by Lee Child
Part of Jack Reacher, book 5
First published 2002
Jack Reacher stands on a scorching Texas road where the temperature tops one hundred degrees. Few drivers want to open their air conditioned cars long enough to pick up a hitchhiker. When Carmen stops her Cadillac, Reacher climbs in without asking questions. Carmen is young, wealthy, and beautiful. She has a small daughter under constant surveillance by watchers she cannot identify. Her husband sits in jail but will return soon. When he does, he will beat Carmen badly or possibly kill her. Carmen drives Reacher to her isolated ranch in Echo County. There Reacher discovers a web of deception, bigotry, and violence. Carmen's family treats her with open hostility. The local police cannot be trusted to help. The lawyers refuse to take her case. Reacher has never walked away from a woman in danger. He must navigate the lies and hatred that surround Carmen while the threat of her husband's release grows closer.
Genres: adventure, mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Texas, Echo County
Period: 21st-century
432 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Jove
Content warnings: domestic-violence, violence