After witnessing a crime and promising to testify against the criminal, staying locked at home would not exactly be a reward. Janet Salter, a character in Lee Child’s incredible mystery 61 Hours, hated being on “house arrest” but she knew she was doing the right thing. Janet witnessed a drug dealing in her hometown Bolton, South Dakota and helped put a biker in jail. All she had left to do was testify. This biker had a Mexican, Plato, on his side that intended on helping to kill Janet Salter. Plato may be extremely short, but he was a man people did not want to mess with. However, Plato and the rest of the town did not count on a bus to crash during the snow storm. Jack Reacher, the protagonist, was on this bus. He was born on a marine base in Berlin and grew up in a military environment. He served thirteen years in the Military Police and was the Major of the 110th Special Investigation Unit. Throughout the story, he helped protect Janet and solve the investigation with Peterson, the officer next in line to be the chief, while he waited for replacement bus to arrive.
61 Hours was an intriguing mystery that had me on my toes throughout the entire novel. Even though this book is the fourteenth in the series of Reacher novels, I followed along perfectly. I had a hard time putting the book down because I never knew what was going to happen next. There are several enemies, “foreign and domestic,” (414) some that are extremely unexpected. This story is full of thrills, suspense, shocks, vengeance, and even a little romance. I definitely recommend 61 Hours to anyone who enjoys a fantastic mystery and I encourage others to read the other novels in the Reacher series as will I.