not his best.

Too drawn out to an obvious conclusion! Appears to be just a twisted version of previous books not a new interesting story!Very disappointed.

I'm always eager to read Lee Child's latest. Here the locale seems more restricted than other Child narratives. There is 'action', but it almost seems cursory. I don't 'follow' Reacher for 'deep philopshical' thought, but his observations about people are often on target, his descriptions are apt, but 'Past Tense' already seems a bit worn.The 'action' is predictable; the situation(s) time worn.

I was both lucky and unlucky today. Unlucky because I've been battling a hip injury that needs time to rest so it doesn't howl at me whenever I move around. Lucky because I could give my undivided attention (something that never happens) to reading another novel starring Jack Reacher, one of my all-time favorite characters. Man was I pumped! I put some pillows under my legs, cozied up to a large ice pack, and began Lee Child's most recent story about Jack Reacher, a large and athletic man, retired from the Military Police, hitching his way across the country with only the clothes on his back and a toothbrush in his pocket. He has his health, he has his freedom, and all the time in the world to do what he wants.So I started reading and quickly got back into Lee Child's comfortable writing rhythm, enjoying his taught dialogue, his sparse but complete descriptions, and his sly intrigue and iconic humor. Everything went as expected for the first 70 pages or so until I got a whiff of something familiar. A faint clue floated through my brain and I thought "oh oh", but I dismissed it and read on. Then another turn of a phrase put me back on the same thought. One clue can stand alone unless it is confirmed by another one. I'm not one to believe in coincidences. Now I was worried.Here I am in the first one-third of the story and I know what the main plot is. For the second time this year I am reading a story by a well known author who is riffing off another author's previously written story. I'm not saying that this was done intentionally. Far from it. No one can keep track of every story written and released and there aren't an infinite number of story lines in this universe. However I follow certain authors because of their writing abilities and their creative story lines. I want their plot line to be surprising and unexpected, not a spin on something I've read before that was written by someone else.So I personally am disappointed in this novel. I am not including any spoilers in this review because chances are that most of you have never been exposed to this particular plot, and I expect that you will enjoy this story just as well as others written by Lee Child. He is as charming as always, entertaining and interesting, as comfortable as an old shoe -- but this shoe has a hole in it. Gosh darn it all to heck!

I've watched the Reacher movies but never any of the books that led to the movies. Usually, it is the reverse order for me (read the book and then watch the movie hoping it will be as good as the book). I found the author's writing very enjoyable....kind of like I was ease dropping into his thoughts during the reading of his book. I tried to not picture Tom Cruise as being Reacher, and it helped by the author's description of him right off the bat.If you need to get away for a day and be transported into the best story line you've read in quite some time, grab the book, a beverage, and sink into the couch with a good pillow, and enjoy the ride. It's worth the trip. Warning: very descriptive violence in book.P.S. Another thing that I wanted to comment on is that the typeface is good and the sentence spacing is very good. Your eyes won't tire because of overcrowding or very small print. I also like the color of the pages.