Exit Strategy

I think what has kept me reading the Reacher releases since Lee Child stepped back has been partly addiction, partly loyalty, but also a kind of fascination in trying to work out what on earth it is that makes these later efforts just nowhere near in the same class as the earlier books.

It has come time to just admit to myself that I am no literature expert, and simply lack the skills to analyse the stylistic and technical differences that just make these newer stories simply not hold my attention.

This most recent instalment was the first that I very nearly just abandoned before halfway. Is it that the plot is not interesting enough? Or that it is not told with enough detail to fully capture my attention? Is there something about the actions of our hero that don’t quite seem to chime with what I most respected about him? Or the dialogue that often seems rushed and unnatural? And is this poor dialogue and lack of the usual effort in description the reason that I simply don’t connect with any of the supporting characters enough to care about what happens to them?

I don’t have answers to these questions, and it has reached the point where thinking about these things is distracting me from the books themselves, so maybe it’s time for me to bow out, call it a day.

The conclusion? Lee Child is/was simply a genius, he had that indescribable golden touch that just hit the spot perfectly. I thank him for the many hours of pleasure I derived over many years from reading and re-rereading his masterpieces.

Disappointing. Weak story and characters. Difficult to engage with or care about any of them or the storyline. Feels like it was written v quickly and too much going on in it with no depth to storytelling. Sad to see this series which was once so good become like this. Suspect might be the last one I read -certainly at full price.

I love the Reacher books and have read all of them more than once, some of them several times over. Unfortunately this latest story is disappointing. It’s substantially shorter than others (about 25% shorter than Tripwire, The Affair and No Plan B for instance) and this is noticeable in the shallow characters and predictable plot. It ends abruptly without any tension or climax. I paid £11.99 and felt shortchanged. The subject matter is good and very topical and I really wish this had been developed more. I hope this review is read by Lee and Andrew Child and maybe prompts them to do some more work on this story. If you read this, gentlemen, it comes from a loyal fan who looks forward to better work next time.