Improbable and predictable, but still enjoyable. Probably a 3.5 star read. ( )

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Another excellent Reacher story, doing what Reacher does best, protecting the little man. Each story is brilliant. Lee Child’s writing draws you in and keeps you hooked throughout the book. The Reacher series is so addictive with the uncoolest her of all.

Reacher is sat at the back of a greyhound bus going to the end of the line. He is observing all those on the bus journey with him. There is an old man asleep, with an envelope stuffed full of money, hanging out of his pocket. There is another passenger, far younger, who is also watching the old man, and more importantly the envelope of cash. There seems to be mischief on the mind of the younger man.

When the old man gets off the bus, the younger man also follows him off, Reacher follows them both, inquisitively. Reacher ultimately steps in and helps the old man, who initially does not want the help. The money had been to repay a debt, and he is not fit enough to get to the place. Reacher takes the old man and takes responsibility for delivering the payment on the debt. The person who is supposed to be collecting the payment is not there. There is someone else collecting the payment and not aware of all the facts. This piques his interest.

An Albanian crime gang has been running the town’s illicit trades, the people who had no options had to use. Unbeknown to the town there had been a takeover which was still ongoing was underway. There was some sort of intercession with neither side really understood but accepted. Until it was too late for one of the gangs. With Reacher thrown in to the mix, there is now even more confusion, and plenty of violence.

Some people will feel blessed that Reacher is on their side, others not so please. Reacher is certainly enjoying himself, even when in trouble.

Once again Lee Child has given us an addictive thriller where Reacher is sticking it to the ‘man’. Just another brilliant read. ( )

Probably the highest body count of any of the Jack Reacher books, which is saying something, and yet an oddly satisfying story, in a far-fetched, highly unlikely kind of way. I don’t plan to continue with the Reacher books written (or co-written) by Lee Child’s brother, so this was a good place to wrap things up. ( )

Somewhere in rural America, Jack Reacher is on a bus (his usual mode of transportation) and follows an old man with a thick envelope of cash off the bus to protect him from a would-be pickpocket. He learns that Aaron Shevick is on his way to repay a loan shark and volunteers to go for him. When he arrives, the loan shark isn’t the same man because that guy is already dead, the victim of a turf war between the Albanians and the Ukrainians who run the town. The story proceeds slowly as Jack and a few friends he accumulates methodically bring down the gangsters to protect the old man and his wife. There’s a lot of action, many executions, and some dry, witty dialog, but the overall plot seriously lacked a take-you-by-the-throat plot. I read to the end to see what finally happened, but I did not have my usual enthusiasm for earlier books featuring this character. ( )

I totally thought there would be a plot twist that the daughter wasn’t in the hospital or wasn’t sick or didn’t exist...

But it was deeply satisfying in any case. ( )