Review: One Shot

One Shot by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You know the other Jack Reacher novels you read? This one is like that... dependable, escapist nonsense (and I mean that as a compliment).

I knew I hadn't read this book but it seemed very familiar. I was beginning to doubt my sanity... until I realised that "One Shot" was used as the plot for the first Jack Reacher film (staring the too short and too charming but otherwise reasonable Jack Reacher impersonator - Tom Cruise). Phew! Marbles more or less intact after all.

As always, I enjoyed the unstoppable nature of Jack Reacher - his Terminator-like qualities that have him ploughing on towards the end in spite of (or probably because of) everything being thrown at him. I especially enjoyed the way he dealt with the problem of approaching the bad guy's "lair" towards the end of the book. And, to add to the fun, there is the usual good dollop of Jack Reacher's wit and wisdom. I offer the following quote by way of example:

You know much about head injuries?'
"Only the ones I cause”

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Review: The Affair

The Affair by Lee Child
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hmm! I've only read a few of the Jack Reacher books but have generally enjoyed them. This one though, less so. I still basically liked it for it was: good escapist nonsense. But...

My main problem with it was the bits that felt different from others in the series that I've already read. First, the sex scenes were, well, too sexy. (I realise this seems a weird thing to complain about but I don't remember the other books going into so much detail.) Second, one of the conclusions in the book (and I was surprised that it wasn't the conclusion) stretched my credibility way beyond my ability to suspend disbelief. To make matters worse, I could see no reason why the person who helped him out didn't just step in earlier and stop things from escalating in the first place. Lastly, in this book, Jack was a bit too much Judge Judy and executioner for my liking.

There were a couple of other things that niggled me but I already feel churlish for making the above complaints. It was, despite my reservations, a fun read and I will read more in the series as I come across them.

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Review: The Midnight Line

The Midnight Line by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read a couple of Jack Reacher books. But don't actively seek them out. Generally I enjoy them. Short sentences. Short chapters. But not a short protagonist! (That's the movie version - try not to think of Tom Cruise!) Entertaining.

I started reading Midnight Line in a hotel lobby. I was sufficiently intrigued to want to know where the story went but not engrossed enough to actually spend money to buy the book. Thankfully, my local library came to the rescue and I was able borrow it to find out what happened. I'm glad I finished it because it turned out to be about something slightly different than I expected. I like trying to out-guess authors, but I enjoy it when they do something different in an interesting way.

From the other Jack Reacher books I've read, there were a number of set pieces that were kind of expected. (Such as, Jack takes on multiple opponents simultaneously and beats them all with apparent ease. Sorry if that's a spoiler.) But there were a couple of twists that were satisfyingly surprising.

Glad I finished it. Apart from anything else, it provided me with a new favourite joke which I'll wrap in a spoiler alert because I know some people get twitchy about revealing anything from a book...

***Spoiler Alert***
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I want to die peacefully in my sleep like Grandpa. Not screaming in terror like his passengers.

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