Bruce Hatton's Reviews > The Visitor

After recently enjoying Heather Martin’s excellent biography of Lee Child/Jim Grant, I decided to re-read one his earlier books in the Jack Reacher series. It must have been almost 20 years since I first read The Visitor, so it frequently felt like I was reading a new book. A strange sensation, considering how many memorable scenes and characters there are in it.
The novel initially finds Reacher in a very un-Reacher like situation. He has a house and a car; both inherited from his former commanding officer. Also a girlfriend; daughter of the same CO. As for a steady 9 to 5 job, forget it! He already feels trapped enough. Most of his spare time has been spent clearing up his large overgrown garden. Then he is unwittingly and unwillingly co-opted by his old nemesis the FBI in the hunt for a serial killer who drowns their female victims in tubs of camouflage paint.
This is a real masterclass in suspense-thriller writing. The action is relentless, coast to coast. The plot twists come thick and fast and each chapter ends in a tantalising cliffhanger which just begs one to continue reading till the end.
Unsurprisingly, at the end of the novel, Reacher has managed to extricate himself from the settled life and is back to his wandering ways.
As, these days, I’m always discovering new books by new authors, it’s very rare that I re-read anything, although I’m very glad I made an exception for The Visitor.