Running Blind Reviews

• US Title - Running Blind

  
  By A3TACWKQJ5S5B1 on 2006-02-28
  I was really excited that I had missed reading a Reacher book but it turns out to be Running Blind.
  
  

• Dirty Trick

  
  By A3KY07ILG4WUK0 on 2007-03-01
  Running Blind is a great book, as are all of Lee Child's books. Retitling it and selling it as The Visitor is a dirty trick on those of us always on the lookout for a new Jack Reacher book.
  
  

• Warning: Rip off

  
  By AM46792TJ4X9X on 2007-02-12
  This book is "Running Blind" under a different title. It should be illegal to sell this book. I feel so cheated.
  
  

• Jack Reacher the Epitome of Excitement!

  
  By A1JWGFNNX6JYA8 on 2000-02-19
  I have just finished reading the latest in this great series by English author Lee Child. Just like Killing Floor and Die Trying, this novel flies along at a frantic pace that you try hard to keep up with.

  Reacher is the suspect in a bizarre series of murders in which ex-army women (who left the force because of a variety of sexual harassment cases) are left naked in their bathtubs filled with green army paint. The killer leaves no clues and what is even more bizarre, they have no idea how the women died.

  Even after Reacher's name is cleared, he is blackmailed by the FBI into unravelling this bizarre case. He must get to the killer before more women die, or face the consequences of the FBI's fury.

  Read and Enjoy
  
  

• RIP OFF!!!!!

  
  By A2JUBM4PFENK68 on 2007-04-18
  I was very disappointed when I realized the book, "The Visitor" was the same book as "Running Blind". Where is the integrity and honesty? They should be ashamed. Will make me think twice before buying another Lee Child book!!!!
  
  
• Robin Hood and the Lone Ranger meet the 21st century
  By A15XTHGM4VS4WH on 2004-08-30
  This is the first Lee Child book I've read, which is perhaps unfortunate, as several of the other reviews indicate that this book is not as good as some of the others in the Jack Reacher series. (By the way, this book has two different titles: "Running Blind" in the USA and Canada, and "The Visitor" in the UK and elsewhere.)
  
  To start with the positive stuff, I love Lee Child's writing style. I'm a fan of thrillers, and this means I'm used to fairly mediocre writing, so this book was a very nice change.
  
  The basic idea behind Jack Reacher's character is also interesting. He's a sort of vigilante Robin Hood, righting wrongs around him that the normal forces in society don't take proper care of. And he's not just muscle and weapons and fighting techniques, he's also very intelligent and knowledgeable and observant.
  
  I also liked the basic story line, with a serial killer who has the FBI outsmarted and a motive that will come as a surprise.
  
  So all-in-all I found the book appealing in many ways.
  
  But now comes the list of problems that I have with this book, problems that are sufficient that it's doubtful if I'll ever get around to reading another book by Lee Child.
  
  The characters aren't really believable. Jack Reacher is supposed be a loner, but not wanting to own anything other than a folding toothbrush must be a bit problematic. Lisa Harper is having problems with sexual harassment in the FBI so she gives up wearing a bra. Jodie Jacobs has found her long-lost secret love from her youth, but still prefers to pursue a high-flying career rather than make the relationship her top priority. And the nasty FBI guys are so nasty that Internal Affairs would be after them if they were ordinary cops.
  
  On top of the unbelievable characters we have a story that lacks realism and seems contrived. The most unrealistic part involves the method by which the murderer kills the victims, which in my opinion is totally impossible on two different counts. Unfortunately, I can't describe this problem in detail without revealing too much and getting this review labeled as a spoiler.
  
  So I think I'll wish Jack Reacher good luck in his continuing lonely travels, and continue my search for thrillers that appeal to me on other shelves in the bookstores of cyberspace and elsewhere.
  
  Rennie Petersen
  
  
  
• Reader's Dilemma!
  By A3LZGLA88K0LA0 on 2000-09-20
  Okay, I've just finished this fourth entry in the Jack Reacher series, and I'm in a quandary. First and foremost, Lee Child is a very good writer, and although this one moves a little slower than its predecessors, it still maintained my interest---and also "riled me up" a little.

  I think Mr. Child definitely has a poor opinion of the FBI. This is the third of the series that has some really nasty FBI agents---bribing, blackmailing, insinuating absurdities, and even more! (If you've read the previous three, you will know what I mean!).

  The plot is great; the killer's m.o. is quite unusual and even if really far-fetched, works in that the reader never knows how the victims died! However, I must admit, that I had the killer figured out very early. Oh, yes, Lee did try to throw us some red herrings (including the enigmatic appearance of an Army chaplain, who comes out of nowhere, and disappears back, without any explanation!).

  And maybe I'm getting old fashioned, but come on, Jack. You have turned into a really self-centered, insensitive, self-pitying moron who refuses, yes REFUSES, to live in a civilized, realistic world. I know many readers think that Jack's meandering all over the globe makes him a free spirit, an independent guy, no chains to hold him down. It also makes him shallow and annoying. He says he loves Jodie--bull, Jack. You love the sex you have with her. If you really loved her, would you be so enamored with FBI agent Lisa Harper? And all this gobbledygook about commitments and normal living, it's just more self-centered crap focusing on your inability to live in a real world. And Child should be chastised for making Jodie the culprit in the end of the book. Oh, Jack, I had really started to like you, but even in "Tripwire," I started seeing a side of you that made me respect and enjoy you less and less.

  You are a great detective, a remarkable physical presence, but society doesn't need guys who take the law into their own hands without any moral ramifications, and a man who uses women for his immediate pleasure but just can't bring himself to face the truth that he isn't worth their time.

  Now, with that out of my system, it's still an entertaining read, but I don't think I'll venture along with Jack any further. I enjoy escapist entertainment, after all, that's what it's all about. But don't give me a hero who breaks all the rules and invites us to see him as a hero.

  Goodbye, Jack!
  
  

• An Exciting, Well-Done Thriller
  By on 2000-09-03
  I have now read all of the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child and I believe this one to be the best of them all. Not that it doesn't have flaws - some of the activities carried out by the FBI are pretty questionable, Reacher at times approaches super-human in his skills, and there are probably a few too many red herrings and digressions. Nevertheless, for what it is, this is an extremely fast-moving and exciting thriller. It is genuinely hard to put down and the ending will likely surprise you (though admittedly a careful reader will probably see it coming; there are clues aplenty). Child plays fair, however, and you buy the whole thing. I do wish Child's novels "reached" (pun intended) a wider audience; he is a good writer who has created an interesting and charismatic character. This book is well worth your time.
  
  
• Publisher deception
  By A38QNU44A0G87D on 2007-05-18
  I've read every Lee Child novel with Jack Reacher and was set to buy this one. Thank goodness I looked here and found it is just RUNNING BLIND with a new title. The one star I gave it is for the publisher. RUNNING BLIND gets five stars.
  
  
• Cheated.
  By A2TRU7HURHTFX6 on 2007-05-26
  Wonderful book when I read it under another name. What is the deal here? This is so bait and switch. I'm ashamed of Mr. Child for going this route with his work. This is happening too often and we get all excited and it a copy with a new title and cover. This is absolutely wrong.
  
  
• Here's the link for Running Blind
  By A1C17HDWZ5QX90 on 2007-05-17
  My thanks to the other posters for the "Truth in Advertising" warnings that "The Visitor" is really a re-titled "Running Blind". The Jack Reacher series for me is a "buy on sight" type of thing and I might have been misled if it was not for the other reviewers.
  
  That being said don't be put off from the original novel by the Publisher's shady marketing. Running Blind is one of the best Jack Reacher novels:
  Running Blind
  
  
• Dying In Your Own Bathtub
  By AYRW5C01ANXNC on 2000-07-20
  Author Lee Childs brings back the invincible ex-MP, Jack Reacher. This time, could he be the serial killer the FBI is after? Could he be the maniac that leaves dead bodies smeared with camoflauge paint in their own bathtubs?

  In, "Running Blind", we are privy to an edgy laser paced thriller. After some shennanigans from the government with Jack's galpal, he willingly searches for a killer who leaves no clues. Jack begins with a few common threads; all of the victims brought gritty sexual charges against their military superiors, all won their cases, all then resigned, and then they were all found dead in their own bathtubs.

  I do not want to take up too much of your time with this review...when you can be engrossed in this blazing blitz of a book on your own!

  other reading suggestions: "Messiah" by Boris Starling and "The Empty Chair" by Jeffrey Deaver

  Thanks for your interest & comments--CDS
  
  

• EX-MILITARY POLICEMAN, JACK REACHER, IS BACK IN ACTION!
  By A3KXV8AFQ550DY on 2000-08-18
  RUNNING BLIND, the newest novel by Lee Child, continues the saga of ex-military policeman and drifter, Jack Reacher. But wait! Reacher has settled down in this book. He now owns a house, a four-wheel-drive vehicle, and has the undying love of attorney, Jodie Garber, who fans will remember from TRIPWIRE. Is this our hero? Is this the life he was cut out for? Maybe not. Anyway, things kind of get disrupted in Reacher's life when the FBI suddenly pull him in for questioning with regards to the deaths of three ladies, each of whom was mysteriously murdered and left in a bathtub of green paint. The ladies had two things in common with each other. All three were involved in sexual harassment cases while still in the Army, and each knew Jack Reacher. One of the FBI agents, Julia Lamarr, thinks that the killer's profile matches Reacher to a T. If he isn't the serial killer, then it is someone like him with a military background. The FBI believes that the killer will continue his spree of perfect crimes, unless Reacher agrees to help. The only problem is that when Reacher finally joins the hunt, the Feds choose to ignore his advise. He doesn't think that it is a soldier, but they don't want to hear that. When another lady dies, Reacher knows that he must find the killer himself, or it simply won't get done. While he is visiting crime scenes and talking to potential victims, Reacher is also trying to decide the future of his relationship with Jodie. Does he want to remain a "settled" individual, or does he want to get back on the road again? The first half of RUNNING BLIND started off like a heat-seeking missile, but by the last quarter it kind of fizzled out for me. If the reader follows Reacher's advise about looking for motive and who has the most to gain, they will figure out who the killer is long before the FBI does. Mr. Child does throw a number of "red herrings" into the mix, trying to redirect the reader's attention from who the real killer is. One of the "red herrings" more or less appears from out of nowhere, then disappears, and is never fully explained to my satisfaction. It was something I didn't appreciate on Mr. Child's part. Also, I didn't quite buy the method the killer uses to murder his victims. I have heard of death occurring in that particular manner, but I just couldn't see using it to kill four different people. It seemed far-fetched to me. Finally, I felt that RUNNING BLIND didn't have enough action on Reacher's part, and that the ending was a simply a little too weak. Now, I'll say this. Mr. Child's first book, KILLING FLOOR, was one of the best debut novels I have ever read, and I still highly recommend to friends and strangers. His last three books, however, have not been in the same league as the first, which I find disappointing. DIE TRYING, TRIPWIRE and RUNNING BLIND are good reads, and I know that Mr. Child is certainly trying to write as good a novel as possible with each succeeding one. I wish he could just write another one as "GREAT" as KILLING FLOOR.
  
  
• The weakest in the Jack Reacher series.
  By A11GN3THJ197XN on 2004-02-22
  Lee Child has written seven novels about Jack Reacher, a former military cop with formidable combat skills. The strength of the Reacher novels is the plotting; Child is excellent at throwing red herrings and plot reversals in to keep the reader off-guard. The results are usually effective thrillers, with plenty of action.
  Running Blind fails as a thriller. All of the Reacher novels, indeed just about every thriller, have inconsistencies, coincidences, or illogical behavior by the characters. In effective thrillers, the force of the plot pushes the action at such a pace that the reader doesn't care about these problems. After all, no one readers a thriller for realism. Here, Child's plot has women who were sexually harassed being killed under bizarre circumstances, with no obvious cause of death, and without the killer leaving a trace of how the crime was committed. Enough clues are given that most readers will realize who the killer is and how the killer pulls it off half way through the book. And the means used to pull it off would not be believed in a comic book. The sheer impossibility was so great that once I realized what the answer was, I skipped to the end of the book to confirm my belief, and then gave up on it. Child painted himself in a corner with this book that he had to rely on something that might have been used in the B movies of the thirties, but is ridiculous today. I suggest skipping this book and going with the rest of the series. Certainly, any one who has not read the other Reacher books should avoid this one -- they may be so put off by the absurd ending that they will not read the others and thus miss some great thrillers.
  
  
• Great read until the brain dead ending
  By A1BCIJ5RU37N9Z on 2000-10-04
  For the first 300 pages, this is the best of the Jack Reacher novels. I am not a believer in series and this one proves my argument that one character needs one book and one book only. Jack Reacher is a walking nerve end, likely to take offense at almost nothing and likely to give offense for no good reason. He is a hero who is very hard to like over the course of a book, though we often root for him. He is almost autistic in that he knows a lot about fighting and police work and the military, but hasn't got a clue about how the rest of life works. And you just know a guy like this is going to get into big trouble.

  Though there is a nasty murderer and vicious gang members in the book, the FBI also comes off as a major villain. If the agency really acts the way it does in this book, then it ought to be deep-sixed immediately.

  All those gripes in place, the story is very compelling and Reacher's resourcefulness keeps your interest. However, the payoff, the ending where all of the terrific mysteries are explained, was totally unrealistic and an insult to the reader. That is pretty much all I can say without giving too much away, but, you have to be pretty gullible to believe the story could have happened that way.

  Lee Child has a ton of talent and I hope he puts Reacher to sleep for awhile and works on some books with new leading characters. And, hopefully, next time, he won't paint himself into a corner where a fantasy ending is the only way to escape.
  
  

• Lee Child's Writing Blind
  By on 2001-11-21
  This is the fourth Reacher novel I've read and they've steadily gone downhill from `Killing Floor'. From Lee Child not knowing diddly-squat about the military life Reacher purports to come from to the unbelievable string of coincidences in the storyline, Child totally stretches the realm of credibility.

  Jack Reacher is coerced in to leading a FBI investigation of several murders, and all the while the FBI steadfastly refuses to entertain any of his ideas. If that isn't bad enough for Reacher, the FBI is persistently trying to blackmail and pin crimes on him. Of course, that cannot stop our hero, Reacher, from solving the murders. Heck, he even gets all the girls, but just temporarily.

  I guess what really turned me off about this book was that: Reacher is seemingly infallible, the FBI is an incompetent modern day Gestapo, and the egregious errors about the military i.e., Fort Dix, NJ being a Marine Corps Air station, C'mon!

  Jack Reacher would be a somewhat interesting character if Child didn't continually try to turn him in to a psychic superman who never changes his clothes.
  
  

• He's Reached the end...
  By AMN4W4FA0QZ88 on 2000-07-28
  I enjoyed the previous Jack Reacher books - except for the author's irritating use of the word "guy". The plots were intricate, yet (almost) believable. Good movie material. This one, however, was stupid. OK, I'm not a citizen of the U.S.A., and in fact I have never been there. But really - the F.B.I. threatening and blackmailing Reacher? the F.B.I. shredding the Constitution in order to compel one retired MP into helping them? No. Never. Not in a thousand years. Child, it seems, has Reached the end of Reacher. The plot's flimsy, the story's unbelievable, the writing... Childish.
  
  
• Two and three quarters, is more like it.
  By A2KOS7S5ZL9QSI on 2004-09-14
  Running Blind is a definite step up from TRIPWIRE, which absolutely stunk, but that's still not saying much for this book.
  
  Frequent readers of this genre will figure out the motive, the method and the identity of the killer hundreds of pages before Jack Reacher and the entire FBI do. Sure I was momentarily distracted by some of the red herrings Child threw at me, not the ridiculous appearance of an Army chaplain from out of the blue towards the end, that was just lame.
  
  KILLING FLOOR and DIE TRYING remain my favorites in this series. The Jack Reacher character is getting annoying by now with his steadfast refusal to own anything that doesn't fit in his pockets. That includes any changes of clothes! Jack just sleeps in the buff and lets his clothes air out to wear day in and day out. I'm about the same size as Jack, six foot five and 260lbs, and believe me, if I didn't change clothes daily there is no way bra-less FBI agents or gorgeous Wall St. lawyers would be throwing themselves at me. Not that they do anyway, but that's another story.
  
  I may pick up another Jack Reacher story in the future but only if I can find it in my local library where I found this title. While these stories are mildly entertaining, they simply aren't worth the money.
  
  
• good news and bad news
  By A2RZ9O4PSL16V4 on 2000-07-23
  Well, I have some good news and bad news.The bad news first. I am going on a driving vacation with some of the family and I thought I would save this book for the car, something to help pass the time. The bad new is.....I have already read it, I couldn't wait. It was sitting on my shelf calling to me and since I am a great fan of Jack Reacher and Lee Child, I couldn't resist. Now, the good news! It is a great book. How on earth did Mr.Child think of this murderer's m.o.? I could not put this book down. Bravo Mr. Child.....as soon as I see your next one listed on Amazon., I'll put in my pre-order. For anyone who likes a book with a great hero, a few laughs, lots of suspense and mystery and a twist at the end, read this book! If you haven't read the other Jack Reachers, do it now!
  
  
• Where did Child get his info about psychology?
  By A141INO5311NA on 2001-12-05
  I don't know much about the military or the FBI, but whoever is teaching Lee Child psychology needs to be reprimanded. I'm not a total expert in that, either, just a BA, but anybody who's had a year or two of psych knows that that is NOT how hypnosis works. I'm afraid that completely ruined this book for me. I read it through, but since I already knew who the bad guy was (in what was surely the most telegraphed foreshadowing I've ever seen), and I knew the manner of killing was completely unrealistic, it was hard for me to get into it. Thrillers are cool because they *could* be true -- there was just no way this premise could be true, that's all.

  I don't ask much out of thrillers. Consistency and coherence and some modicum of real-world fact -- that's all I want.
  
  

• Didn't see this ending coming...
  By A3R19YKNL641X3 on 2005-11-05
  Continuing with the Jack Reacher series, I'm up to the 4th installment... Running Blind by Lee Child. Still liking the series a lot, and this one had me guessing until the end...
  
  Reacher is coerced into helping out on a case by the FBI. He happened to be in a restaurant when part of a gang came in looking for protection money. Jack took matters into his own hands to break it up, but he also stumbled into an FBI stakeout. Now if he doesn't help solve a potential serial killer, he might end up getting blamed for the deaths. The women being killed all were ex-military and had filed (and won) harassment cases against superiors. Reacher knows them, as he was part of the military police presence that was involved at the time. The women who are dying are all discovered immersed in a bathtub full of camouflage paint, and apparently have gone under voluntarily and without a struggle. No clues, no reason why, but they're still very dead. The FBI is relying on psychological profiling to narrow down the killer, but Jack figures that's all a crock. The struggle is to figure out if they'll listen to him before another victim shows up...
  
  Like the other Reacher novels, you're never quite sure who's the good guy and who's the bad guy. I figured there would be a plot twist somewhere, but the one I got wasn't the one I was expecting. Definitely a page turner to see how it's going to unfold. The subplot at play here is the relationship between Jodie (from the 3rd book) and Jack, and whether his foray into the world of responsibility will send him packing back to his nomadic life once again. That came to an interesting point at the end, and I'm curious to see how it will play out in installment #5...
  
  Fun read...
  
  
• Reacher's Creatures
  By A2TRU7HURHTFX6 on 2007-06-03
  Well he may be as lazy as his friend Douglas Preston says he is but he has put out a book every year and that's got to be tough. I can't think of a bad thing to say about any of his books. I am wild about them. He has inadvertently started a cult following with readers calling themselves "Reacher's Creatures" of which I am one. I love Jack Reacher. I will admit the first one I read I kept looking back at the photo of Lee Child thinking "this man wrote this big tough guy?" He looks so mild mannered and Jack Reacher is anything but mild mannered. He was a military MP and he was one of the best. Problem is Jack can't stop. He's wonderful and he is a true hero which we don't have many of any more. These are so well written that when you realize you are coming to the end I begin to slow down so it won't end so soon. He's rough, he's tough just as he has to be. But he can't settle down. Everybody that reads these wants to at least know him. He is a real character. We want him to be our friend. Lee Child made him come alive for us. I'm anxious for more and Lee Child says we can expect at least 10 more. These are my very favorite books right now.
  
  
• Painful
  By A20LZ9QBTN5LRX on 2007-06-18
  I have read several of the Lee Child's "Jack Reacher" novels and enjoyed them. Up until now. Child creates great characters (Reacher being preeminent) and has a talent for great individual scenes. His endings tend to be a bit clumsy, but I've forgiven that in the past for the joy of the ride. I can't do it with this one. The solution on this one, re. how the murders are committed, is so absurd that it has effectively ended my interest in the series. I figured out the probable solution early on during the book, but I kept telling myself I must be wrong as such a solution would be ridiculous. Unfortunately the ridiculous solution was the solution. I apologize for mentioning the ending without going into detail as to what it was and what specifically was wrong with it, but there's no way to do this without being a "spoiler" and I don't want to mess up the (already bad) ending for people who do choose to buy the book. If you like Lee Child, please continue to read him but know that he has done better work than this.
  
  
• Another Child classic
  By A2FKVV29NB0KAW on 2008-07-05
  As usual Jack Reacher stumbles into a situation that has nothing to do with him, but he is a modern day night in shining armour and he decides to track down the culprits. A series of vitims fall foul of an unknown murderer. The killer's victims have only one thing in common--all of them brought sexual harassment charges against their military superiors and all resigned from the army after winning their cases. The manner, if not the cause, of their deaths is gruesomely the same: they died in their own bathtubs, covered in gallons of camouflage paint, but they didn't drown and they weren't shot, strangled, poisoned, or attacked. Even the FBI forensic specialists can't figure out why they seem to have gone willingly to their mysterious deaths. Reacher isn't sure whether the killings are an elaborate cover-up for corruption involving stolen military hardware or the work of a maniac who's smart enough to leave absolutely no clues behind. This compelling, iconic antihero dead-ends in a lot of alleys before he finally figures it out, but every one is worth exploring and the suspense doesn't let up for a second. The ending will come as a complete surprise to even the most careful reader, and as Reacher strides off into the sunset, you'll wonder what's in store for him in his next adventure. Another great book in the series
  
  
• Murder most complex
  By A2LCHCDAQMRBES on 2000-07-30
  As an avid fan of Lee Child's novels I leapt on this as soon as it came to my attention. Fortunately my enthusiasm was not without warrant. The plot is slightly more complex than the other 3 Reacher novels as it continues switching between characters throughout the story, however the twists and turns more than make up for this. The basic solution to the mystery comes early on in the novel although it's easy to miss, but when it sunk in a part of me wanted to turn straight to the back page of the book to see if I was right,(instead I called my father who'd bought me the book but sneaked a read first. Parents! ). Fortunately the truly genius twist had eluded me and I was forced to stay awake until 3 in the morning, determined to get the answer before sleep claimed my energy. Reacher's character is as usual, very much a 'don't mess kinda guy' and this can wear thin at times as he can be a little bit too incredible on occaision. HOWEVER, if you can suspend disbelief for just a while then the book is as thoroughly enjoyable as you could hope for, with gang warfare, invisible assasins and continuous murder, mystery and suspense. I'm now looking forward to the next one in the hope that mr child serves up more of the same
  
  
• Take a bath, Jack!
  By AU6L8V24ZDVSQ on 2001-02-15
  I love Jack Reacher...I would however, love him more if he bathed more often. The man sleeps in his clothes with no more luggage than a toothbrush!In the past, Jack has been a larger than life hero and in "Running Blind", he becomes a larger than life slob, vigilante and all around disgusting bully. He is handsome, smart and has powerful connections with the military, and I find it demeaning the way he resorts to solving all problems by either denial or violence. The way he treats Jody is obscene!I think Mr. Child was out of line in his portrayal of the FBI. I would like to think Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity still mean what they used to.I enjoyed the book, but, figured out the killer and the "how" very early on. I want Mr. Child to clean Jacks' act up a bit and bring him back to the character that he has the potential of being.Definitely a book to be read, I just want "Jack" back!
  
  
• Not as effective as his other books
  By ALN0TTRTLHA4E on 2007-06-02
  Lee Child has created an unusual hero in Jack Reacher which has provided the basis for quite a number of books now. I dimly think that the author Lee Child is British but regardless of whether he is or not his creation Reacher is designed to appeal to all of the trigger points of an American audience.
  
  Reacher is a person who can handle himelf in a scrape. He has done time in the militiary and has been trained in the art of combat.His combat traiing involved learning about firearms. He also spends him time in manual work so that he is fit. Yet he is not only an action hero.
  
  He has worked in the militiary police so that he has developed Sherlock Holmes skills in investigation. (Sherlock Holmes like skills because the Reacher books are not procedurals. No slow accumulation of facts and evidence. Reacher solves crimes by way of intuitive break throughs, just like old Sherlock)
  
  Most of the books have some referance point back to the army and Child the writer is cloying in his attempts to paint the United States Army in a posative light as an organisation which is on top of its game. One can imagine the pick up truck Republican crowd who are presumably the main audience for the books beaming with pride when there is some discourse in the books about the good old US army. Very limited discussion of the downside.
  
  Never the less the previous books have been effective enough as time fillers and a good read when one is going on a plane flight. This one however seems a little formulaic. Perhaps it is simply that I have read a few and the nuts and bolts of the construction has become clearer and makes it more difficult to suspend disbelief.
  
  The main problem however with this book is the end. Whilst it is perhaps a bit silly to say that it does not ring true.(It is a work of escapist fiction) It is perhaps harder to take seriously than some other of the books which appear to be better constructed. Still this is all subjective no doubt.
  
  
• Lee Childs writes his best thriller yet
  By AFVQZQ8PW0L on 2000-07-13
  He is a hero, trying to right the injustices in his part of the world. Though at times he goes outside the law, he always makes life better for the person he is protecting. At a new Italian restaurant in New York City, former MP Jack Reacher observes two thugs hitting on the owner for protection money. When they return to collect their fee, Jack provides personal payment, sending both punks to the hospital.

  FBI agents greet Jack with the knowledge that they believe he is a serial killer targeting female soldiers complaining about sexual harassment. Apparently, Jack knew three victims, but he has the perfect alibi since FBI agents had Jack under surveillance at the time the fourth murder occurred. The agents want Jack to help them uncover the identity of the killer because a department profiler insists that his personality is a match to that of the perpetrator. Jack refuses until they threaten his girlfriend. Jack begins his unique gathering of information that leads him to conclude that the FBI is traveling down the wrong paradigm, leaving former women in uniform in jeopardy unless he can persuade the department to change course.

  RUNNING BLIND is an exciting thriller starring a sensitive, honorable person struggling with keeping one foot in the civilized world. Anyone who has "profiled" F. Paul Wilson's "Repairman Jack" novels will realize the characters share many traits with the biggest difference being that Reacher is grounded in the physical realm while Repairman Jack deals with supernatural elements. The crux of this mystery lies in the intensity of the killer whose extraordinary energy matches that of Jack, thus freshening up the serial killer tale. With more novels like this one, Lee Child has the talent to become a superstar.

  Harriet KLausner
  
  

• I'm Ambivalent
  By A2OYRLO5WVMS2T on 2001-07-18
  Yes, I read it in one or two sittings as I did with Child's other books. He has the talent for making me do that.

  But the book was annoying because it lacked any semblance of credibility. I'm not a huge FBI fan, but the way Child has it violate Reacher's rights is beyond anything it would (or could) do. And give us a break: let the guy take a shower and a nap and change his clothes while traveling without sleep from East Coast to West and back again about four times in a week.

  Finally, the book also contains the kind of minor mistakes that add up to strained credibility. You do not take the Palisades Parkway to the Garden state. They run parallel. And Fort Dix is not a Marine base. It's Army, unless it's changed since I served there in the '60s. There are a few others, too.
  
  

• Not realistic
  By on 2002-07-22
  What woman finds a man who doesn't use toothpaste, deoderant, or clean underwear, and never changes clothes attractive? Maybe a cave woman. I couldn't enjoy the book thinking of the poor people in a car or on a plane with the reeking Jack. The ending with him, of course, with a single crashing blow breaking the neck of the killer and the F.B.I. saying "now we own you", well this part wasn't even a one star. The book had a lot of potential, but was disappointing.
  
  

• Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, No. 1)
• Tripwire (Jack Reacher, No. 3)
• Without Fail (Jack Reacher, No. 6)
• Die Trying (Jack Reacher, No. 2)
• The Enemy (Jack Reacher, No. 8)