The Visitor - Lee Child (A mystery or thriller)

I started reading this book on New Year's Day accompanied by a spectacular hangover.
We were in Bavaria for a week after Christmas and were in the far corner of Germany, spitting distance from Austria and a short drive into Czechoslovakia. It was very cold (for us) with daytime temperatures between -10 and -2°c. we would go out for a daytime tip and visited some lovely (but cold) cities in the area - Linz, Cesky Krumova and Passau and then would scurry back to the hotel, warm up in the sauna and then binge on the all inclusive.
This meant there was plenty of time for reading and I soon got through the books I had brought with me, so New Year's Day and hangover meant no trips out on the snowy roads and a rummage through the books my boyfriend had brought.

I have read a couple of Jack Reacher books before and guess this is one of the early ones as he has a girlfriend, something that is a no no in later books. When reading it I could see more of the formation of the character as a loner and working independently and not wanting to trust anyone.
However after a couple of books you 'get' the formula and it is not as interesting as the first time. I was able to work out the 'who' quite quickly but not the 'why' so this, at least, kept me reading.

One thing I do find interesting about the way Lee Child writes is his descriptions of guns. He will write in detail and describe the guns and their abilities but someone like Baldacci writes about guns as if he was describing a lover, it comes across as almost sensuous. For me this is the difference between an English writer and an American writer and the countries having different gun cultures. It almost feels as if Child is writing about guns because he has to whereas Baldacci writes about them because he wants to. And yes, I've read several of my boyfriend's books.

Not wanting to give to much of the plot away (as it is a who done it) Reacher is reluctantly forced into helping catch a serial killer, whose female victims are found dead in a bath of paint, as threats are made against his girlfriend and he needs to prove that he is not the killer.
It is a book I finished quickly and if you haven't read a Jack Reacher before then give it a go. If you're a Reacher fan you'll love it. It is a blokes book - is there a male version ChickLit? - and I found it a little formulaic for me.