Reviews

Running Blind by Lee Child

sammy_'s review against another edition

3.0

Continuing to work my way through the Jack Reacher audiobooks in order to make cleaning bearable, I find myself once again torn between giving it one star for logic and five stars for, well, actually making cleaning bearable.

In this instalment, Jack Reacher is recruited(ish) by the FBI to help them catch an ex-solider who is travelling round the US drowning female veterans in camouflage paint (yes really).

Spoiler

Early on in the book when one of the main FBI agent characters was described as dowdy, I thought flippantly "well she must be up to no good." And she did it! Yes, the only woman in the book that Jack Reacher wasn't attracted to was naturally the murderer. Also, she made the victims kill themselves... via hypnotism. Welcome to the world of Jack Reacher.

cmbrown4's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

soph2962's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

bek67's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

So far, least favorite of Jack Reacher. I like Reacher. I like that he is a badass. He kicks ass and takes names. But in this book, there really isn't a lot of ass kicking to be done. All of a sudden he is the smartest guy in the room. And I'm not saying that Reacher isn't an intelligent man. I think he is. But he is the only one with a lick of sense? All the FBI characters feel like spoofs! And oh my gosh

Spoiler

when Harper is "seducing" him in the motel room. Played out like bad porn- laughable really

. It all felt off and wrong to me. How the crimes happened? All I can say is stupid, stupid, stupid.

Spoiler

Hypnosis? REALLY??

AND once again there is a mention how Reacher fell in love with Jody when she was 15-gross. I'm thinking he is 9 years older. So a 24 year old man is in love with a 15 year old. Doesn't matter he did not act on his feelings, it is just 1000% cringe.  I listened to the audiobook. The narrator does a great job with Reacher's voice. The other voices are pretty bad though. The agents all felt like a parody of an FBI agent. I hope the next one is vastly better, or I'm done with Reacher. 

dustin_o's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

mshambley76's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

righteousridel's review against another edition

4.0

At last! Running Blind is finally an entry into the Jack Reacher series as good as the initial book Killing Floor. The central mystery is worth chewing over and will keep you wondering for the majority of the novel, and the amount of Reacher narrative versus anyone else's is kept to an absolute minimum. Because of the way the book was written, it avoided a great deal of Lee Child's weaknesses: the antagonist stays mysterious instead of characterized as an unredeemable comic evil supervillain and subplot characters are effectively non-existent so you don't have to suffer with poorly characterized and irrelevant passages.

It is awkward to write this review mainly slagging on Lee Child. But honestly Running Blind is a great thriller that's difficult to put down, and if you're here after 3 books, then you will be very happy to know that the negatives from the previous novels have been improved on. This is highly recommended and I'll probably even do a re-read.

mojoshivers's review against another edition

4.0

Whenever I read this book I always remember it as the Keyser Söze book. The solution to the mystery relies on the murderer relaying bad information about means, motive, and opportunity to the FBI and Reacher so the first 2/3 of the book it’s all but impossible to solve the murders. But when you make the discovery, like Reacher, that somebody is lying, then there are enough hints there with actions and truths the other characters say to piece the mystery together. In the end the killer is rather obvious once you know everything they say is a lie in regards to the killings.

jackie_shimkus's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

chelsea_jack's review against another edition

3.0

Reacher's adventures continue....

A mixed bag for me. I was into the mystery, though I didn't *love* the way it was resolved. And though we see Reacher remain in a relationship for a second book in a row... we also got a would-b e love interest of the week.

The really short, choppy writing style of the first book has mellowed into something less overt.

I'm going to read the next one, of course...