61 Hrs following in the footsteps of the most recent three or four books: set the stage, pose the problem, have Jack talk and puzzle and work his way through the clues, and only as the pages get thin (not many pages left), do you have some real action. Action as was put throughout the earlier books.
I say to Lee Child, step back, get the 10,000 foot view on the balance between action sequences and puzzle/dectective sequences, and start to give Jack some more bad guys to fight along the way. Heaven forbid that Lee's storehouse of plot structures and ideas are getting as tired as Jack Reacher himself seems to be. Spoken as a true fan, but as one who is becoming less so as each new novel rolls out of the word processor.
56 of 64 found the following review helpful:
 A Sad Disappointment Jun 15, 2010
By Patrick F. McTernan
I've read about a dozen or so of the 1-Star reviews, and I have to agree with everything everyone has said, except for one, which I'll get to momentarily. The common thread running through all these reviews is that they are written by die-hard fans who've read and enjoyed all the other Jack Reacher novels and just can't fathom the disappointing vacuum that is 61 Hours. Even if the story had been great, I still would have found several of his literary devices annoying (the constant reference to how much of the 61 hours remains at the end of almost every scene; beginning almost every change of scene from the Dakotas to Mexico by saying "Seventeen hundred miles to the south" (had to be at least 10 times); and including pointless details about the number, size and materials of mugs, cups, saucers, and other irrelevant objects). But with a story this empty, those weaknesses were truly grating.
My only point of disagreement with everyone is that I felt the same way about "Nothing to Lose," the 12th installment in the Jack Reacher series. And when I checked back on the reviews of that novel by other Amazon readers I saw they generally agreed with me. So, this flop is not unprecedented, and it just may be that Lee Child is running out of ideas. It happens. If so, it's regrettable for him and for us, but I'll always be grateful he was able to write 12 other novels that were terrific.
88 of 103 found the following review helpful:
 "I don't like getting beaten." May 18, 2010
By E. Bukowsky
"booklover10"
"61 Hours," by Lee Child, alludes to a countdown of some sort. Initially, we have no idea what will happen when the time elapses, but it is safe to assume that it will not be good. The novel opens in the dead of winter in South Dakota. A crooked lawyer conducts some shady business at a prison and then skids on a frozen road, sending a bus crashing into a ditch. One of the passengers, Jack Reacher, does what he can to assist the injured and dazed victims until the local police arrive at the scene.
As fans of this popular series know, Reacher is an ex-army man who travels around the country with no suitcase. He is physically imposing, and his brainpower is as impressive as his stature. Wherever Jack goes, he gets involved in some sort of mayhem and this time is no exception. Because he has seen so much tragedy over the years, Reacher has become somewhat cynical and pessimistic. "Hope for the best, plan for the worst" is one of his favorite mottoes.
Jack soon becomes acquainted with an elderly woman named Janet Salter, whose testimony could help put away the leader of a large methamphetamine ring. Unfortunately, the bad guys know where she lives and have a strong motive to silence her. Salter, who is principled, courageous, quick-witted, and unpretentious, senses that Reacher is a kindred spirit and the two form a bond. Although Janet already has police protection, the setup is far from ideal. Reacher decides to guard Ms. Salter, who needs someone smart, strong, and resourceful to keep her safe--someone who can think out of the box and has the imagination and savvy to outwit and outfight most criminals.
Reacher remains as taciturn as ever, although he does let his hair down a bit with Janet. He also exchanges confidences with Susan Turner, the CO of the elite 110th Special Unit based in Virginia that Reacher once commanded. Jack's conversations with Susan provide a fascinating window into his past, revealing a bit more about what makes him tick. In addition, we see Reacher's human side; he makes serious errors in judgment, which is unusual for him.
Child scores with "61 Hours," thanks to his no-nonsense and terse prose style, rapid-fire dialogue, dramatic description of South Dakota's frozen landscape, and intense plot. There is excitement aplenty in "61 Hours," with its violent confrontations and electrifying conclusion, during which Reacher is forced to make some tough and morally dubious decisions. The finale may not please everyone, but the author shows courage and originality in not sticking to the conventional action-adventure formula. This thriller will bring chills to Reacher fans--even those who do not reside in a state where the mercury can dip to thirty degrees below zero.
57 of 67 found the following review helpful:
A letter to Lee Child Jul 18, 2010
By Reno SF Writer
Dear Mr. Child
It's likely that you read reviews of your works. I certainly hope so. You should read these one-star reviews. They're accurate. The five-star reviews are written by people who would be impressed with "Jack Reacher's" grocery list. The five-star reviews are uniformly nonsensical and should be dismissed. Sorry about that.
I used to love Jack Reacher. He was tough, smart, logical, and the stories themselves were similarly tough, smart, logical . . . to a point. That is, most of the errors could be spotted by former military personnel, people in law enforcement, and other professionals. Now, virtually anyone can see the errors (except those who gave this dreary mess a five-star attaboy). Reacher used to be great. Reacher used to be a hero. But Reacher has become silly, stupid, weak, and focussed on meaningless detail.
So, okay, that's Jack. What about the writing, the style? Well, you might try to say that style is style, and your style is your style, and no one can put a finger on style and say it's wrong. Wrong. Try this "style," see if it works for you:
Jack. Reacher. Shivered. And. Shook. And. His. Face. Turned. Numb..
He. Turned. In. Place. Then. Tried. To. Speak. But. The. Words. Wouldn't. Come..
Like it? It's just style, man. What's not to like?
But "style" can be overdone to the point of being little more than annoying, and you have reached that point. Your style, which is deteriorating with each new novel, has become one of focusing more and more on irrelevant trivia, details about surroundings and how people move about to the point of stylistic nonsense. Let's carry it about one (unfortunately) step further. The following is your style, bumped up a notch or two:
Reacher gripped the doorknob in his left hand. Grabbed the frame with his right. Slid his left foot forward. Dragged his right foot even with the left, and parallel to it. Turned the doorknob five degrees. Ten degrees. Fifteen degrees. Twenty degrees. Twenty-five degrees. The latch made a tiny click. All but inaudible. No one could hear it. Very little sound. Reacher could barely hear it himself. A very tiny sound in the stillness. Reacher pushed the door open. One inch. Two inches. Three inches. No sound. Four inches. Five. Six. Still no sound. It was dark inside. Very dark. No light. No sound. He couldn't see anything. Too dark. He couldn't hear anything. Etc.
61 Hours is full of this sort of inert, mind-numbing detail, to a slightly lesser degree, but full of it nonetheless. That's style. And it doesn't work. You should read a few novels by Nelson DeMille and John Grisham and other successful novelists who have written about as many novels as you have and who still "have it." Their style is still "mainstream," not silly, pointless, focused on meaningless details that add nothing at all to the story. And I'm aware that your explanation for this is likely to be that you are creating "mood" and giving the reader a sense of time and place. But it's WAY overdone and it doesn't work, so cut it out, huh?
Then there's logical nonsense of the kind that was generally missing from the early Reacher novels. For example, on page 225, watchtowers were set every hundred feet around the prison walls, and there's a three-hundred-yard expanse of yard, then a cluster of concrete buildings that cover an area "the size of a small village." Okay, no one really knows the size of a small village, but let's say it's a square with an area of 30 acres so we can talk about it logically. A square with an area of 30 acres is 1143 feet on a side. Okay, I'll be kind. This village is smaller, and only 900 feet on a side. How's that? And there's a 300-yard expanse of yard from the fence to the buildings. Which means we now have a fence that encloses a square that is 2700 feet on a side (and if anyone reading this doesn't get that, don't worry about it. It just means math isn't your thing.) But back to the watchtowers, set every 100 feet around this prison. The perimeter is 4 times 2700 feet, or 10800 feet, so there are about 108 watchtowers. [If the prison is actually the size of an outhouse (approximately zero area), there would still be 72 watchtowers. Probably sufficient to guard an outhouse.] But, no, there are at least a hundred watchtowers, and somewhere in the book the number of people manning the prison was given, and it was less than the number of watchtowers [maybe someone reading this can find that number and supply it in a comment]. The point is that the numbers given by you, Mr. Child, are nothing but silly babbling. Break out a calculator. Ask a math teacher to help you with these incredibly difficult calculations. And ... does it matter anyway? Yes. Not to people who hand out five-star reviews like they are leaflets for a new hamburger joint, because those people don't care about reality in any form. But when impossible things happen, the discerning reader is cast right out of the story, and it's your job as the author to make sure than doesn't happen.
How about the "bad guy," Plato? On page 238 he counts Range Rovers from the front. One, two, three. Then from the back, three, two, one. Seriously? He does this? Consciously? Is he truly a moron? Well, yes, he is. Here's why. He does this while trying to decide which vehicle to ride in (and this is a mind-numbingly stupid way to do it, but then, that's Plato), and it's said that he "never occupied the same relative position in a convoy two times in a row." This is a pattern. Plato is trying to avoid patterns. He "wanted a two-in-three chance of surviving the first incoming round." Does he get that two-in-three chance? Not a chance. He has to assume his enemies know he doesn't ride in the same position twice in a row, and presumably they know his last position as well. Therefore Plato has only a one-in-two chance of surviving a first hit because his enemies won't hit his last known position; but then, Plato is a moron so what does it matter, really?
Page 278: 36,000 pounds is "about sixteen tons." Really? Do you just toss numbers around and see which ones stick to the wall? Reality matters. Logic matters. Accuracy matters [not to those giving 5-star reviews for this novel, though, but I'm discounting them out of hand].
Page 295: aluminum ladders 32-feet long at their maximum extension and with a 250-pound rating "probably weighed about twenty pounds each." Hmmmm. It says you live in New York City. Do they have a Home Depot there? Can you find a ladder of that size in the city? Is there anyone you can ask? Is the weight of the ladder available on the Internet? Hint: there is no such 20-pound ladder in existence. Another "hint": at Home Depot, a 32-foot aluminum ladder weighs 63 pounds (internet research time: about two minutes).
Page 297: "One day in Saudi Arabia at the start of Desert Shield the noontime temperature had hit a hundred and forty degrees." Which is higher than the all-time high temperature ever recorded anywhere on Earth [El Azizia, Libya, 136 degrees], but you just toss numbers out and see which ones stick to the wall, reality be damned. Every time you do this, you lose a few more readers.
Here's that numbing style: Page 313: "He got a blue distorted view of the room. The chair. The telephone table. The stairs, the rug, the paintings. The empty hat stand. No movement. No one there. No sign of disturbance. All quiet." Then, page 315: "It was the same as he had seen it through the stained glass panel from the front. The chair, the table, the rug, the paintings, the hat stand. No movement. No disturbance." Yep, you said all that. Sad. And ... the same can now be said about the novel. No movement. All quiet. Sad.
Finally: The final explosion damages the roof of the building [page 380], which is the only possible exit point for the underground explosion, yet snow was melted for two miles in every direction [page 381]. That is pure, unadulterated nonsense. It shows that you can't think clearly about situations that require simple logical thought. How does an explosion go straight up a shaft, merely "damage" the roof of the house over the shaft, then melt snow for two miles in every direction? Just. Pure. Nonsense. [Note: that style works in small doses.] And with a wind blowing, why is the snow melted evenly, two miles in every direction?
Bottom line: Reacher is dead. I don't care what happens to him now. You have finally managed to kill him. I'll read the reviews of your next novel before bothering to buy it, but I can't imagine that I will spend the money. I refuse to waste my time with slow-moving nonsense again, not when it's so easily avoided. (And note: your recent 5-star reviews tend to gush over drivel. One- and two-star reviews tend to be more thoughtful and more accurate. Just a fact, Lee.)
And ... for heavens sake, buy a calculator, or have someone proof-read your novels who can think!
May 28, 2011: The sequel to 61 Hours is on the shelves. I've seen it, but I couldn't bring myself to even pick it up and see if Reacher is still alive. If he is or isn't, who cares?
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