This should be all you need to know: Jack Reacher is back!
But here’s more anyway: Lee Child’s BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE is the 11th go-round for Reacher, the former military policeman turned wandering specialist-for-hire. Last seen solving a kidnapping case in last summer’s THE HARD WAY, Reacher now finds his next assignment personal.
As an MP, he was part of an elite 10-person team close enough to be family. One of them, Calvin Franz, has turned up dead in the desert, presumably thrown out of a helicopter. Being pretty much off the grid, Reacher gets wind of this only via a coded message he finds in his bank balance, placed there by another of the fellow investigators, Frances Neagley.
They meet in L.A. and begin to question Franz’s demise. Some things just don’t add up. And for a numbers whiz like Reacher, the equation only grows more complex when others of their own start to die in the same sick manner. He and Neagley must find the rest of their teammates before they’re all goners.
Meanwhile, there’s a mysterious man of ambiguous descent and half a dozen aliases gaining on them, with a plan that will affect exponentially greater numbers than Reacher’s small circle.
Once more, Child delivers a thriller that’s as swift as it is smart. Like his protagonist, the author works in a no-nonsense mode that’s all about moving the plot forward and keeping detours to a bare minimum. The result is an action-packed mélange of investigation, infiltration and brutal retribution.
Few series characters are as reliable or as exciting as Reacher. Cucumber-cool, the man often puts himself in harm’s way to accomplish the impossible. As thrilling as his escapades are, it’s his conversations with enemies that demonstrate his true appeal. Take, for instance, a scene in which he tries to buy guns illegally from a two-faced pawn shop owner. Their dialogue is snappy, and even when the tables are turned on Reacher, he knows how to flip it immediately.
The release of BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE heralds the start of a promising summer reading season. For an escape short of a Hawaiian vacation, nothing can quite hit the spot of a Reacher adventure. This one’s more mystery-oriented than recent installments, and is better off for it. –Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• THE HARD WAY by Lee Child
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- The Hard Way
- Girl Trouble: The True Saga of Superstar Gloria Trevi and the Secret Teenage Sex Cult That Stunned the World
- Big Numbers
- Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night
- The Book of the Dead
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Reacher is one of the best action heroes created to date. I just finished The Hard Way and, as much as I want to read Bad, Luck, and Trouble, I’m saving it like a kid saves his last piece of candy from Halloween. Ah, delayed satisfaction – you gotta love it.