Flawed but suspenseful Reacher thriller with huge surprise!

We're big fans of Lee Child and his hero Jack Reacher, an ex-military police investigator who can apparently solve any crime! "Blind" is loosely a sequel to "Tripwire" in that Jack has just inherited a house, is busy loving star-lawyer Jodie, and is at odds with himself over "settling down" compared to his normal nomadic meanderings around America sans ID cards and luggage.

After foiling a protection racket at one of his favorite little restaurants, Reacher is nabbed by the FBI, who promptly uses that "crime" and "threats" on Jodie to blackmail Jack into helping them solve a tough set of serial killings that seem to point to someone so exactly like Reacher he's at first the best suspect! Three women have been killed and found in tubs full of paint, yet their cause of death is unknown! A common thread is that all are sexual harassment "survivors" in prior military service situations.

The mental meanderings and skullduggery of the FBI (portrayed rather poorly, a major detraction to the story) and Reacher combine to very slowly close in on the who, how, and why of the murders. The killer's identity and capture is a stunning surprise revealed only a few pages from the book's end, which, aided by a few red herrings, manages to sustain suspense and intrigue until virtually the last gasp of the pages. Child also manages to resolve the growing conflict over Reacher and Jodie's future, although in a manner that we notice has disappointed many of his readers. Still, we found this to be a fine entry in this growing series, and we look forward to the next fun and entertaining Reacher novel!