Helpful Score: 2
My friend Elizabeth said these books are formulaic. Yes you can call them that but they work! Reacher is back with a vengeance and I loved every minute of it. There was an extra amount of violence in this story but I love how Reacher figures out his exact moves before a fight. He always helps the underdog and I lost count of the bodies left in his wake.
I read somewhere that when Lee Child decides to do away with Reacher, he'll go out in a blaze of glory. I hope that never happens and if it does, I'll be sure to skip that book and go away to mourn!
I read somewhere that when Lee Child decides to do away with Reacher, he'll go out in a blaze of glory. I hope that never happens and if it does, I'll be sure to skip that book and go away to mourn!
Helpful Score: 2
This is one of the best series on the market, Child usually writes only one new Reacher book a year so there is always anticipation waiting for that book, not all the books are 5* but most of them are---this is one of them, it deserves all 5*, it's a good story and of course well written
Jack Reacher is a great character and one I keep tabs on.
Jack Reacher is a great character and one I keep tabs on.
Jack Reacher has a Jessica Fletcher-like knack for being around when trouble occurs (though his responses certainly differ from those of Ms. Fletcher). In Blue Moon, our hero comes to the rescue of an elderly man who is carrying a large envelope of cash on a Greyhound bus. After saving the man from an attempted mugging, Reacher joins the man and his wife for lunch, and learns that they are in deep with loan sharks. Although Reacher intends to not get involved and continue on his travels, he quickly becomes a person of interest to rival gangs warring for control of their city.
After 20+ books and numerous short stories it could be said that the Reacher stories are formulaic. That may be true, but I don't care because Lee Child's narratives are consistently so engaging. Blue Moon is a page-turning adrenaline rush from start to finish. There is more gunfire than the previous books. Personally I prefer the street brawls to the shootouts, but there are a few of those too.
If Jack Reacher were a real person he would be a national treasure. Cheers to Mr. Child for maintaining such a high standard of quality for the Reacher series after so many years. Can't wait for the next one!
Thanks to Amazon Vine for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
After 20+ books and numerous short stories it could be said that the Reacher stories are formulaic. That may be true, but I don't care because Lee Child's narratives are consistently so engaging. Blue Moon is a page-turning adrenaline rush from start to finish. There is more gunfire than the previous books. Personally I prefer the street brawls to the shootouts, but there are a few of those too.
If Jack Reacher were a real person he would be a national treasure. Cheers to Mr. Child for maintaining such a high standard of quality for the Reacher series after so many years. Can't wait for the next one!
Thanks to Amazon Vine for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Reacher keeps on going
I've loved Jack Reacher since the beginning. Lee Child writes him so well! I hated this one to end.
I very much liked Jack Reacher novel #24 and, having acquired at the same time #25, Blue Moon, as in "once in a blue moon", I couldn't wait to get into it. It started great. It stayed quite interesting for a while. But then, wait. What happened to the Jack Reacher I knew and loved? The amazing ex-military cop who has an uncanny ability to see through all the muddle and a perfect moral compass and always does the right thing no matter how tough the odds. The Jack Reacher Lee Child depicts in Blue Moon is hardly the same guy. This guy seems to have no reservations about killing others in cold blood. He usually waits till the other guy starts to pull a gun so he can justify killing in self-defense. But not always. If he perceives an adversary is "bad", that's all it takes. BAM he's history. If the other guy strikes first, Reacher always makes the right defensive move so that whether it's with a gun or with a fist or even a heavy object like a baseball bat, Reacher is always a step ahead. In turn, Reacher never misses, to the point of ludicrousness! And the plot Lee Child lays out in Blue Moon where there are bad guys everywhere Reacher turns, provides an enormous opportunity for conflict, so as the plot, preposterous as it is, continues to progress, there are dead bodies everywhere with no real danger of police intervention or having to worry about getting caught. The dialogue is typical Reacher -- short blunt sentences describing the action in micro-detail, spurt message exchanges between Reacher's back brain vs. front brain, often humorous but ultimately aggravating to the reader to the point one can't help thinking "okay, enough is enough."
I don't know. Maybe it's time to forget Lee Child's Jack Reacher series once and for all. There have been a few in the past I was a bit disappointed with but never like this one where it got to the point I couldn't wait till it was over. One and a half stars, rounded to two is the best rating I can give it.
I don't know. Maybe it's time to forget Lee Child's Jack Reacher series once and for all. There have been a few in the past I was a bit disappointed with but never like this one where it got to the point I couldn't wait till it was over. One and a half stars, rounded to two is the best rating I can give it.
I always enjoy Jack Reacher novels. This one is not the best. The enemies are kind of faceless gangsters in black suits, and too easy to take out. But still worth reading.
I have been reading the Reacher novels faithfully for the last several years and I wait patiently each year for the new Reacher novel to be published and then usually put my name on the wait list at the library. This is the 24th book in the series and I was somewhat disappointed in this one. The whole premise of this one was just not very believable. Reacher gets off a bus in some unnamed American city because an older man on the bus is about to get mugged when it is obvious he is carrying money in a bank envelope. Turns out, he owes the money to a loan shark operated by the Albanians in the city. Organized crime pretty much operated the city which was split in two, the west of the city was run by Ukrainians and the east by Albanians. These groups paid off the local police and controlled everything in the city. Well Reacher doesn't take kindly to this and wants to help the old man pay back his debt which he incurred because his daughter is in the hospital with cancer. With the aid of a waitress who has been wronged by the Ukrainians and some ex-military who play in a local band, Reacher takes on both groups. Reacher has never been more violent in any of the previous novels taking on the crime groups in vigilante style. He and his small group kill with precision while all the bad guys shoot aimlessly with little effect. And of course, Reacher prevails in the end.
Well, I just found this to be mostly unbelievable. While many of the previous novels had a degree of unbelievability, this one just took it too far. I can usually overlook this if the novel is enjoyable, but for the most part, I really didn't enjoy this one. Hopefully, his next outing will be better.
Well, I just found this to be mostly unbelievable. While many of the previous novels had a degree of unbelievability, this one just took it too far. I can usually overlook this if the novel is enjoyable, but for the most part, I really didn't enjoy this one. Hopefully, his next outing will be better.
Good page-turner, typical Jack Reacher always seeming to be at the right place when he's needed most. A lot of action and a satisfying ending.
