The most hotly anticipated thriller of 2018 follows our hero Jack Reacher on a quest into his father's past, and climaxes in the most stomach-clenching, hair-raising, blood-curdling ticking time bomb of an adventure yet.
Jack Reacher plans to follow the autumn sun on an epic road trip across America, from Maine to California. He doesn’t get far. On a country road deep in the New England woods, he sees a sign to a place he has never been - the town where his father was born. He thinks, what’s one extra day? He takes the detour.
At the very same moment, close by, a car breaks down. Two young Canadians are trying to get to New York City to sell a treasure. They're stranded at a lonely motel in the middle of nowhere. It’s a strange place... but it’s all there is.
The next morning in the city clerk's office, Reacher asks about the old family home. He’s told no one named Reacher ever lived in that town. He knows his father never went back. Now he wonders, was he ever there in the first place?
So begins another nail-biting, adrenaline-fuelled adventure for Reacher. The present can be tense, but the past can be worse. That’s for damn sure.
Industry Reviews
Absolutely loved Past Tense - Lee Child just gets better and better, which is a very rare quality in a writer of a long-run series. Whip smart, always compelling, always fun, he is dangerously addictive. -- Peter James
Jack Reacher is today's James Bond, a thriller hero we can't get enough of -- Ken Follett
I loved it. One of the best. -- Jonathan Ross
It's Lee Child. Why would you not read it? -- Karin Slaughter
Sometimes you just want someone who can beat the s*** out of people! I pick up Jack Reacher when I'm in the mood for someone big to solve my problems -- Patricia Cornwell
Loved [Past Tense]! Nothing makes for a great weekend quite like quality time with Jack . -- Lisa Gardner
Busy, bloody and ingenious * The Times *
Busy, bloody and ingenious * The Times *
One of the best...hits the mark perfectly. -- Joanne Harris
The pace picks up...the action becomes brutal, and we're led to an extremely satisfying conclusion...I'm becoming increasingly understanding of our appetite for fiction that features proper punishment for baddies. It's deeply comforting to escape into an imaginary world where we're all safe in Jack Reacher's gammon-joint sized hands. * Independent *
Child's writing seems unusually expressive in this novel...a reminder that Child is one writer who should never be taken for granted. * New York Times Book Review *
Child is an excellent writer...As ever, the prose is precision-tooled. * Evening Standard *
Lee Child shows no signs of slowing down. . . . Reacher is a man for whom the phrase moral compass was invented: His code determines his direction. . . . You need Jack Reacher. * Atlantic *
The concision, procedural chops and terse, surprising action of Past Tense make it a fantastic read. * USA Today *
Child at the top of his game * Woman & Home *
With fast action, a smart plot and Reacher's laconic wit - as ever, it's pure pleasure * Sunday Mirror *
The only question is whether it's a superior instalment in the series - and the answer is yes. * Mail on Sunday *
Lee Child is a very good writer who happens to compose thrillers. He is a first-rate stylist...every landscape, street scene, room and person passing through the story is observed in clean, precise declarative sentences whose elegant simplicity belies the tremendous skill it took to craft them. * Times Literary Supplement *
If you haven't read any Jack Reacher, you have a treat in store. He excels at the art of the putdown, followed by a punch. But he is as sensitive as Sherlock Holmes to telling details in the way people present themselves, and to nuances of behaviour that lead him through mazes of lies to the truth...a hitchhiker without a phone, a one-man force for good. * The Times *
