Running Blind (Jack Reacher, No. 4)
by Lee Child
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Book Reviews of Running Blind (Jack Reacher, No. 4)
Book Review: confusing the reader on whodunit
Summary: 2 Stars
On this book I have to get personal. I read five books of Lee Child's, this being the sixth. The others I would all rate four or five, this one is bad. What makes it bad? Well, I had selected the perp but as I continued reading I became confused. Good writer's share the protagonist's knowledge of the crime as it develops with the reader but in this case Child definitely tries to insert false clues. He uses italic type when he switches from Reacher's point of view, I will give him credit for that, he does use third person view point for one of his other characters but then inserts second person point of view for yet another, and I assume he thinks he is playing fair with the reader. We are supposed to know these two italicized inserts are two different people? How many people would know that? Not only that, they are so smoothly inserted I admit I was confused, thought they were the same and was forced to change my choice of perp. When the new one was unfrocked I had to admit I should have known, but that was only because I had taken creative writing courses. I would not think the ordinary reader would note the change in point of view, even I had to go back over the inserts and see that he really did maintain the point of view between the two. I felt cheated, and stupid. The story was interesting, why did he feel he had to use the inserts? They were not essential to the plot line except to confuse the reader. I still have nine Reacher stories to read, I hope I do not encounter this type of writing again.Book Review: Entertaining...
Summary: 4 Stars
Running Blind by Lee Child and read by Dick Hill was an exciting and entertaining audiobook for a long car trip. Running Blind is the 4th book in his Jack Reacher series.
Former MP Jack Reacher is recruited by the FBI at the beginning of Running Blind. A serial killer is at work and FBI profilers have identified Jack Reacher (or someone like him) as the likely killer. Once they rule out Reacher, they decide to recruit him because of his military background. The victims were all women who were once on active duty in the military. They all filed sexual harassment charges and then quit the service. Three different victims were found dead in bathtubs filled with army-green paint. There were no signs of a struggle, not a clue left behind and the medical examiners were unable to prove a cause of death.
The FBI doesn't take Reacher's ideas seriously at first, and he's under the guard of young agent, Lisa Harper. But Reacher is coming up with theories faster than the FBI, and Reacher and Harper go rogue in trying to track down the killer. Although I guessed the killer's identity pretty early on, I had no clue as to the motive. Child kept us guessing until the very end.
My husband and I are happy to have stumbled upon the Jack Reacher series and plan on listening to them all. It definitely helps to read or listen to them in order. We already have Without Fail lined up for our return trip.
Book Review: Good until ending - absurd!
Summary: 3 Stars
I've read all of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels, and for the most part they are entertaining and well written. Reacher is the loner wandering the countryside making things right. He's tough, experienced, and practical.
Running Blind tells a story of women being murdered in a most bizarre way. They are found dead in their homes lying face up in their bathtubs filled with green paint. The women appear to have a connection because they all were involved in military sexual harassment cases. The bodies have no apparent wounds, and there is no trace of any intruder.
Up until the very end, the story moves at a good clip - keeping the reader on the hook. But... and it is a big BUT, the end is absolutely absurd. I'm all for surprising the reader, but the chosen method here is just ridiculous. Frankly, more than surprised, I was disappointed. Child surely knows that the method described is completely impossible. I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I won't describe it. But I think many of you will find it to be so implausible that it adds a bit of amateurism to the book. If you're a first time Lee Child reader, definitely do not start with this book. The series is very addictive, and I'd hate for you to stop after just one book.
Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Process of Elimination" - a thriller that pits a martial artist against a world class sniper out to shape the Presidential election.
Book Review: Bad FBI
Summary: 4 Stars
In Running Blind, Jack Reacher is caught up in a bizarre mystery when he's picked up by the FBI as a suspect in a string of murders. Someone very smart is murdering former military women across the country, leaving no trace evidence, in fact not even evidence of how they died. All they women have one thing in common, they were the victims of sexual harassment in the military and Jack Reacher was the military cop involved in their sexual harassment cases. There is another military link. All the women's naked bodies are found in their own bathtubs filled with drab green military grade camouflage paint. The lead FBI profiler seems to hate Reacher, saying her profile indicates either Reacher killed them, or someone exactly like him did. He convinces them he's innocent, and they pressure him to stay on the case by threatening his girlfriend. So, he joins the case, but in usual Reacher style slips away w/the help of military friends and makes sure his girlfriend is in no danger. Then in his usual enigmatic way, he pursues musings and hunches that lead him to a truly surprising killer. What was chilling to me was the way the killer enlisted the cooperation of the victims in their own murders. I thought the portrayal of the FBI as near criminals themselves, who threaten an innocent woman, was unbelieveable. Other than that it was riveting.
Book Review: Reacher! Change your clothes!
Summary: 2 Stars
This is my fourth Reacher novel and the lone wolf business is wearing a little thin. I am halfway through the book and struggling. Our anti-hero has yet to change his clothes and must be getting a bit ripe. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, writers are not required to notify readers every time a character changes clothes--it's assumed. But, since the author makes a major deal out of Reacher traveling only with a toothbrush (fold-up, no less), it becomes an issue. I find myself waiting for Reacher to launder his clothes, or as is his custom, throw them away and buy new ones. Other irritants: Everybody (Reacher obviously excluded) wears "pressed" jeans. Who the hell irons their jeans these days? And what's with the braless FBI agent? Finally, our man of honor is becoming increasingly obnoxious. You simply can't say ANYTHING to him without getting a fairly lame, if snotty reply. His hatred of the FBI's use of "profiling" to catch serial killers borders on the pathological. Reacher has some real issues here. Sadly, I have a few more Reacher books in the Amazon pipeline and will have to slog through them, periodically stopping, sighing and glaring at the picture of the author conveniently placed on the back cover.