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The evil corporate conspiracy trope has become cliche--variations of it have become too common in the series. The tragic tale of a wrongly convicted man. He wondered what it had to do with Angela. Which made him think of another tragic tale. One that was just beginning. For the little girl in the wallet photo. Angela's daughter. Who would now have to grow up without a mother. Lev Emerson, who specializes in making accidents happen, to solve other people’s problems. Learns his twenty-two year old son has died, while in rehab ….. his liver and other body organs have failed. His next mission is that of revenge… for those he holds responsible. Although, so far, the co-written novels in this long-running series haven’t matched up to many of the earlier ones, in No Plan B there are signs that there could be life left in the series yet. Reacher and Hannah formed an alliance to find out the truth. A father in Chicago loses his son. A fifteen-year-old foster boy from Los Angeles searching for his dad. Everyone heads to Winson, Mississippi.
Plus he had a wife at home. And a son. The kid was in his twenties now but he was still a liability. Financially speaking. [He] had all kinds of expenses to take care of. Cars. Food. Clothes. Medical bills. This is the 27th book in the Reacher series and if you’ve read any of the previous outings you’ll be aware of how things are going to go here. Faced with difficult to impossible odds, outnumbered and outgunned, Reacher wades into the fray full of the confidence of an overly large man who is capable of causing maximum damage with his fists, elbows, knees and feet. Not to mention any gun that he manages to get hold of. When Reacher strolled into Gerrardsville, Colorado, he didn't expect to become embroiled in murder. But witnessing a woman pushed in front of a bus started the ball rolling for Reacher, and his determination to get to the bottom of what was going on drove him forward. Connecting with Hannah Hampton, she and Reacher headed to Winson, halfway across the country, where they hoped to find answers. Some of the earlier book scenarios were priceless, but sadly this descriptive gift has been shelved. Reacher himself has morphed into an aggressor, whereas in earlier books he was a righteous dealer of retaliatory strife.
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Like many other commentators, I have read all the Reacher books. I lament the passing of the reader’s ability to accurately visualize what was happening in these stories, and where and why. This story is as always very entertaining escapism, with lots of action and violence. This plot would definitely make a great Prime Video movie with a crew of unscrupulous bad guys carrying out their sneaky plans and eliminating anyone who stands in their way. But Reacher is unaware that these crimes are part of something much larger and more far-reaching: an arsonist out for revenge, a foster kid ontherun,a cabal of powerful people involved in a secret conspiracy with many moving parts. There is no room for error, but they make a grave one. They don’t consider Reacher a threat. “There’s too much at stake to start running from shadows.” But Reacher isn’t a shadow.He is flesh and blood.And relentless when it comes to making things right. The Jed Starmer plot line is superfluous. Take him out of the story and nothing is lost but maybe 5,000 words. The boy who left Los Angeles bound for Winson - Jed Sturmer. Jed seems a bit of a random piece to the puzzle (but not the most random!) and his journey cross country is an eventful one, fraught with all of the dangers you might expect a young, naive boy on the run might fall into. Clearly his path is going to cross with Reacher's; it's just a matter of where, when and how it will influence the outcome of Reacher’s quest.
There is a noticeable difference in style of writing, now that Andrew has joined the writing team, perhaps a bit less warmth about our hero, but I'm happy to see there is still an occasional bit of humor to lighten things up. Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. The device of bringing in ‘colour’ for characters that the reader meets, is laudatory, but can only be effective for a few of them. Especially when they are extinguished forthwith. In subplots, two other people are heading to that prison as well for their own purposes--one, a young boy running away from foster care, wanting to find his birth father; and the other, a man looking for revenge. From vastly different parts of the country there are forces at work, drawing a bunch of seemingly unrelated people together. Not surprisingly, Reacher is one of the key components of the inevitable meeting.
This review is based on an uncorrected advance review copy, not the final copy for publication. So, perhaps the editors will make a few changes before the book’s release. But one thing I noticed worth criticizing is the copy I read contains more than a few blatantly British colloquialisms and manners of speaking that feel a little jarring because they don’t fit with a story set in America with only American characters. Even given Reacher’s history growing up on Marine Corps bases all over the world as a military brat, it’s unlikely he would have adopted specifically British ways of speaking into his speech. There’s nothing wrong with two British authors writing a book set in America and filled only with American characters, but they should avoid the use of terms and colloquialisms almost only ever spoken and written in British English. As only one example, “fishmonger” is a mainly British term for a storekeeper who sells fish which in my entire life I’ve never heard uttered in the United States, though Americans may have used the term in the colonial days. Lee and Andrew Child team up again in the 27th thriller of this series, the third for Andrew. As with any long-running series like this, the plot scenario never varies too far from what has always worked well. Here, Reacher has stopped in Gerrardsville, CO, to spend time in a museum that interests him. Right in broad daylight in the downtown, he sees a woman pushed to her death. But the official ruling is suicide so Reacher feels compelled to figure out what's really going on and who would want her dead. The search leads him to a privately-owned prison in Mississippi. This is full of action and intrigue and can be read as a standalone. I think this is the best Andrew Child yet. I squirm at a certain scene...brutal, but Reacher is still my hero.💓 There’s a crime sitting behind all of the mystery at the center of this book, but it’s really only presented as an aside with very little substance provided. It’s a dark, horrifying crime that may be difficult to come to terms with and if more was revealed about it, I may have been more convinced about Reacher’s actions when he reached Winson. As it is, Reacher appears to be heading further and further down the psychopathic path than ever. (Not a criticism, just an observation).
And I'm not disappointed; I did not see the end of the story come. I liked the way the story alternated between Reacher himself and the bad guys and it had a certain pace and rhythm that made me enjoy it. The book followed the well-known path I came to like in earlier books. If it isn't careful, PRH is going to milk this cash cow dry with an annual publishing schedule that takes the loyal reader for granted (Now there's a corporate conspiracy plot line Reacher should investigate). I'd rather wait 18 months for a well-conceived story line than get another "No Plan B" threadbare "Reacher" story in a year.But Reacher is unaware that these crimes are part of something much larger and more far-reaching: an arsonist out for revenge, a foster kid on the run, a cabal of powerful people involved in a secret conspiracy with many moving parts. There is no room for error, but they make a grave one. They don’t consider Reacher a threat. “There’s too much at stake to start running from shadows.” But Reacher isn’t a shadow. He is flesh and blood. And relentless when it comes to making things right. Having been dissatisfied after listening to the first 'official' collaboration between Lee (Grant) Child and his brother, Andrew (Grant) Child, "#25, The Sentinel" (3-Stars, but on re-reading my review, I think I was being generous), I decided to skip "#26, Better Off Dead" and see what delights awaited me in "#27, No Plan B". I, too, have read all Reacher books but I have not liked ANY since lee child’s brother started writing them! I am a 77 years old wife, mom, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, and sister…I have eclectic taste but prefer mystery stories, worked in a library…so I feel I’m a good judge of books! Reacher's journey starts in Gerrardsville, Colorado where he witnesses a woman being pushed under a bus, and a man in a hoodie took her purse and left the scene. Another "reliable" (non-drifter) eyewitness said she lunged into the bus, a definite suicide. The police took his word and close the case. Reacher knew what he saw. Being a former MP, he's not letting this go. Reacher meets Hannah who recently lost someone close where both deaths seem to connect.
There is No Plan B when the threat is Reacher. He is 6'5", 250 lbs. and scruffy. You can't miss him. So why must the bad guys constantly try him? Underestimate him? Square up against him? Maybe the better question is why the author(s) continue putting Reacher in unnecessary situations where he has to fight his way out and drop countless bodies. For why?!
Reacher was wired to move toward danger. To confront it. To defeat it, or die trying. It was baked into his DNA.
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