I'd read all but two of the Reacher novels before this one, but if I had started with this I would never have read any more. The plot lacks the complexity and twists I've come to expect, and the characters lack the kind of emotional interest (albeit rendered through Child's stripped back prose) that usually keep me engaged. This is also true of Reacher hmself, who seems like a kind of invulnerable Marvel superhero killing machine. Bizarre, when what has repeatedly struck me in this series is how the violence is actually not that frequent, but timed for maximum impact. Here, on the other hand, violence is rife, cartoonish, way over the top. I just kept thinking 'What a silly book!'. Maybe this is why Lee Child is giving up on writing any more and handing it over to his brother Andrew... Boredom? Burnout? Shame - a sad way to sign off.