Just finished it today. Shorter than I expected or wanted. Reacher continues to be his same bad ass self.
I just finished it. Despite this being the 19th book in the series, the formula hasn’t quite grown old yet.
Just started it and he’s gone with the first-person narrative again. I wish it was third, but it’s not a big deal.
Wow, that was short. I wonder if he was under a deadline, because it wrapped up super, super fast. Spoilers ahoy!
Things I liked:
The obligatory hot younger woman was someone who neither betrayed him, nor slept with him. That’s possibly a first in a Reacher novel.
A bad guy who is a physical match for Reacher. Been a while since he was in danger of losing a fight.
Things I didn’t like:
Usually Reacher is ahead of me, but in this book, I figured out stuff way ahead of him, notably that there was no never going to have been a second shot, due to the timing. Also, it seemed like O’Day was the only possibly choice of a bad guy, given the money and information that Kott had access to.
The formula is starting to wear thin for me.
JSexton, I agree about the second shot requirement. I also kept expecting the younger agent to show up in his hotel room…I guess Child has decided to mix it up.
I’m not yet worn thin on Lee Child’s formula and still find Reacher an entertaining character…except when he looks like Tom Cruise!
I still enjoy the heck out of the Reacher series - is Personal out in paperback, or only hardback for now? (I have yet to embrace e-readers.)
Just hardback and electronic.
Thanks Omar. I have the technology to get e-books, I just don’t enjoy them as much.
/hijack.
Man, that did seem short. It’s harder to tell now that I use a Kindle.
Jack Reacher is now 54 years old. Riding around the U.S.A. on Greyhound, living without deodorant, changing outfits every few days, getting ripped off by Western Union…all these things are getting pretty silly for a man his age. I think Child will have to start looking back. Perhaps the next one will be another tale from his MP days.
Or, maybe Reacher will settle down somewhere and try something new. It will be interesting to see where Child takes him.
One of my favorite lines:
Female Agent “They don’t have a death penalty here”
Reacher “They do now”
Did they ever say what he did with the house he inherited North of NYC? I don’t remember.
I got a nice chuckle when the female agent kept calling him “Sherlock Homeless”.
The boyfriend has been listening to the Reacher books on audio for a while now. He’s still early in the series, maybe the third book? The one where the Mexican woman tries to hire Reacher to kill her husband. Anyway, the boyfriend was in the shower the other night with the book on, and after about 15 minutes I had to go into the bathroom, pause the book, and ask if it was possibly the worst-written book in the universe. Boyfriend agreed that Childs’ writing leave much to be desired (though it has spawned a catch phrase for boyfriend and I- “He said nothing.”), but once he starts with something he has to see it through to the bitter end.
Does it get better, or do I need to invest in earplugs?
If what you’ve heard so far is not your cup of tea then I’d recommend getting earplugs. I’ve found the quality stays pretty much the same throughout the series.
I know he no longer owns it. I think he sold it and gave the proceeds to the guy’s daughter (attorney that moved to London) who left it to him.