Nothing to Lose

Another good one! Reacher continues to be a fascinating character, larger than life but far from perfect. He's exploitative, selfish, pathologically single-minded, and so sure that he's right that he doesn't stop to think of alternatives until he's been proven wrong. His superhero credentials are also marred by his poor driving skills and inability to run fast or for very long. And now that he's been out of the army for 10 years, he has no contacts to bail him out when he gets in trouble.

The story is of course a bit far-fetched, but just plausible enough to make for exciting high-stakes fiction. The villain is fantastic, the henchmen henchy, and the exuberant violence is tempered with subplots about the hidden costs of the war in Iraq.

I don't agree with some of the highlighted reviews that say this book is a miss for Child. As far as I'm concerned a not-quite-as-good Lee Child is better than some other authors' best efforts. Lee Child knows how to write a story, and Jack Reacher is just as wonderful in this book as he is in others. In this book Jack is caught in between Hope and Despair (these are actually two small towns in Colorado that are about 14 miles apart in distance, but miles apart in everything else. Hope is a clean, happy little town, and there's a pretty cop there that Reacher hooks up with. Despair is a closed-ugly-company-factory town that does not like strangers, and they are hiding a very deep, dark secret. Of course, Reacher cannot rest until he show more uncovers that secret. When he does, it's even more ugly than even he imagined. I enjoyed the book. I love Reacher. Bring it on Lee Child! show less

Loved the intersecting complexity of the plot in Nothing to Lose. Scene in the diner using salt and pepper shakers and sugar dispenser to explain what was happening with different groups of people was classic. Recommended for anyone who thinks Reacher does not have brain to match his braun.

I know one has to go with a certain suspension of disbelief with most of these Reacher books, but that doesn't detract from my enjoyment much at all. This one has Reacher stumbling upon the town of Despair in Colorado. He was not welcomed. And the more unwelcome he was, the more he wanted to know why. Metal recycling and end times factor into it. And, of course, there is the requisite love interest with a local police officer. Just an entertaining story that helps one escape from the world for a bit.

There's no surprise in a Reacher novel. He drifts into town, pummels anyone he likes in whatever numbers, mysteriously wakes himself up at the perfect time, and beds the melancholy hot chick on his way to setting things right. That said, it's usually good fun. This particular one didn't work as well as previous offerings for me. It just didn't seem like there was a good reason for the bad guy to be so bad, and for the town to support it. But a bad day reading Reacher is better than a good day working.

Non c’è niente da fare, qualsiasi storia che vedesse anche solo la partecipazione di Jack Recher (anche minuscola) non la perderei per nessuna ragione perché avrei comunque la certezza di leggere qualcosa di veramente bello e avvincente.
Amo Reacher e le sue storie, amo il modo in cui sono raccontate, amo questo personaggio e le sue particolarità che lo rendono unico.
Un’altra storia imperdibile a tutti gli effetti.

I found this very formulaic: Reacher wanders into town, finds something fishy, beats up bullies, gets involved with a woman, solves mystery, wanders off. I still couldn't put it down, though. A good read, just I was hoping for better from Child.
I also thought that Reacher's sudden vehement political views were both out-of-character, and unlikely for someone with his background. Apparently, Child had to vent his own views through his character. Next time, Lee, invent a character who could realistically be expected to have your views, instead of putting them in Reacher's mouth.