Jack in the Green (The Hunt for Jack Reacher Series Book 5)

Somehow, the heroine Kim Otto comes across as a bit of a whiner. I just didn't find her as likeable a person as Reacher is. Their suspiciousness is grating. The character of the unknown and sinister boss who is within the FBI strikes me as being forced and unlikely. It comes across as improbable.

Further, for me the writing came across as a bit loose. Lee Child is almost Hemingway-esque in his terseness and the compact and clear quality of his sentences along with simplicity of his English. In comparison - and though comparisons maybe odious in this case, considering that her inspiration is Lee Child - Capri's writing is flabby and dissolute.

The plot swings along and she obviously has struck a good thing, because until Mr. Child decides to kill Reacher (as Canon-Doyle killed Sherlock Holmes) the agents can keep up their chase.

Perfect sentences, perfect verb tenses, realistic dialogue, and perfect editing - a writing teacher cannot ask for anything more perfect than this book! And, I quite forgot, it is a humdinger of a story. Maybe it is short a cuss word, or two, and maybe it could have been a little longer, but, for $3.99, or $13.99, there are few books that can beat this for quality. A wonderful read.

Continuing the theme from the previous novellas Otto and Gaspar, an unlikely duo of partnered FBI agents, arrive to interview Colonel Weston - an army veteran who served a long prison sentence, [after Jack Reacher had him convicted] for complicity in the murder of his wife and their three children many years before.
Blaming Reacher for his downfall, Weston plans to trap his nemesis at a military memorial service using himself as bait, not caring if he dies too; he's a dead man walking from terminal cancer anyway!
Otto and Gaspar have been covertly sent by their boss to catch up with Reacher if possible, while officially they're there to interview Weston and get his confession that the elusive Jack was right about his guilt.
Both these aims prove impossible for most of the book, (that I received this free download of) as Weston and his about to be ex-(second) wife are injured in the fracas and subsequently both murdered [by the first wife's brother, a doctor at the hospital Weston requested specifically they be taken to].
It is only as this chapter of the series draws to a close, that Weston's taped confession - complete with what seems to be a final comment from the still-invisible Reacher - is played to the stunned agents by the wife's solicitor.
There are many clever twists to the tale and Jack's part in the story is cunningly woven as a thread throughout the rich tapestry of words, displayed to best advantage by the skilful author who is Diane Capri!

I enjoy Lee Childs’ Jack Reacher novels, but I wondered how a tie-in series would work. Diane Capri’s Jack in the Green is a short novella set around characters and events from the classic series, and introduces two FBI agents tasked with finding/stopping Jack Reacher… except he may be the good guy not the bad guy… and maybe he’s not the one causing murder and mayhem after all. It's a fascinating premise, powered by two well-drawn characters, and an enjoyable read.

The story’s short and simple, the characters are convincing, and the plot nicely drawn. It’s not hard to stay at least level with the protagonists in solving the case, and it’s moderately disappointing that it’s all over so soon… but then it makes me want to read the corresponding Lee Child book. Which proves it's a great tie-in I guess.

Disclosure: I won an ecopy somehow (can’t remember how) and enjoyed it.

Book # 5, in the Hunt for Jack Reacher series

This complementary book was a free offer when singing up to Ms. Capri’s newsletter and was my introduction to the author as well as with the series. Although “Jack in the Green” may be the 5th novel in the series I stepped comfortable right into the drama and enjoyed this short story (90 pages) quite a bit. It was a good teaser to continued reading Ms. Capri’s imaginative creations.

Indeed we are talking about the famous Jack Reacher, the long-time protagonist of the best-selling author Lee Child but Ms. Capri spins a totally different web, of course it is around the famous character although in the drama he is only mentioned and never appears. The main players are FBI Agents Kim Otto& Carlos Gaspar and in “Jack in the Green” information of the whereabouts of Reacher leads them at a memorial service honoring dead and injured soldiers in Tampa, FLA. And then the action begins…….

Ok I will not go any further, we need to read this. It is a fun concept, lots of intrigue to keep us entertained although slightly predictable action. Let’s not forget a novella needs to say a lot in a few words and a thriller needs to keep us engaged, this book does both plus gives us an interesting plot that keeps going on and good characters to root for.

Good story, “This is the way I see it” my thoughts are mine and have not be influenced by the offer.

This was a page turner. Gaspar and Otto really have their work cut out for them. I really liked the injection of Willa and Jess Kimball into the story. Reacher is one of my favorite characters. I like the idea of going back into Lee Childs' books and kind of disecting them as far as Reacher is concerned. More facts come out about Reacher that were probably overlooked in the original book because we wanted to get to the end. Great job!