Personal is the nineteenth book in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child, published in 2014. The plot of the book revolves around Jack Reacher's pursuit of a sniper who has attempted to assassinate the President of France. This book is written in the first person.
Contents
Plot
The French president survives an assassination attempt in Paris, and the weapon used, an American-made bullet, points to a potential link to the United States. Suspicion falls on John Kott, a disgraced American marksman who, after a fifteen-year prison sentence, has vanished without a trace. Kott, a criminal mastermind, finds his reign of terror potentially thwarted by the one man who has bested him before: Jack Reacher, a former army investigator. Reacher, partnered with the composed rookie analyst Casey Nice, race to track down Kott, their path riddled with brutal mobsters, close calls and double crosses all while operating without any official support. However, the haunting memory of Dominique Kohl, a young subordinate he failed to protect from Kott, fuels Reacher's determination.
A powerful general, Tom O'Day, sends Reacher undercover to Paris to unravel the assassination plot ahead of an upcoming G8 meeting in London. Reacher finds out that a dangerous gang using snipers–among whom there is Kott, arguably–have set up a base in London, specifically centered in Chigwell. Charlie White, the seasoned leader of the "Romford Boys," orchestrates criminal enterprises across East London while forging alliances with dangerous Serbian gangs in the city's west. This web of criminal activity, far from being confined to the city, now extends its reach with a bold ambition to destabilize the G8, highlighting the dangerous capacity of local criminal networks to influence international affairs.
Reacher, accompanied by CIA agent Casey Nice, strategically navigates towards the residence harboring Kott, a property belonging to Charlie's imposing associate, Joseph "Little Joey" Green. Their path is fraught with danger, culminating in Reacher's decisive confrontation and elimination of Little Joey before breaching the house and swiftly killing both Kott and Charlie. Following this decisive action, Reacher is promptly flown back to the United States, not for gratitude, but for a face-off with O'Day, his true intentions shrouded in deception.
Kott, Charlie and Little Joey were criminals, but they were not threatening the G8 summit. O'Day's interest in Kott was purely opportunistic, a calculated maneuver to bolster his political standing. Having preemptively sold Reacher to Kott, O'Day schemed to emerge as a heroic figure regardless of who ultimately prevailed. Recognizing this manipulative ploy, Reacher spares O'Day's life but issues a stern warning: absolute silence or face a career-shattering scandal. As a final touch, Reacher leaves Charlie's pistol on O'Day's desk. Shortly after Reacher departs, news arrives of O'Day's accidental death while inspecting the gun, a conclusion that Reacher deems far from coincidental.
Reception
Personal topped The New York Times Best Seller list of combined print and e-book fiction books for the week of 21 September 2014.
It won the 2014 RBA Prize for Crime Writing, a Spanish literary award said to be the world's most lucrative crime fiction prize at €125,000.