BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE

Lee Child’s enigmatic drifter hero, ex-military cop Jack Reacher, has been described as the modern day equivalent of the lone Western gunman, riding into town to sort out the bad guys and then disappearing into the sunset leaving a line of fresh-dug graves and sighing women in his wake. If that’s the case, then his eleventh title in the series, Bad Luck and Trouble, is more like the Magnificent Seven.

OK, so there were eight of them - all part of the Special Investigations team that Reacher once led. Now one of them has turned up dead in the California Desert and six can’t be found at all, when Reacher receives a 1030 message via a complex route. Ten-thirty being the military police radio transmission code for an officer needing urgent assistance from a colleague. And, as Child reminds us, you Do Not Mess with the Special Investigators.

Right from the opening page Child’s relentless narrative hauls you in and drives the story forwards. Reacher’s character is so well established by this point that you experience a familiar frisson every time he approaches a situation with his customary analytical intelligence backed by explosive violence. This time, though, we find Reacher working within the parameters of a team structure, even if he does go it alone towards the end.

Bad Luck and Trouble is one of Child’s standouts in a series that’s been consistently outstanding. One of those rare books that you genuinely can’t put down. The only word to describe it is … magnificent.

Ayo Onatade

Lee Child has certainly hit upon another winner with this latest novel featuring the indomitable Jack Reacher.  This time around, what he finds himself involved in hits closer to home.  Things have changed for Reacher since 9/11 he now carries identification and has started using an ATM.  When he receives a cryptic message from one of his former army unit members he knows that it must be trouble as they have taken the time to track him down. 

The group of them had a saying “you do not mess with the Special Investigators” but this is what appears to have happened.  Reacher is asked to put the group back together again after one of them is found murdered in the desert and six others are missing.  They do get back together again and begin the torturous journey of finding out what happened to their fellow special investigators. 

Lee Child has certainly raised the barrier with Bad Luck and Trouble.  It is brutal and violent and one gets to see an even darker side of our eponymous hero Reacher.  As much as one is used to the casual violence, that emanates from Reacher even this time around one is rather shocked not only at the level of it but also the frequency.  However, despite the level of violence and at times the improbable things that take place do not let this put you off reading Bad Luck and Trouble.  Lee Child has written an excellent book, which as usual will be irresistible to long time readers of this series.  With the fast pace, tension and laconic attitude of our hero making the story as appealing as ever the result is a page-turner that you will not want to put down.