2008-05-11 Is the Reacher formula wearing thin?

I have to agree with many of the reviews - I think this is the most disappointing Jack Reacher novel yet. I can happily live with the fact that Lee Child has a formula that usually works even if the story lines don't change much from book to book - Reacher is a loner wandering from town to town not looking for trouble as trouble finds him - but this storyline was just a bit too bland. And it started off promising with Reacher walking between Hope to Despair - physically and figuratively. But couldn't quite get how the whole of Despair was in on the secret uncovered at the end and didn't really find that Hope was any more interesting. The storyline meanders back and forwards between the two towns and the endgame is as uninteresting as it is unbelievable.

In my last review (BL&T) I thought Reacher had become a bit too civilized - well here he was back to his lonesome best but unfortunately the storyline fell below the usual standard.

I HOPE that the next Reacher novel is better - I have always eagerly awaited the new novels but I really think Lee Child should develop Reacher's MP days (as in The Enemy) or introduce his friends (as in Bad Luck and Trouble).