Persuader (novel)

infobox Book |
name = Persuader
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = 2003 Hardcover edition
author = Lee Child
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Jack Reacher
genre = Thriller novel
publisher = Delacorte Press
release_date = May 13, 2003
media_type = Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
pages = 352 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-385-33666-7
preceded_by = Without Fail
followed_by = The Enemy

"Persuader" is the seventh book in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. After a chance encounter with an old adversary, Reacher finds himself once again obsessed with revenge and in increasingly dire straits in an attempt to settle a decade-long score. Reacher infiltrates a criminal organization, quickly rising in the ranks to get revenge on his old enemy.

The book is notable for the fact that it is written in the first person, only the second Jack Reacher novel to be treated in this fashion. It becomes apparent that the book is written this way to conceal from the reader the fact that the original 'kidnap' of a teenage boy is merely a setup.

Jack Reacher is actually working with the DEA in order to bring down the boy's father; this is eventually accomplished after the obligatory gunfire and mayhem have taken place. Lee Child presents these well, with Reacher initially on the back foot, but gaining the upper hand due to planning, foresight and not a little luck. The penultimate climactic battle between Reacher and a steroid-enhanced giant is a masterpiece in tension, as Reacher encounters a foe who is capable of treating him as he treats most ordinary opponents.