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jimbowen0306's review against another edition
3.0
This book was so generically Jack Reacher that it's going to be a book you forget, almost as soon as you stop reading it.
Jack Reacher is Lee Child's main character. He walks round America, getting into scrapes. In this case, he stumbles upon a former army special services investigator looking for her missing brother. In short your typical Reacher fair. Reacher style things then happen (with the exception of the start, which is a bit "Wait, what now, say that again...?"), but even for Reacher he rode his luck during the scrapes he got into.
The book is fine, but the story stretched credibility (even for the series), there was very little character development, and the story could have been interchanged with any other in the series, without anyone really noticing.
Jack Reacher is Lee Child's main character. He walks round America, getting into scrapes. In this case, he stumbles upon a former army special services investigator looking for her missing brother. In short your typical Reacher fair. Reacher style things then happen (with the exception of the start, which is a bit "Wait, what now, say that again...?"), but even for Reacher he rode his luck during the scrapes he got into.
The book is fine, but the story stretched credibility (even for the series), there was very little character development, and the story could have been interchanged with any other in the series, without anyone really noticing.
vlreid's review against another edition
3.0
A small rural town. A gang of bad guys involved in nefarious activities. A woman in a troubling situation. Enter Jack Reacher to save the day....
The scenario of this #26 Jack Reacher book is very similar to most of the others. This is the second book written jointly by Lee and Andrew Child, and I have to admit that I'm not as thrilled with his recent books. The plot was muddied, rambling, and difficult to follow at times. It didn't have the page-turning quality that his previous books have had. Don't get me wrong...I will continue to read the Reacher series (one already published and one to be published later this year) and hope that they improve.
In the interim, I'm really looking forward to Reacher Season 2 starring Alan Ritchson on Prime Video. It is based on Bad Luck and Trouble, and will be available in December 2023!
Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.
The scenario of this #26 Jack Reacher book is very similar to most of the others. This is the second book written jointly by Lee and Andrew Child, and I have to admit that I'm not as thrilled with his recent books. The plot was muddied, rambling, and difficult to follow at times. It didn't have the page-turning quality that his previous books have had. Don't get me wrong...I will continue to read the Reacher series (one already published and one to be published later this year) and hope that they improve.
In the interim, I'm really looking forward to Reacher Season 2 starring Alan Ritchson on Prime Video. It is based on Bad Luck and Trouble, and will be available in December 2023!
Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.
hirvimaki's review against another edition
1.0
One and a half stars.
In "Better Off Dead," Lee Child continues the transition of handing over the reins of the Reacherverse to his younger brother, Andrew, which began in the previous novel, "The Sentinel." While some readers found "The Sentinel" to be different from previous Reacher novels, the disparities seemed mostly cosmetic to me and didn't significantly affect my enjoyment. However, in "Better Off Dead," the variances between Andrew's style and Lee's are more pronounced and notably detract from the series.
Having encountered series transitions before, such as with the Spenser novels by Robert B. Parker and later continued by Ace Atkins and Mike Lupica, and the Leaphorn/Chee novels by Tony Hillerman and later continued by Anne Hillerman, I'm familiar with varying degrees of success of passing the authorship baton. The transition from Parker to Atkins felt subtle yet enjoyable, akin to listening to a cover band performing familiar tunes, while Anne Hillerman's takeover of the Leaphorn/Chee novels resulted in a loss of the original essence, making them all but unreadable.
"The Sentinel" represented a transition akin to Parker to Atkins, mostly maintaining continuity and familiarity. However, "Better Off Dead" more closely resembles Anne Hillerman taking over the Leaphorn/Chee novels, completely losing the quintessence of the original work.
In "The Sentinel," it seemed as though Lee was guiding Andrew's hand, maintaining cohesion and a semblance of plot progression. However, "Better Off Dead" feels like Andrew was given free rein without supervision, resulting in a narrative that lacks the essence of what makes Reacher novels so engaging and enjoyable.
If you are reading through the series, in my opinion, this is one you can skip, as it neither contributes to Reacher's character arc in anyway meaningful nor tells an even remotely interesting story.
***
As a side note: This might have been my last Reacher novel, however I decided to give the next Lee/Andrew collaboration, "No Plan B," a try and am happy to report that Lee seems to have reeled his younger brother in and it feels much more pre-Andrew. Fingers crossed.
***
In "Better Off Dead," Lee Child continues the transition of handing over the reins of the Reacherverse to his younger brother, Andrew, which began in the previous novel, "The Sentinel." While some readers found "The Sentinel" to be different from previous Reacher novels, the disparities seemed mostly cosmetic to me and didn't significantly affect my enjoyment. However, in "Better Off Dead," the variances between Andrew's style and Lee's are more pronounced and notably detract from the series.
Having encountered series transitions before, such as with the Spenser novels by Robert B. Parker and later continued by Ace Atkins and Mike Lupica, and the Leaphorn/Chee novels by Tony Hillerman and later continued by Anne Hillerman, I'm familiar with varying degrees of success of passing the authorship baton. The transition from Parker to Atkins felt subtle yet enjoyable, akin to listening to a cover band performing familiar tunes, while Anne Hillerman's takeover of the Leaphorn/Chee novels resulted in a loss of the original essence, making them all but unreadable.
"The Sentinel" represented a transition akin to Parker to Atkins, mostly maintaining continuity and familiarity. However, "Better Off Dead" more closely resembles Anne Hillerman taking over the Leaphorn/Chee novels, completely losing the quintessence of the original work.
In "The Sentinel," it seemed as though Lee was guiding Andrew's hand, maintaining cohesion and a semblance of plot progression. However, "Better Off Dead" feels like Andrew was given free rein without supervision, resulting in a narrative that lacks the essence of what makes Reacher novels so engaging and enjoyable.
If you are reading through the series, in my opinion, this is one you can skip, as it neither contributes to Reacher's character arc in anyway meaningful nor tells an even remotely interesting story.
***
As a side note: This might have been my last Reacher novel, however I decided to give the next Lee/Andrew collaboration, "No Plan B," a try and am happy to report that Lee seems to have reeled his younger brother in and it feels much more pre-Andrew. Fingers crossed.
***
aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jennyt17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
michaelbtice's review against another edition
3.0
As always, all Reacher books are only rated against other Reacher books. This was a middling Reacher book.
I was about to say, "For Andrew's second outing on the way to taking over the Reacher books, this seems to suffer from the usual sophomore slump," before I realized that I could not remember what The Sentinel was about, so maybe that wasn't as good as I remembered? Although, as I think more, I don't know that I remember specific details of most any Reacher book, since it's just the same story told over and over again.
Reacher, walking alone, rolls into town, and seems something going bad. Reacher doesn't want to get involved. Reacher gets involved. Predictable stuff happens. Reacher elbow and kicks punches people in the the head. There is a mild twist to explain what happens. Reacher wins.
This one just felt, I don't know, forced? Maybe? The no phone thing is getting old. I know grandparents who understand technology better than, "What's Face ID‽" Reacher. Maybe I'm just getting tired of the fluff thriller two fisted punchy punchy the bad guy books? It was still fun, sure, but it wasn't as fun.
It lacked pizzazz.
I was about to say, "For Andrew's second outing on the way to taking over the Reacher books, this seems to suffer from the usual sophomore slump," before I realized that I could not remember what The Sentinel was about, so maybe that wasn't as good as I remembered? Although, as I think more, I don't know that I remember specific details of most any Reacher book, since it's just the same story told over and over again.
Reacher, walking alone, rolls into town, and seems something going bad. Reacher doesn't want to get involved. Reacher gets involved. Predictable stuff happens. Reacher elbow and kicks punches people in the the head. There is a mild twist to explain what happens. Reacher wins.
This one just felt, I don't know, forced? Maybe? The no phone thing is getting old. I know grandparents who understand technology better than, "What's Face ID‽" Reacher. Maybe I'm just getting tired of the fluff thriller two fisted punchy punchy the bad guy books? It was still fun, sure, but it wasn't as fun.
It lacked pizzazz.
rembrandt1881's review against another edition
3.0
This reacher novel is first person, not my favorite style of reacher but you can see more how Andrew wants to take the series and it might be a bit too much. The plot seems super complicated at times with the twists and turns coming at various points with not enough explanation between them. We get a lot more of exposition that seemed to be meandering. I'm too invested to quit the series now but if this was my first foray, I am not sure if I would continue.
Even the main villain is supposed to be a super bad guy, and scary but it doesn't come off to me like he actually is. It all seems anticlimactic and I can't put my finger on exactly why it seems to fall flat. It all got to feeling so mechanical in a way.
Even the main villain is supposed to be a super bad guy, and scary but it doesn't come off to me like he actually is. It all seems anticlimactic and I can't put my finger on exactly why it seems to fall flat. It all got to feeling so mechanical in a way.
thedevonkelly95's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
As per my previous reviews, I don’t seem to have a problem with Andrew joining Lee as much as others seem too.
Enjoyable story. Easy to follow and finish. Well written. I would recommend and do recommend to new comers to the Jack Reacher world. I don’t see a change between Andrew and Lee’s writing.
Enjoyable story. Easy to follow and finish. Well written. I would recommend and do recommend to new comers to the Jack Reacher world. I don’t see a change between Andrew and Lee’s writing.
charliesolon's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5