I agree with you about the “women's books”. Waste of time IMO. I've not heard of Lee Child. Several people in this thread have mentioned him. I'll have to look into his writings. Thanks.
Don't know about other Child's books (think I started one that didn't find all that interesting) but definitely can vouch for many of the "Jack Reacher" series.
As to Baldacci books, the newest one, "The Innocent," is very engaging. The cast of characters begin with his earlier ones, so you'll miss some things.
Read "The Innocent" first anyway, then go back to earlier ones to find those where the characters start out.