Reacher appreciation post (updated)

Jack Reacher is my reading guilty pleasure. I've read all of the books in the series by Lee Child, and I look forward to each new instalment. Yes, they are formulaic, but there's something satisfying about a series that sticks to what it does best. Reacher is like an old friend to me now. He breezes into someone's life (with his toothbrush and single set of clothes😆) and dispatches the bad guys before heading off to save the day somewhere else. He does all that with his usual matter-of-fact, laconic style, using his military training and whatever tools are on hand. There's something rather fanciful about being able to wander around with no ties, no responsibilities, and no possessions, just seeing how things go. Reacher's a funny guy, too, all deadpan and economical with his words. He's also clever, with a wealth of experience to see him through tough situations. I love his dogged determination to fight for the underdog and bring down the bad guys.

I like that the person in need of Reacher's help is not completely helpLESS. They take part in the solution, so it becomes less of a heroic effort by Reacher and more of a partnership of sorts. The female characters are always kind of bad ass, too. (Also, as Reacher has aged he seems to have stopped sleeping with the main female character and I like that better 😉.)

From book 24 onwards, the novels have been written in partnership with Lee's brother, Andrew, and I believe the books are now solely from the pen of Brother Child. Lee Child is approaching 70 so I imagine he planned to hang up his hat at some point. The general consensus from reviews I've read is that the Child and Child and now the Brother Child novels aren't as good as the Lee Child Originals. I completely agree. There's absolutely a change in style and quality. That said, I get that after such a long-running series it's a tough ask to come up with a fresh approach to Reacher. The guy should be well into his 50s if the timeline of the books is realistic, and his inability to live in the modern world may seem a bit naff these days.

I began this post in 2023 but I'm updating it as I read each new book, starting with the first partnership one, book 25. I won't go back and review all 24 books by Lee Child before he passed the mantle onto his brother. Read every single one of them if you have the chance, though. Nothing beats a Classic Reacher!

Sidebar: Tom Cruise is NOT and NEVER WILL BE Reacher. Size, strength, dry sense of humour, and a grizzled, seen-it-all vibe characterise Reacher, and these qualities are vital to the stories. Tom Cruise is none of those things. I'm pleased to see that the new TV series has cast an actor who fits the bill much better. Alan Ritchson, you are definitely the Reacher I would expect to see on screen!

The sentinel | Book 25 | Published October 2020 | Read March 2021

The first partnership books sees Reacher in a town near Pleasantville, Tennessee. He stumbles across Rusty Rutherford, an IT geek who has been recently fired after a cyberattack shut down the town's records. A bunch of bad guys beat up Rutherford and Reacher wants to know why.

The sentinel of the book's title refers to a computer program that protects the integrity of the US elections. Reacher decides to stay in the town and help Rutherford find the program's missing server before it falls into the hands of the wrong crowd (e.g., the Russians 😉).

I didn't mind the story, but I agree with other reviewers that Andrew Child's first outing of the series produced a Reacher that seems out of character. I can see why long-time fans didn't like the book. Reacher's gritty, minimalist approach to his words and actions is absent in The sentinel. After the reading the book, my judgement was that Andrew isn't as talented a writer as his brother and that made me sad. Why not just retire Reacher? As one reviewer on Goodreads commented, "Child wrote a book with a guy named Reacher in it, rather than a Reacher book." True!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Better off dead | Book 26 | Published October 2021 | Read January 2022

The sentinel failed to impress but I couldn't let go of Reacher so I gave book 26 a go. Better off dead is also a lower quality Reacher story than Lee Child's books. It uses the first person for Reacher and I didn't like that. Reacher needs to be Reacher.

The novel is set in yet another small town, this time in Arizona. The focal point for the story is bad-guy stuff involving bombs. I enjoyed the crazy ride, but I still found Reacher as the character I knew so well and had grown to love over 24 books to be largely absent. The one redeeming feature of the book is that the main female character and Reacher's partner in bringing down the bad guys, Michaela Fenton, is a total bad ass. She's reminiscent of Frances Neagley from earlier novels, Reacher's highly capable and loyal sergeant. My generous rating is for Michaela, otherwise it would be only two stars.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

No plan B | Book 27 | Published November 2022 | Read September 2023

No Plan B  at least returns to the third person perspective. It works for the Reacher character and I felt much better about the new writing partnership after reading book 27. The story is also quite complex and more character-driven than recent novels.

No Plan B centres around bad stuff happening in a prison in a small town that Reacher stumbles into after he witnesses a woman murdered for trying to expose the bad guys. I loved Hannah, Reacher's partner in his quest for justice, as she typifies the standard Lee Child kick-butt female character. The book is a step in the right direction, so let's hope Andrew Child can keep the Reacher franchise going. The transition has been rough so far, but this book feels like there might be some hope for the future.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The secret | Book 28 | Published October 2023 | Read August 2024

The secret goes back to 1992, when eight upstanding, successful people are found dead in different places across the US, in what looks like unconnected accidents. One of the victims - who falls from a hospital window - comes to the attention of the Secretary of Defence, who then sets up an interagency taskforce to investigate. Captain Reacher MP is assigned as the Army representative.

There's a side case involving missing inventory in Illinois. I'm not sure why this story was in the book as it isn't really needed to flesh the novel out. I found it odd that the book switches between the two stories without any connection between them. Still, there is plenty of Reacher's dry wit on display as he ferrets out the perpetrator.

I think The secret is the best so far of the partnership outings of Lee and his brother, Andrew. Again, I liked the female character with whom Reacher works closely. I also liked that Reacher is part of a team of investigators from different intelligence and defence branches. Even though Reacher isn't always front and centre, the flashback to his Army days made a change from the standard drifter formula. I found the story interesting in The secret, about a team of scientists who worked on an ill-fated military-backed project at a chemical plan in India in 1969. I guessed who bad guy but that didn't detract from my reading pleasure.

Perhaps more of Reacher in the Future will be Reacher in the Past. It makes sense, as he's aging now, after 28 books, and it might seem jarring to have him Being Reacher forever. That said, I like post-Army, Wandering Reacher 😉.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In too deep | Published October 2024 | Read January 2025

Reacher wakes up handcuffed to a bed in In too deep, with a broken wrist and no memory of the car accident that causes him to be in such a predicament. He discovers that an undercover FBI agent was driving the car he hitched a ride with and was killed in the crash. The guy's partners in crime want to use Reacher to help them with one last heist. While Reacher is playing dumb and trying to get his memory back, a police officer on suspension turns up at his motel, on a quest to bring the gang to justice for killing her father.

I've read a lot of lukewarm reviews of In too deep. it. I guessed what was going on and I agree with reviews that pointed out that the bad guys are weak characters who are hardly worthy adversaries for the mighty Reacher. I did like Jenny, the Arizona detective who works with Reacher to bring down them down. The story isn't super compelling (and I found the computer stuff confusing) but there is plenty of action and I quickly worked my way through the book. It still isn't up there with Lee Child's Classic Reacher stories, though.

The trouble is that Reacher doesn't quite feel like Reacher these days. Sure, he's a nomad with only a toothbrush and the clothes on his back to his name. He still drinks lots of coffee and eats lots of burgers and pies. The acerbic wit and sarcastic one-liners he dishes out to the bad guys are there, but they are watered down. Reacher doesn't seem to have the same personality he once did.

Will I keep going with the series? Probably. I can't help myself! I just wish Lee and Andrew had worked out a plan to develop Reacher's character as he ages, as the formula is becoming tired now without the brilliant characterisation and sarcastic humour that Lee Child built over the series. The brothers could move the books in a new direction, or explore more of Reacher's military past. I do appreciate the Andrew Child is trying to keep the Reacher fires burning. The later books are better than the first partnership outings, but there's something missing that is hard to describe. Reacher just needs to be more Reacher-like and the formula adhered to but in a new and interesting way.

Rating: ⭐⭐