Bad Luck and Trouble (Jack Reacher, No. 11) by Lee Child
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Book Reviews of Bad Luck and Trouble (Jack Reacher, No. 11)
Book Review: Prompt delivery, clean book, great reading
Summary: 5 Stars
Very please with the condition of the book, the promptness
of service,
Donn Doyle
Book Review: Thank god a book worth reading
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading "The Run" and " The Devil's Code" it was great to finally read a good book.Book Review: Jack Reacher, the vigilante, and his band
Summary: 4 Stars
Jack Reacher believes in vigilante justice. He is also a drifter who prefers to make no plans and lives from day to day purely on his cash and brawn. He also happens to be the hero of this series of books which is now in its 12th iteration.
In this book we learn more about the Military Police unit that Jack commanded. It was apparently a special investigations unit that was formed under Jack's command and dealt with all the unsavory problems that the military could find no one else to deal with. Unlike most police organizations, this unit did not believe in policies and procedures and took all kinds of liberties with the law to achieve their goals. Definitely a groups of people who believed that the end justified the means!
Now, 15 years after the unit has disbanded. Jack gets a coded message that asks for help. Since the unit was very tightly knit he cannot ignore the request and so he answers the call. The call comes in because one of the unit members is dropped from a helicopter from a height of 3000 feet causing his death. As Jack starts to investigate, he finds that half the unit is already missing (and presumed dead) and the other half slowly comes together.
The investigation of what led to the death of their friend takes the team all across the western United States and involved a top secret organization and all kinds of shenanigans involving missing money and terror organizations. Ultimately the riddles are all solved, the perpertrators are all killed or captured, and the team disbands again to pursue their disparate lives.
What's to like about this book? Well, the action is great fun, well written and executed, and allows the story to go on its merry way in a fun and logical path. What's not to like? The main character is a vigilante! At one point in the story he needs some cash, so he goes and robs a group of people. In tune with the apparent moto that the ultimate end justifies the means, the people he robs are actually drug dealers - so that makes it right? The other negative about this is that the body count is incredibly high for a story that supposedly manages to miss being covered by any news articles - yet involves several government organizations. In other words, it is highly unbelievable. Maybe that lack of credibility is what I found to be so much fun! I could barely put the book down as I always wanted to read "just one more chapter..."!!!
Recommended.
Book Review: Interesting perspective - there is a Jack in "TEAM"
Summary: 4 Stars
Titling the book, "Bad Luck and Trouble" works from a Jack Reacher perspective. Reacher's always got some of the first and lots of the second. This time, Reacher gets to display some skills from his past that Child's readers have never really seen before - his ability to lead, specifically a military team.
As the book opens, there's plenty of ...bad luck and trouble.... for Calvin Franz, who is dumped from a Bell Helicopter down into the desert floor. Scratch Calvin's character. Later, we learn that Calvin was one of 8 of hero Jack Reacher's old military police outfit.
Reacher is author Lee Child's relentless drifter hero, and this is Child's 11th tale of Reacher's life after he leaves a career as a military hero. Reacher is sort of a magnet for violence and trouble as he tours around the United States, essentially homeless, with few possessions, and liking it that way. Before he learns about Calvin, Reacher is leaving Portland, Oregon, on a bus with essentially no plans.
Enter, in a round about way, Frances Neagley, a female loner who was once a member of Reacher's troup, and is today a very successful private intelligence operative. Neagley tells Reacher of Calvin's death, and together they discover that 3 other members of the team are also missing. They reach out and assemble the remaining members of the team to unravel and avenge the murder(s). Southern California becomes a brutal field for them to some government shenanigans and international terrorism.
Here, Reacher relies more on intellect than his penchant and talent for violence and death. There is a lot of tough banter in the book, and the same sly and ironic humor that Child has peppered the series with. Ultimately, the mystery and the action are more than satisfying, and the team disbands... Reacher is now left to go it alone again.
Don't misunderstand, there is plenty of violence in the book, and there are also some situations that make you question Reacher's integrity - a new, and not necessarily welcome surprise to the reader.
Still and all, "Bad Luck and Trouble" is a great installment in the series, gives good new dimension for the hero, and a book that can be read as a stand alone. It's always a possibility that Child will resurrect the troop, or at least one or two of the characters in future offerings as well.
Book Review: Reacher Strikes Again!
Summary: 4 Stars
Fete of Death
Not as good as "One Shot" by a long shot and some previous Jack Reacher novels as well, "Bad Luck and Trouble" is nevertheless a worthy thriller by Lee Child. I wouldn't classify it as one of his best efforts because I prefer Jack Reacher the Loner to Jack Reacher the Groupie. What makes Reacher click with the reader is his effectiveness as a loner. As a member of a team in "Bad Luck and Trouble" he loses this effectiveness and much of his luster as a unique character.
In this novel, Reacher rounds up his old buddies from his military days, which slows down the action to all but a dead stall, and sets out to investigate the disappearance of another of their military comrades. In the process, they discover an international conspiracy. Prior to that, Reacher and his pals roam around Vegas in this outing and have to whack out a baddie who is bird-dogging them and bury him in true Vegas fashion under cement, what else, Mafia-style. After all, what would you expect in a city created by Bugsy Siegel?
When all is said and done, this is still a fine thriller and well worth the read. If you haven't read a Reacher novel before, however, I would suggest you start with another book in the series, such as, "One Shot," which centers around Reacher the Loner.
--Bryan Cassiday