The Best One Yet
5
By Lollipopshot
I didn't think it was possible for this series to get any better, but I sure was wrong. Wow. Reacher is everywhere and nowhere as FBI agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar track an enigma wrapped in the veil of a ghost. What is Reacher up to...if he really is alive. Or did he die in the explosion at the end of the previous book? Was it him who watched Agent Otto as she slept, or just the ghost of Reacher as he continues to haunt her thoughts, haunt even her dreams after...well, just after. I'll leave it at that.
Dead or alive, somehow he's involved with a whole bunch of missing money that sends this book on a thrilling road filled with twists and deadly curves, including the curves of Lauren Pauling. Finally, we get a clue as to the woman that may have hold Reacher's heart. She might even know where he is and what his game is. Or she could be as elusive as Reacher. As deadly.
The plotting is excellent in this novel, the storytelling nearly flawless, but what hooked me, as it has in previous episodes, is the oh-so human evolution of Otto into her own skin, her own power, and her place as a lead agent in the FBI. She's got her own story that is almost as enigmatic as Reacher's (she makes no effort to stop her fall), that in many ways mirrors Reacher's story. She has her fears and her scars, but she's obsessed with Reacher and acts fearlessly on instinct, driven by her determined to find and understand a man equally determined to remain hidden, and bring him to justice. But what exactly are his crimes?
A thoroughly enjoyable read, a satisfying thriller, and a complex web of characters and their fragile ties. Above all, this is excellent storytelling that touches the heart.