Finished Tripwire by Lee Child. This is the third book in his popular Jack Reacher series, about a tough-as-nails, ex-military policeman who wanders around the country.

In this one, Reacher is digging swimming pools in Key West when a private detective comes to town looking for him. Soon after, the detective is murdered, so Reacher backtraces his steps to see why the guy wanted to contact him so badly. Soon, he’s in New York and involved with an elderly couple looking for their son, who went MIA in Vietnam. But there are people out there who don’t want Reacher to find out what happened to the missing son — and they’ll do anything to stop him.

I really enjoyed Killing Floor, the first book in the series. I was a little disappointed with the second one, Die Trying, mainly because Child switched Reacher’s POV from first to third person. But the change allows him to have multiple plot lines going, like he does in Tripwire. In addition to Reacher, we get the villain’s POV, along with a housewife, her CEO husband, and Jodie, Reacher’s love interest. All of them have an important part to play in the story, and Child handles all the action and characters well.

But Reacher is the star of the book. He’s a great character. Tough, confident, determined, and a little grumpy on occasion. Reacher knows how to get things done, and he’s not afraid to use violence when the going gets tough. Which it often does, since this is a hard-boiled thriller. 😎

There are a lot of plot threads going in this one, as Reacher moves closer and closer to the truth about what happened to the missing son. The answer isn’t quite what you expect, but it all builds to a satisfying conclusion. 

My only real quibble with the book was that things came together a little too perfectly in places. For example, Reacher flies all over the country, but he always makes his flights on time and they’re never delayed — something that’s a big plot point at the very end of the book. Of course, the book came out several years ago, but still. You’d think the law of averages on a flight being delayed or cancelled would catch up with Reacher sooner or later.

But if you want a solid thriller with a cool protagonist and lots of action, check out Child’s books. Thumbs up.

Up next: Dark Dreamers, featuring novellas by Christine Feehan and Marjorie M. Liu.

Books in my TBR pile: About 14.