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Lee Child

Past Tense: A Jack Reacher Novel: 23 Mass Market Paperback – 1 January 1900

by Lee Child New York Times Bestselling Author (Author)

17,495 ratings

Book 23 of 27: Jack Reacher

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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - THE BLOCKBUSTER JACK REACHER SERIES THAT INSPIRED TWO MAJOR MOTION PICTURES AND THE UPCOMING STREAMING SERIES REACHER

Family secrets come back to haunt Jack Reacher in this electrifying thriller from "a superb craftsman of suspense" (Entertainment Weekly).

Jack Reacher hits the pavement and sticks out his thumb. He plans to follow the sun on an epic 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 same moment, in the same isolated area, a car breaks down. Two young Canadians had been on their way to New York City to sell a treasure. Now they're stranded at a lonely motel in the middle of nowhere. The owners seem almost too friendly. 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 town. He's always known his father left and never returned, but now Reacher wonders, Was he ever there in the first place?

As Reacher explores his father's life, and as the Canadians face lethal dangers, strands of different stories begin to merge. Then Reacher makes a shocking discovery: The present can be tough, but the past can be tense . . . and deadly.

This edition includes an excerpt of Lee Child's novel Blue Moon.

Print length

512 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Dell
Publication date

1 January 1900
Dimensions

10.57 x 2.92 x 19.05 cm
ISBN-10

0399593535
ISBN-13

978-0399593536
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Review

"Child is one writer who should never be taken for granted."--The New York Times Book Review

"[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."--The Atlantic

"Superb . . . Child neatly interweaves multiple narratives, ratchets up the suspense (the reveal of the motel plot is delicious), and delivers a powerful, satisfying denouement. Fans will enjoy learning more of this enduring character's roots, and Child's spare prose continues to set a very high bar."--Publishers Weekly (boxed and starred review)

"Another first-class entry in a series that continues to set the gold standard for aspiring thriller authors."--Booklist (starred review)

"With his usual flair for succinctness and eye for detail, Child creates another rollicking Reacher road trip that will please fans and newcomers alike."--Library Journal (starred review)

"Cerebral . . . One doesn't want Mr. Child's storytelling to end. . . . Get your copy soon before Past Tense sells out. Then enjoy the ride."--New York Journal of Books

"The way everything winds up for all the participants shows a satisfying generosity of storytelling spirit."--Kirkus Reviews

Praise for the Jack Reacher series

"The truth about Reacher gets better and better. . . . This series [is] utterly addictive."--Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"Jack Reacher is today's James Bond, a thriller hero we can't get enough of. I read every one as soon as it appears."--Ken Follett

"Reacher is the stuff of myth. . . . One of this century's most original, tantalizing pop-fiction heroes."--The Washington Post

"I'm a fan."--James Patterson

"The Reacher novels are easily the best thriller series going."--NPR

"Reacher is a man for whom the phrase moral compass was invented: His code determines his direction. . . . You need Jack Reacher."--The Atlantic

"I pick up Jack Reacher when I'm in the mood for someone big to solve my problems."--Patricia Cornwell

"[A] feverishly thrilling series . . . You can always count on furious action."--Miami Herald

About the Author

Lee Child is the author of more than two dozen New York Times bestselling Jack Reacher thrillers, with most having reached the #1 position, and the #1 bestselling complete Jack Reacher story collection, No Middle Name. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have sold in one hundred territories. A native of England and a former television director, Lee Child lives in New York City and Wyoming.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dell; Reissue edition (1 January 1900)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0399593535
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0399593536
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.57 x 2.92 x 19.05 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 226,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 2,462 in Women's Adventure Fiction (Books)
- 2,564 in Men's Adventure Fiction
- 5,708 in Mystery Action & Adventure

Customer Reviews:
17,495 ratings

About the author

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Lee Child

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Lee Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in New York. It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. His books consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over one hundred million copies. Two blockbusting Jack Reacher movies have been made so far. He is the recipient of many awards, most recently Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Photography © Sigrid Estrada

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5 star		60%
4 star		24%
3 star		10%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

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Plodder

Reviewed in Australia on 15 January 2021

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This book very much underwhelmed me. The whole, discovering his dad's place of birth was okay, but it very quickly became both a boring plot point and a convoluted one at that. Worse, every character in this town spoke the same way - the town lawyer, the council lady, the police - their thoughts and reactions were singular, which was unbelievable.
Meantime we keep switching to the couple at the motel - and boy, was that a drawn out, nothing happens until the final three chapters part of the story.

The author also failed to tie up all the plot points - wasn't there two separate lots of bad guys coming for reacher? what happen to the second lot.

Boring, long winded with little pay off - and even the mystery about his dad plot point was kind of just dropped by the author as seemingly inconsequential as Reacher once more walks off into the sunset.

One person found this helpful

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Peter Doyle

Yes it was

Reviewed in Australia on 21 November 2018

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Look, who doesn't like Jack Reacher? The problem is every story is the same. He beats up people, foils some extraordinary sinister plot and gives tons of money to some needy victims. This book is perfunctory, all the I's are dotted etc. But is was boring, predictable and uninvolved. Reacher would have punched the book in the teeth. The early books kept you guessing, had tension. Maybe, just maybe Jack needs to retire. Or the author needs to get excited again. It's like the movies starring Tom Cruise as Reacher. It just doesn't work.

4 people found this helpful

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Peter Stokes

Failed to Grab Me

Reviewed in Australia on 15 November 2018

Verified Purchase

I am a fan of the Jack Reacher books and was bitterly disappointed with Past Tense. These books usually grab you within the first 10 pages. I stuck with this book for 160 pages (40%) but couldn't wait any longer to develop some interest in the story. Other reviewers suggest the book gets interesting at about the 75% mark, but I am not willing to invest in reading another 140 pages to get to the good stuff, so I've given up! I laid out my cash for this one based on the Lee Child rep, but in future I will wait to see how his books review before spending my money. Sounds like a case of classic "writer's block" to me. Don't waste your money on this one - its nowhere near his usual standard.

8 people found this helpful

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Julie Pallone

Bad Reviews ? Why on earth ?

Reviewed in Australia on 11 February 2019

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Can’t understand why this book is getting bad reviews from readers. I was excited to see it in a bookstore and immediately downloaded it to my kindle when I got home. Started reading it on a plane trip and couldn’t put it down. I’m my opinion one of the best Jack Reacher novels by far. I loved that there were 2 aspects to the story which coincided in the end. Always waiting to see what was in that damn suitcase ! Don’t retire Jack Reacher, he’s a larger than life hero and a joy to read about. Have read every one of Lee Childs books and can honestly say I’ve never ever been disappointed. Brilliant author with a brilliant hero.

2 people found this helpful

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Another great Jack Reacher book

Reviewed in Australia on 6 November 2018

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4 1/2 Stars
My personal rating system

1 Star Couldn't finish the book
2 Stars Didn't really like the book, but was interested enough in the story to finish (Skipping great chunks)
3 Stars The book was okay, finished it and will consider reading more from the author
4 Stars Really enjoyed the book, will check out others by this author
4 1/2 Stars Loved the book, will immediately check out others by author, if asked will recommend book
5 Stars LOVED the book, will immediately check out all others by author, will pre-emptively recommend book to ALL my book friends

I loved it and expect I'll be rereading it again in the future. This book is a solid 4 and a half stars which I've bumped up to five as Amazon doesn't do half stars.

One person found this helpful

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John

Either the author is slipping or the character has waned

Reviewed in Australia on 16 August 2019

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I'm sorry, but I just found this storyline a little bizarre. The search for his relative's roots was pretty wishy washy in the end and the link to the set up couple took so long to come I thought I was reading two different books. The heavies who come to take out Reacher were dealt with in one chapter when I thought they were to be the basis of the story. I've read all the Reacher books but it is becoming a stretch.

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Jan

Spellbinding, old fashioned Jack Reacher

Reviewed in Australia on 3 January 2020

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This book did not disappoint in its surreal and improbable settings and circumstances, almost a Lee Child trademark. The narrative and plots are a bit long on the tooth before coming to the point; nevertheless I found the story spellbinding, easy to read and difficult to put down. Jack was up to his trademark tricks, slapping the baddies around who lost of course whilst the goodies excelled like in a modern Western.

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Shane 1959

Not your best work Mr. Child!

Reviewed in Australia on 3 December 2018

Verified Purchase

After waiting so long for your latest novel (and having read all of the Jack Reacher books so far) I must say "Past Tense" was a very disappointing read.
It is hard to identify precisely what it was that I didn't like, all of the introspection of the 2 other main characters (apart from JR) was annoying. JR was also too busy self analysing - the whole book just didn't work for me. I was almost angry when I was finished with it.
Had it been a Hard Cover I would have tossed it in the bin (heresy to me, I have kept all of my books over the last 40 years) - I wouldn't have bothered lending it to anyone (unlike all of my other Lee Child books) but as it was on my Kindle I just deleted it.
So sad :(

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Lizzie G

Don't waste your money

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 November 2018

Verified Purchase

Having read all the previous Reacher books I feel short-changed by this one. There are two completely separate threads running through the novel - Reacher stumbling upon the town where his father was born, and some strange goings-on in a motel - and, by the time the threads come together I had lost interest. By the end of the story I'd almost lost the will to live! The book is tedious beyond belief, predictable, and with a coincidence to tie the story-lines together that could be spotted from page one. It isn't a particularly long book, but it feels like it. It's badly written, disjointed, incredibly formulaic and almost feels as though Lee Child has taken all the scraps from previous novels and put them together in this one.

To any die-hard Reacher/Lee Child fans who want to own this book I'd suggest waiting a while until the price comes down; it really isn't worth a tenner.

159 people found this helpful

millhall

Puerile nonsense devoid of plot or tension.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 November 2018

Verified Purchase

I have read all the Jack Reacher novels. They have varied in quality over the years, but this is the worst by far. We know that Child will produce a new book very November just in time for the Christmas book sale rush. What we usually rely on is a good plot, well developed with a tense ending and a sting in the tale. Past Tense delivered none of these. The plot was so puerile that it was scarcely believable. The pace of the action was turgid and the ending was boring. I formed the impression that Child needed to meet a publisher's deadline and churned out a novel with no original idea, filled with passages of nonsense to make it just long enough. In the past, I have threatened never to read another Reacher again . This time I will keep my promise.

87 people found this helpful

Mr J ELLIS

The worst yet, don’t bother and save yourself a tenner, wish I had

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 November 2018

Verified Purchase

Lee Child Jack Reacher novels get worse with each release, this one being the worst yet. I used to relish every page of his early books and read cover to cover on the day each new book arrived. This one I got as far as chapter 3 and gave up. Two separate stories being told in parallel, neither being very interesting and my enthusiasm was gone almost immediately. Time to find a new fave author I think.

84 people found this helpful

Morgan L (UK)

Same pattern as last few, good start.. mediocre end

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 November 2018

Verified Purchase

I have no clue what some of the 4-5 star reviewers saw in this book. I have bought every Jack Reacher, but since 'The Affair' the story telling has steadily declined to the point where I am done getting excited about JR books.

I pre-order every Jack Reacher and read straight away hoping for a true return to form.. and always come away disappointed.

Lee Childs is cashing in all the brownie points he amassed early in the series, but for me, he has now spent up, I will no longer pre-order and feel the need to start leaving HONEST reviews to counteract the blinded fans.

The book starts superbly, Jack Reacher takes one of his little side trips that becomes an adventure, and at the same time another story 20 miles away is woven into the narrative, except in this case the side story is probably the main one. To be honest the Jack Reacher 'side' story is pretty much wasted text, as the only exciting part of it (Jack making trouble with the wrong people), I literally think Lee Childs forgot it existed and forgot to finish it.

When the main story wraps up however, it is a damp squib, and all the build of of tension becomes a.. 'is that it?'

I won't lie, the build up is like a perfect starter and main course, but the dessert turns out to be a dry digestive biscuit.. slightly stale and I now realise the truth, finally accepting it with sadness.. Lee Childs has lost his spark and is the not the genius author we thought he was, and Jack Reacher has run its course and needs to end

58 people found this helpful

Alan

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 November 2018

Verified Purchase

The first 80 percent of this book is the slowest Jack Reacher ever. The plot is far fetched even for Reacher but it progresses so slowly that it is simply boring which is a shame because I have enjoyed the previous 22 books. If you want to read the Reacher novels please do not start with this one as you will be let down

53 people found this helpful

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