Bad Luck and Trouble

From a helicopter high above the empty California desert, a man is sent free-falling into the night.

In Chicago, a woman learns that an elite team of ex–army investigators is being hunted down one by one. And on the streets of Portland, Jack Reacher—soldier, cop, hero—is pulled out of his wandering life by a code that few other people could understand.

From the first shocking scenes in Lee Child’s explosive new novel, Jack Reacher is plunged like a knife into the heart of a conspiracy that is killing old friends…and is on its way to something even worse.

~Synopsis from goodreads

Note: I have included only a portion of the synopsis from goodreads in this review. The whole blurb reveals a bit too much information for a book that is considered a thriller.

Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child is the eleventh book in the Jack Reacher series.

For those who aren’t familiar with the series, Jack Reacher is an ex-army man. He lives on the road drifting from place to place using public transport with very little luggage. Along the way, he is a good Samaritan of sorts investigating shady situations and coming to the aid of the helpless. He supports himself by doing menial short-term jobs wherever he goes. Another important characteristic of Reacher is his elusiveness. He avoids a paper trail wherever he goes, making it impossible for people to track and find him easily.

Each book in this series can be read as a standalone. So, even if you haven’t read many or all the earlier books, you can still pick this up and be able to follow along without any trouble.

So, What’s the Story?

Jack Reacher receives a subtle message from one of his ex-army colleagues. It seems that some of his old team-mates may be in deadly trouble. Soon he reconnects with a few of his friends and they begin to investigate the mysterious deaths of the others.

My Review

I liked the fact that in this book, Jack Reacher is no longer solo. He’s with a bunch of his friends. He hasn’t met them in many years and this creates an interesting dynamic within the group, kinda like an old-school reunion, with all of them looking back at old times, and comparing where they are in life as compared to their friends.

The mystery is good too, but not great. It was pretty easy to guess the twists and turns in the book. There was one twist I didn’t get though. The main question bothering Reacher is how come his tough guy buddies were lured so easily to their deaths thrown out of helicopters? It’s obvious that some twist is coming throughout the story but I have to admit that I didn’t guess this most important one.

However the group camaraderie and the fantastic action more than makes up for the slightly predictable (only if you’ve read too many thrillers) plot.

Another aspect that I quite liked is that Reacher is no longer the lone mystery man here. There’s a little more fleshing out of his character making him not as two-dimensional as he was in earlier books. I also like the shades of vulnerability and uncertainty that color his character here.

Huge thanks to Penguin Random House for sending this book in exchange for an honest review.

You can also purchase a copy of this book from Amazon.