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One Shot is the ninth book in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. The book title is based on "One shot, one kill," the military sniper's creed. The novel was adapted into the 2012 film Jack Reacher, starring Tom Cruise as the title character. It is narrated in the 3rd person.
Description[]
Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Jack Reacher for me. And sure enough, from the world he lives in - no phone, no address, no commitments–ex–military investigator Jack Reacher is coming. Reacher’s arrival will change everything about a case that isn’t what it seems; about lives tangled in baffling ways; about a killer who missed one shot, and by doing so give Jack Reacher one shot at the truth.
The gunman worked from a parking structure just thirty yards away which is almost point-blank range for a trained military sniper like James Barr. His victims were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But why does Barr want Reacher at his side? There are good reasons why Reacher is the last person Barr would want to see. But when Reacher hears Barr’s own words, he understands. And a slam-dunk case explodes. Soon Reacher is teamed with a young defense lawyer who is working against her D.A. father and dueling with a prosecution team that has an explosive secret of its own. Like most things Reacher has known in life, this case is a complex battlefield. But, as always, in battle, Reacher is at his best.
Moving in the shadows, picking his spots, Reacher gets closer and closer to the unseen enemy who is pulling the strings. And for Reacher, the only way to take him down is to know his ruthlessness and respect his cunning–and then match him shot for shot.
Plot[]
In a small Indiana city, a lone gunman in a parking garage calmly fires into a rush-hour crowd in a public plaza, committing a massacre of five apparently random victims with six shots. The shooter leaves a perfect trail behind for the police to quickly track him down. Evidence from the scene, of a shell case and a quarter bearing the same fingerprints, points clearly to James Barr, a former Army infantry sniper. He is arrested, but will only say two things to the police: "They got the wrong guy," and "Get Jack Reacher for me." Reacher, a former Army military police officer and now a drifter, is 1500 miles away, but sees the news on CNN and gets on a bus to Indiana. Reacher has no job, no home, no car, and a shrinking savings account from his past military pay. Although Reacher has a nomadic existence, what he does have is sharp moral clarity.
Instead of clearing Barr, Reacher wants to assist the prosecution in convicting him. Reacher is the last person Barr would want to see for good reason. When Reacher was an investigating military policeman years past, Barr had gone on a killing spree similar to the Indiana shootout, murdering four men during the Gulf War in Kuwait City. Convoluted military politics and a technicality let Barr walk free. Reacher swore he would track the sniper down if he ever tried it again. Reacher believes Barr is guilty, but Barr's sister Rosemary is convinced of her brother's innocence and entreats lawyer Helen Rodin to defend her brother. Helen's father Alex is the district attorney who will prosecute the case. When Reacher arrives in Indiana, Barr has been beaten so badly while in prison that he cannot remember anything about the day of the murders, leaving Reacher to form his own conclusions with the available evidence. The local NBC news reporter, Ann Yanni, is also looking for more information, and Reacher is more than willing to include her in his investigation, in exchange for the use of her car and a guaranteed public exposé on the Barr case. Reacher knows that 35 yards, the parking garage shooting distance to the victims, is point-blank range for a trained military sniper like Barr. Reacher also knows the shooter missed one shot on purpose, giving Reacher one shot at the truth.
Reacher drives to Kentucky to the shooting range where the sniper practiced and learns some interesting facts from former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Samuel Cash, who owns the shooting range, which make him doubt the solidity of the presumably airtight case against Barr. Cash is unwilling to reveal information or his records to Reacher, but grudgingly agrees to talk if Reacher is able to hit a paper target dead center at 300 yards with one shot. After he succeeds, Reacher is shown 32 sheets of target paper from three years' worth of Barr's practice shootings at his range, every single sheet with dead-on maximum scores. Reacher, given his expertise with firearms and experience as a military investigator, quickly deduces that the target sheets were faked by using a handgun at point blank range.
After the visit to the shooting range, Reacher adds Cash's information to the case evidence. Helen and Rosemary sift through the clues in a riveting analysis and finally get Reacher to conclude that Barr is innocent, which means someone set up Barr as the sniper. Someone is also trying to get Reacher off the case, which formerly seemed a slam-dunk, but is now falling apart. Reacher is teamed with Helen, working against a prosecution team that has an explosive secret of its own. Reacher gets closer to the unseen enemy pulling the strings, leading him to the real perpetrators, a Russian gang masquerading as legitimate businessmen. The gang's 80-year-old capo spent much of his life in one of the infamous Soviet gulags and is known only as The Zec (prisoner). Reacher outwits the mob guards in the Russian gang's fortress, efficiently and brutally dispatching five hoods before confronting the boss and forcing him to come clean on the conspiracy from beginning to end: covering up the murder of the one victim he wants dead with the other four victims. The real killer is shot, the Zec chooses to confess to the authorities who arrive on the scene, Barr goes free, and Reacher moves on.
Appearances[]
Characters[]
- Jack Reacher
- James Barr - Former U.S. Army sniper.
- Emerson - Lead Detective of the Serious Crimes Unit.
- Alex Rodin - District Attorney.
- Helen Rodin - Young criminal defence attorney and daughter of Alex Rodin.
- Rosemary Barr - Sister of James Barr.
- David Chapman - Attorney for law firm where Rosemary Barr works.
- Franklin - Private Investigator.
- Ann Yanni - Television news reporter.
- The Zec - Leader of a violent Russian gang.
- Sandy Dupree - Auto parts store worker.
- Eileen Hutton - Brigadier General who prosecuted Barr's case in the Army.
- Samuel Cash - Owner of a shooting range in Kentucky.
- Charlie (Chenko) - Member of a violent Russian gang.
- Konstantin Raskin - Member of a violent Russian gang.
- Vladimer Shumilov - Member of a violent Russian gang.
- Pavel Sokolov - Member of a violent Russian gang.
- Grigor Linsky - Member of a violent Russian gang.
- Donna Bianca - Police Detective who works for Emerson.
Locations[]
- United States
- Indiana - The novel is set in an un-named city that is about a 2 hour bus ride south of Indianapolis.
Organizations[]
Weapons[]
- Springfield M1A Super Match autoloader sniper rifle - Rifle used for the killings in opening scene
- Remington M24 Sniper Rifle, .300 caliber - Rifle that Cash gave to Reacher for shooting at targets
- Navy Seal SRK (Survival Rescue Knife) - Cash's knife that he gave to Reacher
- Smith and Wesson Model 60 Stainless Steel Revolver, .38 caliber - Sokolov's gun
- Benelli Nova Pump 12 Gauge shotgun, sawed off stock and barrel
Vehicles[]
Events[]
Miscellanea[]
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