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Nothing To Lose (Jack Reacher #12)
by
Lee Child
Two small towns in the middle of nowhere: Hope and Despair. Between them, nothing but twelve miles of empty road. Jack Reacher can’t find a ride, so he walks. All he wants is a cup of coffee. What he gets are four hostile locals, a vagrancy charge, and an order to move on. They’re picking on the wrong guy.
Reacher is a hard man. No job, no address, no baggage. Nothing at a...more
Mass Market Paperback, 544 pages
Published
March 24th 2009
by Dell
(first published 2008)
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After reading about 8 of Child's Jack Reacher books, I finally found a dud. It started out thrilling, as expected, but quickly became almost boring. I can not believe I am typing those words.
Reacher's repeatedly doing the same thing, over and over (returning to a bad place) was tedious and so unlike our hero's usual behavior. The plot wandered all over the place and the book was too long.
I found it impossible to buy into the far-fetched "conspiracy theory" wit...more
Reacher's repeatedly doing the same thing, over and over (returning to a bad place) was tedious and so unlike our hero's usual behavior. The plot wandered all over the place and the book was too long.
I found it impossible to buy into the far-fetched "conspiracy theory" wit...more
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I'm done with Child after this latest installment. The last few Reacher novels have really dragged and I was hoping this one might revive the series. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
Furthermore, the writer decides to jump on a soap box towards the end and throw in random anti-bush/anti-war diatribe. Obviously, this is his right as the creater of the novel but I found it completely ridiculous and hypocritical of his main character. It would be one thing if Child had done t...more
Furthermore, the writer decides to jump on a soap box towards the end and throw in random anti-bush/anti-war diatribe. Obviously, this is his right as the creater of the novel but I found it completely ridiculous and hypocritical of his main character. It would be one thing if Child had done t...more
Ex-MP Jack Reacher is the kind of guy you want on your side in any fight. That's a cliche to say, but he's just reliable and steady and tough. This adventure finds him in Colorado, investigating trouble in two small towns, Despair and Hope. Great adventure like Indiana Jones but a much better developed protag.
Jack Reacher finds himself between Hope and Despair, actually two cities. Despair is a desolate place where everyone wants to see him out of town. Everything is owned by one man which immediately makes Reacher suspicious. He enlists the aid of a cop in Hope and having a knack for finding trouble, Reacher gets plenty of it. I have always liked Reacher but for some reason this year it seems as though publishers told their writers, "give me a plot involving trashing the government, the mil...more
Disappointing but effective installment in Child's Jack Reacher series. This but seemed long for a Reacher thriller and might have been strengthed by cutting one of the three main plot strands. I felt that Child made it more confusing than necessary and could have shored up the suspense with tipping his hand a little more. Starts off great, but we've seen some of the same elements in Killing Floor, Die Trying and Echo Burning. But still, nobody does hardcore, bad-ass loner fiction like Child...more
The least fun Reacher book. Read the others first. Only die hard fans will want to do this one.
STORY BRIEF:
Reacher is hitchhiking west to California. He happens to be let off in Despair, a small town in Colorado. He stops in the town’s only diner for coffee. The waitress and owner refuse to serve him. The local police arrive and put Reacher in jail. Later he sees the judge who orders him to leave town. The police drive him five miles to the town limit. The nearest town...more
STORY BRIEF:
Reacher is hitchhiking west to California. He happens to be let off in Despair, a small town in Colorado. He stops in the town’s only diner for coffee. The waitress and owner refuse to serve him. The local police arrive and put Reacher in jail. Later he sees the judge who orders him to leave town. The police drive him five miles to the town limit. The nearest town...more
Books in the Lee Child's Reacher series end up competing with themselves. Jack Reacher, as a character, has been created in such a wonderful manner, oozing such charm, with and a kind of arrogance coupled with a no-nonsense attitude to bring down the bad guys, that it is difficult to not want to be on those adventurous journeys he so regularly takes. The only problem lies that once you complete one journey, you want the other one to be better and the next one to be even more better and so on... ...more
Ex-military MP, Jack Reacher decides to live his life encumbered by belongings. He doesn't want to live in one place, doesn't want to own anything but the clothes on his back and travels whereever he pleases, stays a long as he wants and moves on. Or so he thought when he decided one day to walk across the country from Maine to California. With just his passport, his ATM card and some cash in his pocket, he passes through the town of Hope and crosses into the town of Despair. The name of the tow...more
Another holiday cliche - reading a Lee Child book by the pool.
Maybe in readiness for Tom Cruise playing him in a future film franchise, he has lost a couple of inches. I could have sworn he was 6ft 7 to start with.
Where Reacher Roams, there is rarely nothing but trouble. He walks from Hope into a town called despair and is instantly ejected, like Rambo, for vacrancy by the local police. He kicks there arses and ends back up in hope, where he teams up with the Female La...more
Maybe in readiness for Tom Cruise playing him in a future film franchise, he has lost a couple of inches. I could have sworn he was 6ft 7 to start with.
Where Reacher Roams, there is rarely nothing but trouble. He walks from Hope into a town called despair and is instantly ejected, like Rambo, for vacrancy by the local police. He kicks there arses and ends back up in hope, where he teams up with the Female La...more
In the last Reacher book, "Bad Luck and Trouble", Reacher meets up with the remnants of his old unit. All of them had moved on into careers. Reacher is essentially a glorified hobo who move on from one adventure to the next, without forming any permanent attachments. One of his old comrades asks him what he's running from. As is his wont, "Reacher said nothing".
Now comes "Nothing to Lose". I can only conclude that either Lee Child had an off year and could...more
Now comes "Nothing to Lose". I can only conclude that either Lee Child had an off year and could...more
I like Lee Child and his protagonist, Reacher. The guy can create a mystery, make it tense and maintain it about as well as anyone in the business.
Nothing to lose is pure Reacher. Tough guy. Very tough. If you haven't read a Reacher novel, well, get ready for hero who's physical. Like kick-butt, no quarter, muscle and bone power. He's big. Former Military Police. A guy with all the tools to cause serious chaos. He does. But he's not one dimensional. From this book, "Back whe...more
Nothing to lose is pure Reacher. Tough guy. Very tough. If you haven't read a Reacher novel, well, get ready for hero who's physical. Like kick-butt, no quarter, muscle and bone power. He's big. Former Military Police. A guy with all the tools to cause serious chaos. He does. But he's not one dimensional. From this book, "Back whe...more
Lee Child- Nothing to Lose (Dell Books 2009) 4.5 Stars
When Jack Reacher walks into the small company town of Despair he has no idea what he is getting himself into. Stopping at a local diner he asks for a cup of coffee, but in this town that is asking for trouble. They don’t like strangers and they don’t like him. After he gets told to leave town his ire and curiosity is aroused. Now he plans to make it his personal mission to find out just what they are hiding in the town of Despair...more
When Jack Reacher walks into the small company town of Despair he has no idea what he is getting himself into. Stopping at a local diner he asks for a cup of coffee, but in this town that is asking for trouble. They don’t like strangers and they don’t like him. After he gets told to leave town his ire and curiosity is aroused. Now he plans to make it his personal mission to find out just what they are hiding in the town of Despair...more
Jack Reacher is back and on the loose. Jack is in the city of Hope, Colorado and is heading for the next city, Despair, Colorado. No sooner does he get into town, he is confronted by the Police and is considered a vagrant. Jack Reacher fans will probably say thats no big deal because essentially thats what Jack is. However, as we all know, Jack does not take well to this and really becomes upset when he is asked to leave town. Jack tells them he is not going and he is escorted out of town a...more
I keep thinking I know Reacher's character but each book I have read adds more. In this book, Reacher is traveling diagonally across the U.S. from Maine to San Diego on a whim. He ends up in a town called Despair in Colorado from which is he evicted on vagrancy charges. And that sets off all his stubbornness. He says he hates "turning back. He likes to press on, dead ahead, whatever. Everyone's life needed an organizing principle, and relentless forward motion was Reacher's." That intr...more
I have never been so disappointed by a book in such a long time. This is a book that I would have not normally picked up for a purchase, but it was on a special offer in the supermarket so I did. And despite the title I feel that nothing to lose doesn’t go far enough.
This is the latest (or if not the latest, then a very recent) Jack Reacher novel. For my and other newcomers, Jack Reacher is an ex-soldier who is the star of a series of Lee Child thrillers.
In ‘Nothing To Lo...more
This is the latest (or if not the latest, then a very recent) Jack Reacher novel. For my and other newcomers, Jack Reacher is an ex-soldier who is the star of a series of Lee Child thrillers.
In ‘Nothing To Lo...more
I rented this audiotape because I loved Gone Tomorrow. At that time Reacher was a wisecracking, quirky, smart guy -- a bit unbelievable as a character, but engaging. In this mess of a book, he is a bully and totally unlikeable. Moreover, this book, unlike Gone Tomorrow is just plain BORING. If my husband did not think that we had invested so many hours into it already, I'd have jettisoned the story after disc 5.
Also, I think that Child is a Robert B. Parker wannabe and like Parker's books,...more
Also, I think that Child is a Robert B. Parker wannabe and like Parker's books,...more
I shoulda effin' known better.
On the recommendation of quite a few (formerly) reliable folks, I finally cranked through a 500+ Jack Reacher novel.
Short version: Fucking terrible.
Longer and angrier version:
It seems to me that Lee Child really wants to write Robert B. Parker novels, but doesn't have the balls to actually go through with it. There are entire pages that could have been ripped out of a Spenser novel. Shit like this (paraphrasing because I don...more
On the recommendation of quite a few (formerly) reliable folks, I finally cranked through a 500+ Jack Reacher novel.
Short version: Fucking terrible.
Longer and angrier version:
It seems to me that Lee Child really wants to write Robert B. Parker novels, but doesn't have the balls to actually go through with it. There are entire pages that could have been ripped out of a Spenser novel. Shit like this (paraphrasing because I don...more
Drifter Jack Reacher travels the country with the clothes on his back and a fold-up toothbrush and ATM card in his pocket. Reacher’s goal is to cross America diagonally, beginning in Calais, Maine and ending in San Diego, California. Taking buses and hitching when he has to, the trip proves uneventful until he leaves the small town of Hope, Colorado and walks to Despair, the next town over. Stopping in a diner for a cup of coffee, Reacher is refused service and ordered out of town by the cops. T...more
I have read a few of the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child but this may be the most enjoyable as well as the most unbelievable. Jack Reacher, the hero, is always on the move -- won't stay anywhere no matter how entangled or endeared he becomes--rents motels rooms by the night, travels light --buys new clothes when the old ones get dirty and carries only his wallet and a folding toothbrush in his pocket. He's big and tough almost to the point of cartoon. In this story he faces down a whole smal...more
An audio book read by Don Crow and Karel Markelson.
So, we're driving back from the Sac and decided an audio book would make the ride more pleasant. The Sac Mall (I'm going to call you the Sucks Balls) had one very lame bookstore that only had conservative rants and children's stories available in the audio book form. So we drove until we saw what looked like a big enough shopping area to have a Borders or a Barnes & Noble (thus increasing the possible audio book selection). We a...more
So, we're driving back from the Sac and decided an audio book would make the ride more pleasant. The Sac Mall (I'm going to call you the Sucks Balls) had one very lame bookstore that only had conservative rants and children's stories available in the audio book form. So we drove until we saw what looked like a big enough shopping area to have a Borders or a Barnes & Noble (thus increasing the possible audio book selection). We a...more
I picked up this book because Lee Child is one of my bookstore's consistently steady sellers and I feel obligated to read the biggest authors so I can amp up my suggestive sells. Unfortunately, after reading the other reviews on this site, it appears the general consensus is that the Child novel that I randomly chose from the shelf is among the worst in the series. And boy was it bad. So very, very bad, and all because of the characters. Everyone in the novel was painfully flat, seeming to lack ...more
This is the first of the Reacher series that disappointed me! This time Child struggles to put together a mystery/thriller and sadly tips his hand so early in the story that the mystery is exposed much to early-- it makes the reader wonder why Reacher is taking so long to figure it out. Child still writes a slam bang action novel, but this tiome the plot is so contrived, silly, and ridiculous it makes me wonder if the Reacher series will be worth reading in the future. This one was boring, r...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Jack Reacher is undoubtedly the illegitimate son of Dirty Harry Callahan. In each and every Reacher novel that Lee Child has penned our hero, though a man of few words, presents a persona that literally screams "make my day". In NOTHING TO LOSE the drama continues as this man of few words, and even fewer possessions, finds himself seeking to alleviate his hunger pangs by grabbing a quick meal at a local diner located in Despair, Colorado. He is refused service, attacked by a "depu...more
I listened to the audiobook of this novel, so it's entirely possible that distaste for it was unduly increased by the format (I really don't care for audiobooks at all, but I cant read in the car without getting carsick and a cross-country drive required some kind of entertainment). But. This book was suuuuperslow getting started. Once it was (finally) started, it barely picked up. I don't quibble with the antiwar stuff as much as other reviewers since I haven't read any lee child before and...more
For a commuter book (which for me is always in audio format), Jack Reacher fits the bill nicely. If I actually read the book, I'm sure Dick Hill's voice would play in my head. These books also make excellent beach reads or weekend reads where a twisty plot that sometimes stretches credibility allows the reader to relax, but that's OK because it is overall a good story about characters that you care about.
It's hard to talk about the narrative without giving the story away or overs...more
It's hard to talk about the narrative without giving the story away or overs...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I liked the plot of this novel a great deal, but I knocked a star off of my review because it reads to me like a Reacher's Greatest Hits compilation album.
Remember that Reacher book where reacher stumbles into a small town and immediately discovers a rotting corpse? That happened in this one, too! What about the one where he purposely causes a car accident as a means of escape and diversion? That happens in this one, too! Oh yeah, in that one Reacher book, wasn't there a climactic ha...more
Remember that Reacher book where reacher stumbles into a small town and immediately discovers a rotting corpse? That happened in this one, too! What about the one where he purposely causes a car accident as a means of escape and diversion? That happens in this one, too! Oh yeah, in that one Reacher book, wasn't there a climactic ha...more
I have finished it yet. But just want to make a record of what I think of the book and the writing style.
If you like Sin City, you would probably like his style. It is similar kind of tone. If you don't know what Sin City is, then you need to find out, like now.
I stayed up to finish this. Not much of an ending. The confrontation is a bit flat, the story is interesting but too long. Not much loose end but lacking in build up also.
Overall, not as bad as I thou...more
If you like Sin City, you would probably like his style. It is similar kind of tone. If you don't know what Sin City is, then you need to find out, like now.
I stayed up to finish this. Not much of an ending. The confrontation is a bit flat, the story is interesting but too long. Not much loose end but lacking in build up also.
Overall, not as bad as I thou...more
I'd read about this "series" from many lesser literary lights - so I went in hoping to find something that might stroke the fun and still not demean what is left of my intelligence. Well, wham-bam, Jack Reacher is so much the action-man it is like watching an 80s era action movie - unbelievable and yet mildly amusing because it seems to take itself seriously enough to speak with a straight face. I wouldn't doubt that Child is capable of irony (maybe not, going by the author's photo) - ...more
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Lee Child was born in 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an eighteen-year career as a presentation ...more
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“No, I'm a man with a rule. People leave me alone, I leave them alone. If they don't, I don't.”
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“I have to warn you. I promised my mother, a long time ago. She said I had to give folks a chance to walk away.”
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