Bantam Past Tense: (Jack Reacher 23)

Lee Child Jack Reacher novels get worse with each release, this one being the worst yet. I used to relish every page of his early books and read cover to cover on the day each new book arrived. This one I got as far as chapter 3 and gave up. Two separate stories being told in parallel, neither being very interesting and my enthusiasm was gone almost immediately. Time to find a new fave author I think.

As a great fan of Reacher and having read all the novels, I can say that Past Tense is on a par with the best of the series. Reacher is at his dogged, investigative best when tracking down his father’s antecedents and there’s a bunch of very unpleasant villains who deserve to get the full Reacher treatment. The plot is well-paced, the dialogue is sparsely compelling and the action is taut and satisfying. This is a great read which I finished in a day, finding it impossible to put aside until I reached the end. Thank you Lee Child. I look forward to more like this.

When Lee Child came up with the title Past Tense, it is unlikely he realised he was also describing his career as a writer of decent light-weight fiction. The deterioration in the quality of his literary creations has been very marked over the past few years and it really is time he called it a day. He is 65 this year, a good reason to retire without destroying what's left of his reputation. This dreadful book must be close to the final nail. Enough has been said about the absurdity of the plot and its woefully slow pace, so I will simply suggest that all his readers hold a moment's silence in memory of a thriller writer who once knew how to thrill.

I have all the Reacher books. Like Wilbur Smith - who now provides "editorial content" rather than his own imput - There has been a gradual decline to the point where the plots are very predictable and Reacher's speech and thought processes are almost ingrained to the point where I can continue his sentences without turning the following page. I still like reading Reacher but not as much.At some point Reacher is going to have to grow up and settle down. How much longer can he wander around righting the wrongs with a toothbrush and a bank card? What will be his next must have item on his survivor list? A zimmer frame? His age has been kept flexible but chronilogically, from the first book, he must be well into his 60's by now. When is he going to get glasses, hearing aids, short of breath, hair and the ultimate stress factor, a wife?A reasonable read but not the GREAT READ that Child used to write.

This is an exciting read. Jack is on his travels again and hitches a lift but things change and the driver drops him off, needing to urgently return. A fork in the road beckons, one road leading to Laconia, where he has never visited but his father grew up there. Curiosity dictates that Jack takes a day or two out of his schedule to learn more about his family history. However, initial research shows no record of any Reacher family living there 80 years ago.Separately, two Canadian tourists pull over into a remote hotel with car on its last legs, and enter a nightmare situation.Unusually, for Jack often comes up against the baddies early on in the tale and, in true style, sets about righting the wrong. In this book the two scenarios are set twenty miles apart and the two stories are told separately until about 3/4 of the way through the book. I thought this a refreshing change, it also notched up the tension and anticipation, in wondering how and when the two threads would merge.Always an enjoyable read, this one is truely back on form.