Lee Child's noir thriller series starring Jack Reacher--usually the
kind of work that attracts mainly men--is "winning the hearts of many
women readers," Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg writes in Saturday's Wall Street Journal.
Vivien Jennings of Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kan., commented: "This is not a safe, happy time. Women say they want sensitive men, but in a violent time they don't want men taking a pea shooter to a gun fight."
David Thompson of Murder by the Book, Houston, Tex., said, "We now have as many women buying the thrillers of Lee Child and Barry Eisler as women buying the books of Agatha Christie and P.D. James."
Child himself expressed a little befuddlement, saying, "Trying to understand why Reacher is popular with women has been a 10-year education for me."
Several female fans tried to explain the attraction of books featuring a character who is a bit of a throwback. One commented: "With Lee you have modern morality tales that have a universal sense of justice."
Another said that women "may not like [Reacher's] love-em-and-leave-em ways, but each woman fantasizes that she could be the one to change him. Deep down, if he could be changed we wouldn't find him that attractive. But while he's with you it's the greatest thing in the world, better than chocolate ice cream."
Vivien Jennings of Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kan., commented: "This is not a safe, happy time. Women say they want sensitive men, but in a violent time they don't want men taking a pea shooter to a gun fight."
David Thompson of Murder by the Book, Houston, Tex., said, "We now have as many women buying the thrillers of Lee Child and Barry Eisler as women buying the books of Agatha Christie and P.D. James."
Child himself expressed a little befuddlement, saying, "Trying to understand why Reacher is popular with women has been a 10-year education for me."
Several female fans tried to explain the attraction of books featuring a character who is a bit of a throwback. One commented: "With Lee you have modern morality tales that have a universal sense of justice."
Another said that women "may not like [Reacher's] love-em-and-leave-em ways, but each woman fantasizes that she could be the one to change him. Deep down, if he could be changed we wouldn't find him that attractive. But while he's with you it's the greatest thing in the world, better than chocolate ice cream."