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kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Thirteenth chronologically in the Jack Reacher thriller series (eleventh publication-wise). This one takes place in L.A.
My Take
Oh. This is such a sad one. So many losses.
I found it interesting that Child is allowing Jack to age and start to question what he's doing. This makes it so real. I've been wondering if/when Jack might start to wonder what's happening in and with his life and I love that Child is taking it so slow.
It's funny, too, how out of touch he is with modern technology, especially his use of a cell phone. Not knowing about flash drives. He's got the math down. He's a bit of a savant with numbers. He knows people. How they think, how they act. It's fascinating to read how he and Neagley try to figure out what Franz's password is for his computer. No real surprise when they do determine it. He has the respect of his peers.
My first reaction is always to cooperate with the police. Good thing that's not how Reacher and his team think.
Too funny. Karla and Reacher's big secret that everyone knows.
Lord, they are a brutal bunch who aren't afraid to take matters into their own hands. Cops everywhere would envy them this freedom! Although it's a bit frightening to think of less upright people doing the same things.
There are a number of reason I love this series. Reacher's sense of fair play and his willingness to ensure it. His intelligence with numbers and figuring events and people's directions. The loyalty he feels and that others feel for him. I do enjoy his lifestyle. It wouldn't be for me, but it certainly makes it easy for Child to "play" anywhere. I love how he figures out the impossible.
The Story
That ATM card ends up being useful when it conveys a secret code that only a fellow MP could understand. It's a 10-30 and Jack is quick to sort through the possibilities.
He meets up with Neagley in L.A.—both of them having figured out exactly where to find each other. Where they worry about why they haven't heard from the other six. Why Franz didn't contact at least Neagley. If he contacted all the others.
They haven't much to start with, but Reacher's way of getting inside someone's head stands them in good stead. It's how he taught Neagley, how he taught the others, and they were the best.
If they were the best, how did the bad guys get the jump on them?
The Characters
Jack Reacher is almost broke, just a few hundred dollars left in his bank account. With the aftereffects of 9/11, he's had to start carrying identification AND an ATM card. I do love his method for creating his PIN.
Frances L. Neagley is his former sergeant. She's now a partner in a big firm in Chicago and desperate to get in touch with Jack. They last partnered up in Without Fail four years ago.
The nine of them had been part of a special investigations unit in the military. One that Reacher had created. Their motto was You do not mess with the special investigators. Calvin Franz is the reason they're gathering. To find his murderers. Angela Franz is his widow and they have a young son, Charlie. The others from the old unit are Tony Swan who is assistant director of corporate security for a defense firm, Jorge Sanchez (Milena is his girlfriend) and Manuel Orozco (married with three kids) work security in Las Vegas, David O'Donnell is a private detective in D.C., and Karla Dixon does forensic accounting investigation in New York. Stan Lowrey died years ago in Montana.
Thomas Brant is one of the men watching Neagley. Curtis Mauney is his boss with the LA County Sheriff's Department. Azhari Mahmoud is the pivot. Diana Bond works for a jerk of a senator who is on the House Defense Committee.
New Age Defense Systems
Margaret Berenson is in charge of Human Resources while Edward Dean is the current quality control manager. Allen Lamaison is the head of security; Swan, Lennox, Parker, and Saropian work for him.
The Cover
The cover is a quarter of a red-on-red target transposed on top of a textured cement wall. with the title in an embossed silver and the author's name in an embossed white.
The title doesn't come close to events. Jack experiences a lot more than just Bad Luck and Trouble.
My Take
Oh. This is such a sad one. So many losses.
I found it interesting that Child is allowing Jack to age and start to question what he's doing. This makes it so real. I've been wondering if/when Jack might start to wonder what's happening in and with his life and I love that Child is taking it so slow.
It's funny, too, how out of touch he is with modern technology, especially his use of a cell phone. Not knowing about flash drives. He's got the math down. He's a bit of a savant with numbers. He knows people. How they think, how they act. It's fascinating to read how he and Neagley try to figure out what Franz's password is for his computer. No real surprise when they do determine it. He has the respect of his peers.
My first reaction is always to cooperate with the police. Good thing that's not how Reacher and his team think.
Too funny. Karla and Reacher's big secret that everyone knows.
Lord, they are a brutal bunch who aren't afraid to take matters into their own hands. Cops everywhere would envy them this freedom! Although it's a bit frightening to think of less upright people doing the same things.
There are a number of reason I love this series. Reacher's sense of fair play and his willingness to ensure it. His intelligence with numbers and figuring events and people's directions. The loyalty he feels and that others feel for him. I do enjoy his lifestyle. It wouldn't be for me, but it certainly makes it easy for Child to "play" anywhere. I love how he figures out the impossible.
The Story
That ATM card ends up being useful when it conveys a secret code that only a fellow MP could understand. It's a 10-30 and Jack is quick to sort through the possibilities.
He meets up with Neagley in L.A.—both of them having figured out exactly where to find each other. Where they worry about why they haven't heard from the other six. Why Franz didn't contact at least Neagley. If he contacted all the others.
They haven't much to start with, but Reacher's way of getting inside someone's head stands them in good stead. It's how he taught Neagley, how he taught the others, and they were the best.
If they were the best, how did the bad guys get the jump on them?
The Characters
Jack Reacher is almost broke, just a few hundred dollars left in his bank account. With the aftereffects of 9/11, he's had to start carrying identification AND an ATM card. I do love his method for creating his PIN.
Frances L. Neagley is his former sergeant. She's now a partner in a big firm in Chicago and desperate to get in touch with Jack. They last partnered up in Without Fail four years ago.
The nine of them had been part of a special investigations unit in the military. One that Reacher had created. Their motto was You do not mess with the special investigators. Calvin Franz is the reason they're gathering. To find his murderers. Angela Franz is his widow and they have a young son, Charlie. The others from the old unit are Tony Swan who is assistant director of corporate security for a defense firm, Jorge Sanchez (Milena is his girlfriend) and Manuel Orozco (married with three kids) work security in Las Vegas, David O'Donnell is a private detective in D.C., and Karla Dixon does forensic accounting investigation in New York. Stan Lowrey died years ago in Montana.
Thomas Brant is one of the men watching Neagley. Curtis Mauney is his boss with the LA County Sheriff's Department. Azhari Mahmoud is the pivot. Diana Bond works for a jerk of a senator who is on the House Defense Committee.
New Age Defense Systems
Margaret Berenson is in charge of Human Resources while Edward Dean is the current quality control manager. Allen Lamaison is the head of security; Swan, Lennox, Parker, and Saropian work for him.
The Cover
The cover is a quarter of a red-on-red target transposed on top of a textured cement wall. with the title in an embossed silver and the author's name in an embossed white.
The title doesn't come close to events. Jack experiences a lot more than just Bad Luck and Trouble.
227jamesward's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
steyn0's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jordanmayne's review against another edition
4.0
Another solid offering. Enjoyed the wider cast of characters. Satisfying ending!
missyjohnson's review against another edition
4.0
another opportunity to suspend belief and spend some time with Reacher, kicking butt. I liked this one in that it included so members of his old MP special investigations team. I am sure that I will run across Dixon, O'Donnell or Neagley in the future. It always makes me chuckle a bit to have Reacher go through his mathematical calculations and figure the puzzle of what the bad guys are thinking so quickly. The unemotional approach to "knocking off" the bad guys by either a bare-handed neck break or toss from a helicopter is interesting as well.
sarahnich3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
agentnk_'s review against another edition
5.0
this might be my 2nd favorite reacher story so far. ( of course first one would be killing floor )
I enjoyed it because we see reacher working with his old army pals, and the return of neagley who I also love. I felt we saw more depth to reacher here, and it’s always a more interesting dynamic seeing him with people from his past as opposed to new people he has just met in the story.
the plot was interesting and thought-provoking with enough to keep me eager to turn the pages however it was reacher and the characters he was on this journey with that kept me gripped throughout.
I enjoyed it because we see reacher working with his old army pals, and the return of neagley who I also love. I felt we saw more depth to reacher here, and it’s always a more interesting dynamic seeing him with people from his past as opposed to new people he has just met in the story.
the plot was interesting and thought-provoking with enough to keep me eager to turn the pages however it was reacher and the characters he was on this journey with that kept me gripped throughout.
a_reader_obsessed's review against another edition
4.0
4 Stars
You know the beauty of this series is that even if one tackled this in publishing order, it doesn’t necessarily follow a chronological order. I read somewhere that there is very little continuity bridging the books and truly, the majority can be read as stand alones. Admittedly, I’m wholly out of order here in preparation and anticipation for the second season of the TV show Reacher, and I wasn’t lost at all.
As you may surmise, it’s all about our protagonist Jack Reacher exacting justice, and this time around it’s very personal. Someone has been targeting his former teammates, and those remaining must band together to find the truth no matter, to avenge with swift justice in the only way they know how - with absolute no mercy.
Grounded in realism, the mystery was intriguing and took several turns. Always fascinating is the deductive reasoning and the hardcore instincts that Reacher brings to the table, giving him a huge advantage over his adversaries.
Yes, this is still dense in the details but less cumbersome than my last visit with this character. Just to lighten things up a bit, there’s a little hanky panky going on and well deserved brutal vigilante justice with a nice bonus payout that was just oh so satisfying!
You know the beauty of this series is that even if one tackled this in publishing order, it doesn’t necessarily follow a chronological order. I read somewhere that there is very little continuity bridging the books and truly, the majority can be read as stand alones. Admittedly, I’m wholly out of order here in preparation and anticipation for the second season of the TV show Reacher, and I wasn’t lost at all.
As you may surmise, it’s all about our protagonist Jack Reacher exacting justice, and this time around it’s very personal. Someone has been targeting his former teammates, and those remaining must band together to find the truth no matter, to avenge with swift justice in the only way they know how - with absolute no mercy.
Grounded in realism, the mystery was intriguing and took several turns. Always fascinating is the deductive reasoning and the hardcore instincts that Reacher brings to the table, giving him a huge advantage over his adversaries.
Yes, this is still dense in the details but less cumbersome than my last visit with this character. Just to lighten things up a bit, there’s a little hanky panky going on and well deserved brutal vigilante justice with a nice bonus payout that was just oh so satisfying!