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A review by alyssabug711
The Midnight Line by Lee Child
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reacher is my favorite thriller star, so I’m always impartial to his adventures. This one is a bit repetitive, but also fascinating in how it unravels narratively and how it explores the good and evil of opiates. The injured veteran angle complicates preconceptions of addiction. I found myself confronting my own biases and trying to see such challenges with more empathy.
Child is brilliant at hinting at character emotions and understandings without having to spoon-feed them to us. Reacher doesn’t say much, doesn’t offer much of what he’s thinking, but somehow…we know. We feel it and we understand it. We’re kept at a distance, yet we feel right there next to him, absorbing the world the way he sees it.
There are true villains in this novel, yet law enforcement kind of bounces between “good” and “bad.” It is a help and a hindrance, working to stop illegality but roadblocking efforts to assist a woman relying on opioids to manage her pain and just generally function. This shifting grey morality is probably the element that most enticed me while reading.
Also…that tumblr dryer scene. I literally think about it all the time. Love. 💅
Child is brilliant at hinting at character emotions and understandings without having to spoon-feed them to us. Reacher doesn’t say much, doesn’t offer much of what he’s thinking, but somehow…we know. We feel it and we understand it. We’re kept at a distance, yet we feel right there next to him, absorbing the world the way he sees it.
There are true villains in this novel, yet law enforcement kind of bounces between “good” and “bad.” It is a help and a hindrance, working to stop illegality but roadblocking efforts to assist a woman relying on opioids to manage her pain and just generally function. This shifting grey morality is probably the element that most enticed me while reading.