Dell Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

A great fan of Jack Reacher books - I own 18 and have read 16 so far - I had to stop reading this one less than a third of the way through out of complete frustration. It was too contrived and unbelievable, even for a Jack Reacher book. I was initially interested in it, because I enjoyed the Tom Cruise movie of the same name. Reading the book, however, I can see why the movie-makers almost rewrote the entire story in order to make it credible. I can't imagine them actually filming the story in the book. I don't think anyone would sit very long watching it in the theatre. So, give this book a pass and watch the movie. It's much better, despite the little guy Tom Cruise.

I haven't read a bad Lee Child/Jack Reacher novel. This wasn't my favourite; there's less action than usual, the bad guys are fairly weak and the ending is a bit of an anti-climax, but it's still a good read.One thing that was a pleasant surprise is that the story is very different from the film they based on it. I can see why they made the changes they did, and the film was definitely better for it, but it meant I didn't know what was going to happen in the book even though I'd seen the film.

After a run of three books of Jack heading towards to his old military unit headquarters in Virginia and getting waylaid, Jack finally arrives to meet the voice on the telephone he was so intrigued by in  61 Hours . She is Major Susan Turner but when he finally arrives she is not behind her desk. She is locked up and Jack is brought back on active service to stand Military trial for crimes he allegedly committed during his prior service. It seems not even Jack can escape the past, but when he is charged with something he clearly didn't do, it is evident that someone is fitting him up, will Jack manage to unravel the conspiracy?This is the eighteenth book in the series, and is the destination he has been heading to over the last three books; ( Worth Dying For , The Affair  and  A Wanted Man  respectively) - it all plays out in motels & U.S. military bases and is definitely one of the more institution-based JR novels. There is the usual fare of Reacher's raw-physicality, black coffee, Pentagon-statistics and attractive female lawyers. However it does feel much more like a return to form for Lee Child after a couple of damp squibs in a row despite a rather uninvolved ending to the story.As an aside, it seems as if Lee Child has developed a random predilection for describing lightbulbs in this instalment. All in all, insanely difficult to put down - a real page-turner - and if you are a Reacher fan already you know what to expect!! 61 HoursWorth Dying ForThe AffairA Wanted Man

I can't put it down - well I can, I am not reading it now.These stories are immensely "readable" - they draw you in, are fast paced and very well written such that you can read fast and long. And this one is no different. Annoying because it won't keep you entertained for long before you are waiting another year for the next one (Like any good series book of course).I have not finished it yet, so perhaps I will be ultimately disappointed as others have been by the outcome, but right now it's excellent, even if a bit of a ridiculous plot - I have reached a point in the book where it's starting to become a little daft - belief suspension is getting to new levels as others have suggested.Responding to comments along that vein, the problem is, Lee Child has written 17 others of these - most of them excellent. If you had the same job for 17 years, wouldn't you be getting bored? Especially if you were now very wealthy having sold the film franchise, not to mention a "couple of dozen" books along the way? He's older than me, and if I was wealthy enough I'd retire, so perhaps he's simply bored now. Still better than a lot of authors though. Books gnerally are (IMO) ultimately frustrating because no one author can produce enough really readable books sufficiently fast to keep the avid fan happy. Just not possible. And there in lies the problem - as Jack Reachers popularity reaches (possibly) new heights, the creator is not only human, but also (I suspect) losing interest to some degree.I am digressing, badly - Bottom line - if you are a Jack Reacher fan already, you'll buy it anyway. If you are not, go back the beginning and enjoy catching up in series order - its an excellent series. It's not essential to do them in order, but if you have the chance, I'd really recommend it that way. Jack becomes an old friend.

Lee Child has been building his Jack Reacher series up to this story for several years, it following on from events in two of the last three novels, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. Reacher has been making his way back to his former army posting, to meet the woman who currently holds his old position in the military police, but instead finds someone else, and a surprising number of complications.The story really does make for addictive reading - I was hooked right from the start and read through the book in just a couple of days. Child's style seems to have matured slightly and the short, clipped sentences of the older books have, in places, stretched out to slightly more filling prose, but without losing any of the action, excitement and suspense that the series typically brings.The plot is filled with puzzles and twists and the usual Reacher-style violence and problem solving, and for once he's presented with a strong emotional storyline to accompany this. As usual, Reacher is joined by a new supporting cast of characters, but some of these feel stronger and better defined than before, and this really helps build up the belief in the plot and wonder at where Child is taking the reader.The best book in the series? Probably, yes.