Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Over the last several years the Reacher canon has been in a downward spiral and this latest entry in the series is plumbing new and disgusting lows, not only in the antagonists, but in protagonist Jack Reacher, too. After reading it, I felt completely disgusted, and felt as if I needed a scalding hot shower to wash off the filth. When the series started, Reacher was the knight in slightly tarnished armor who found himself helping out some poor soul who’d found themselves embroiled in some kind of sticky situation they couldn’t handle themselves, and Reacher would step in, like the Lone Ranger, and save the day. But as time has gone on, and particularly of late, author Child seems to have tired of the formula that made his success, and instead has created these utterly unbelievable situations that border on the surreal, if not outright insane, and the result has been to turn a formerly entertaining and enjoyable series into something beyond dark, almost absurdly gothic. In this case, a very small town in the middle of nowhere – literally, a place surrounded by flat wheat fields to the visible horizon, so far out that it’s hours to the nearest area with cell phone service – named Mother’s Rest is the locus of events, starting with the disappearance and murder of a former FBI agent cum private investigator. Reacher gets off the daily train out of curiosity about the town’s name and meets Michelle Chang, a colleague of the missing PI who’s trying to locate him. Without revealing details that would contain spoilers, I can say that their investigation leads them to a deadly conspiracy based in the Dark Web – that underbelly of the internet that most of us never even access – that’s located in Mother’s Rest, leading to a final and very deadly confrontation. As I mentioned earlier, my biggest problem with the book was the nature of the secret upon which the conspiracy is centered. Quite frankly, it was beyond disgusting and disturbing. It was depraved. This was more Stephen King territory than Jack Reacher. But also problematic is that author Child has once again created an utterly unbelievable locale in which to base the story, in order to create a situation in which Reacher can operate. Mother’s Rest is so far out in the sticks that it seems to be enclosed in an impenetrable bubble from the outside world, like in the TV series “The Dome”. How is it that no cops of any type ever come by? How is it that a whole bunch of townspeople are involved in this conspiracy, but in a town this small no OTHER townsfolk seem to be aware of it, and called the authorities for an investigation? Why is it that Reacher and Chang themselves don’t just call the authorities – county, state or federal – once they learn the exact nature of the crimes? Not only do you have to suspend your disbelief to buy into this story, but you have to shut down all common sense, too. Further, the character of Reacher himself has changed dramatically from the early days of the series. Gone is the creaky knight, the literary Lone Ranger. This Reacher no longer seems to have any interest in anything much other than blowing the bad guys away. And somehow he manages to do that without ever having to answer or explain anything to anyone anywhere in a position of authority. More of that vacuum I mentioned earlier. Based on this book, and coupled with my experience with the last few, I have to say that from this point on I’ll be waiting to buy any of these Reacher books until I find out more about them. I can’t recommend this one at all.