Better Off Dead: A Jack Reacher Novel

Good pace, nice twists and turns without being too predictable. Which is different if the reader binge reads any series within the same genre.I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I am struck by the lead Amazon reviews here, which are so negative. My fellow readers see BETTER OFF DEAD as diverging significantly from the Reacher brand. I found the book to fit the mold exactly. JR is in the middle of the boondocks (here, on the Arizona/Mexico border) and finds that uber-dastardly deeds are being perpetrated by an evil, shadowy presence (though usually not with such a bizarre name as Dendoncker). There is a young woman there in need of help, a woman who could potentially become a love interest for JR but who will not, in fact, serve in that capacity, since JR must move on to his next encounter with the dark side. In the course of the story there will be a number of serious fistic encounters (as the old Saturday serials described them) and JR will be taken captive (but not, of course, for long). The story is ultimately a western, with the out-of-town hero cleaning house and then moving on. That is precisely what we have in BETTER OFF DEAD, though the ending is a tad too convoluted and at points a bit difficult to follow. There are also some implausible situations and occurrences, but they can be forgiven because of the need to drive the plot.The prime problem with a JR novel is that it is generally devoid of any serious theme(s). There is a piledriver plot that includes a reversal or two, some attractive (if two-dimensional) characters and a bleak, remote setting, but the stories do not involve any larger philosophical concerns (beyond the obvious notion that there is unspeakable evil in the world and we would like to see it removed). There is very little backstory for JR and no personal subplot or interesting sidekick. Reading a JR novel is a form of ritual, in which good triumphs over evil, an avenging angel appears out of the mist, does his work, and fades away (with echoes of a number of significant pop culture antecedents). I don’t perceive any great difference between a co-authored JR novel and a single-authored novel. I do find the jacket picture of ‘Lee Child’ weird; it looks as if he’s had bad plastic surgery. I also find it awkward that brother Andrew has to change his name to Child in order to underline the brotherly collaboration. The card page shows that Andrew writes as Andrew Grant, because that is his brother Jim’s name also. I understand that this all involves branding and commercial considerations, but I find it diminishing rather than supportive.Bottom line: a standard, M1A1 Jack Reacher novel, perfect for those moments when you want to see evil receive its proper comeuppance, but not a more ‘serious’ novel-novel.

Typical greatLee Child Jack Reacher story. I hate the fact that they require you to use x amount of words before you can press the submit button. There, I'm sure I went well over the amount. Maybe next time, I'll just type in my own novel. Honestly, the book is good.

Lee Child can weave an interesting tale about Jack Reacher but may drive readers who are familiar with proper sentence structure and use of punctuation to the brink. I know that’s the case for me. I purchased the entire Jack Reacher series of books after seeing the first season of the series. I never would have read so many of his books if I hadn’t already paid for them. I have often wondered why, with all the money that Lee Child must have brought in from his writing, he can’t seem to afford a staff who will proofread and correct the many mistakes throughout his books. Same goes for his publisher. I held onto hope with each successive book that he might learn something about writing and make his books easier to read. I hoped, with the addition of his brother on the last couple, that the books would improve but seemed to get only worse. Sometimes, 2 whole pages of back-and-forth banter are written with nothing to occasionally let you know who is speaking, so multiple readings may be needed at times to sort it out. I think almost all, if not all, of the pages have sentences with commas where none are needed, periods where commas are needed, clauses used as sentences, and a new paragraph starting from a clause that belongs in the previous sentence of the preceding paragraph. As I said, hard to read if you understand basic sentence structure. There are often times where I wish Lee had done one iota of research to get facts right. I refer to passages in the stories where it was apparent that Lee Child had no experience or knowledge; I guess, more or less, the writing is off the top of his head. Some problems are: 1: He thinks the flashing emergency lights of vehicles in the western states are the same as in much of the New England states (blue on fire trucks and red on police). 2: He didn’t know what the average shoe size in America is actually 10 ½ (stating it as 9) 3: He thinks a large man like Jack Reacher would have what Lee evidently thinks of as a large foot size of 11, instead of something closer to 14 or 15 (I am 6’1” and wear a 13.) I assume Lee has a small foot. 4: Lee has never been near a fast-moving train, thinking there is violent ground movement when the train is even over a mile away and hurricane force winds near one traveling 60 mph. 5: He seems to think that all gas stations and quick marts sell khaki pants and various shirts, packs of socks, and underwear. 6: Jack Reacher can knock anyone unconscious and very often dead with one punch. I can remember only a couple times when it took two. 7: He thinks face bones will “shatter” from a Jack Reacher punch and can knock out a gorilla or even an elephant. Jack also never has injuries to his hand or elbow from such amazing blows. 8: Jack Reacher’s hands are said to be as large as a dinner plate and his fists as large as Thanksgiving turkeys…really? Yes, his books are hard to read for these and other reasons caused by lack of oversight by his publisher and lack of staff. Please, I hope never to find out he has a staff that lets this stuff through. Good storyteller, other than the lack of research on details and no idea as to sentence/paragraph structure.. Rating would be five for the story.Won't buy future books

I loved the book! It captured my attention immediately and held it until I finished. This is true of most Jack Reacher stories..

Great read

Entretenida, para los lectores de Lee Child, no defrauda.

Reacher is not what he used to be. Childs have gotten lazy and complacent bringing his brother in as a coauthor. The plot is just copy paste from the previous books and with an extra level of unnecessary violence added.

Love the Jack Reacher Books and this is no exception.

Alles Gut.