Ross Larsen – Google

I started reading Jack Reacher from Book 1 and have mostly enjoyed the ride despite (or maybe because of) the formulaic style. Bad Luck and Trouble was the weakest by far for several reasons. These books all include some scenery filler material but this book had an awful lot. More importantly Jack Reacher's good guy reputation is seriously damaged by the choice he made to put thousands and thousands of people at risk to pursue his personal vendetta. He comes off as a bit whiny and childish, bullheaded and selfish. No one messes with the Thuper Thquad! Grow up mate.

I'll be the curmudgeon here. I didn't get anything out of this story. It simply didn't go anywhere. It starts with a guy grieving over his dead sister and ends with him in the exact same place. There's really no development on his part at all. In between there are a lot of parts that indicate that there may be a story in here, but none of them go anywhere. In between we get lots of conversations about random things like the Kennedy assassination much of it done in his style of one word responses, like the character is under interrogation. The best I can say for it is that I didn't dislike it as much as "The Road".

I've never seen a cop show that so completely celebrated breaking the law and practicing vigilantism. There's lots of rebel cops and `consultants' on TV known for bending the rules and being rebellious, but this is outright `screw the Constitution. Screw the law.' Jane is a sociopath bent on murderous revenge, and his CBI pals, especially Theresa Lisbon, knowingly help him find and kill someone who hasn't been convicted in a court of law. By the end of the series, every colleague of Jane's is aware and collaborating with his daily criminal activity. Lisbon is especially interesting. She's tough, she's simpatico, she's a good cop (because people keep saying `Lisbon, you're a good cop,' just before she lies to them about the latest felony she has covered up.) She's aware of, and sometimes party to, crimes including, but not limited to: murder, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, prison break, torture, manipulating evidence, breaking and entering, reckless endangerment and slander. In the end, there are no consequences for Jane, Lisbon or any of these serial criminals who break their vow to uphold the Constitution on a daily basis. Entertaining show but it envisions a world where lawless cops do whatever the hell they want. Sounds like a dictatorship to me.