Reacher is at it again, in the middle of nowhere he manages to find trouble. A possible bomb threat and a woman who needs is help. Packed with action it will keep you turning the pages. A good addition to the series, altho it could be read as a stand alone. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Once again, Jack Reacher walks into trouble. The story is fast-paced with bad guys, lots of action and detailed fight scenes with just the right touch of dry humor. While somewhat predictable, I still enjoy this series.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Lee & Andrew Child, and Random House Group/Ballantine publishing for the advanced copy of Better Off Dead. #BetterOfDead #NetGalley

Once again, Jack Reacher is on foot, on the road, in the middle of nowhere, when he meets someone who could use a little help. There’s a lot of fast-paced action and suspense and Reacher keeps his cool through it all. He uses his wit and his strength to defeat the enemy. He’s even nice to the bad guys on occasion, offering them choices. I liked Michaela and Sonia, and their willingness to help even if it put them in danger.

I found myself skipping through some, but not all, of the scene and fight descriptions rather quickly because they went on and on, but enjoyed the storyline.

I was given an advance copy by NetGalley and the publisher. This review is my honest opinion.

Jack Reacher is one book character I’ll never tire of. Lee Child’s 26th full length Reacher book is releasing October 26th. I always get excited when Jack’s back! I was over the moon when I was approved for this ARC.

Unfortunately, I’m really sad to say it took me days to finish this one. This one didn’t have that page turning allure. Pace was slow and overly descriptive on telling what was happening with too much detail rather than allowing the reader to feel it. Majority of the action doesn’t start until 75% in.

Throughout the book I keep asking myself why is he involved here? Normally it feels clear and becomes personal quick to Reacher. His interactions with Fenton didn’t lead me to believe he’d be so quick to jump into her problems.

I found the story a bit different from the previous Reacher books. The story was hard to get into in the beginning. It was a slow and not as interesting as his other books. I do not want to give up on Reacher, I do enjoy his character and strong personality and am looking forward to his next book.

Better Off Dead by the Childs is an enthralling and engrossing read with a great plot and characters! Great to see Reacher back. Well worth the read

The book was OK mostly, but not up to the better earlier books in the series - "Die Trying" and "Gone Tomorrow" off the top of my head.
Personally, I don't think that first person narrative is a good fit for Reacher books. He is a half-mythical being, walking enigma of few words. Putting us in his head makes him more human, but also less realistic.
The plot - Reacher comes into small town and lets himself be dragged into the shenangings of the local bad guy. Some twists, but not enough to really grab the reader or care for any of the characters (hell, even Reacher doesn't care for them all that much).

Better Off Dead by Lee Child and Andrew Child—Vintage Jack Reacher.

Although Lee Child appears on the cover as co-author, according to him, his novelist brother largely wrote The Sentinel, the twenty-fifth Reacher novel. I bought the book but couldn’t bring myself to finish it. It wasn’t that the writing was bad, but Reacher just wasn’t Reacher. When it comes to this immensely popular series, Jack Reacher is the series. Getting that right is job one.

In fairness, the family relationship aside, it is never easy for a new author to take over a series as popular as this one. Nothing against Andrew’s skills as a writer, but the change in authors in The Sentinel was far from subtle. It was glaringly detectable, and the Jack Reacher character was too different from past novels. He felt phony.

Still, I wasn’t ready to call it quits with Reacher without trying the second Andrew co-authored book. Sometimes, a new author of an existing popular series grows into the role and finds their footing. So, when I had the opportunity to snag an advance copy of Better Off Dead from the publisher, I jumped at the chance.

When Reacher hitchhikes west to see the Pacific Ocean, he encounters under unusual circumstances, Michaela Fenton in a small dead-end Arizona town on the border with Mexico. Fenton, an army veteran and former FBI agent confides she is trying to rescue her twin brother, Michael (also a veteran), who is involved with some very dangerous people. Once Reacher learns the details, he realizes that even a capable woman like Fenton won’t succeed alone against the steep odds she faces. So he decides to postpone his trip to help her out, which might turn out one big mistake.

I won’t keep you in suspense. Jack Reacher is back, the original six-foot-five, technology-challenged brawler version who captured the imagination of fans at the start. Reacher does use a cell phone a few times in this book, but still prefers getting change for payphones.

I don’t know who did the lion’s share of writing this time around, but since he is taking over the series, we must hope it was Andrew and that he has now found his stride. This twenty-sixth installment is the best Reacher novel since Make Me and every bit as good as many of the early books in the series. The writing is tight, and the action is as non-stop and explosive as ever. The plot is fresh and imaginative, and there is plenty of suspense.

Reacher is always going to be my favorite character in this series. He’s the whole point of reading the books. But, in this one, I really liked Michaela Fenton. She’s no damsel in distress but a strong female character capable of holding her own when the numbers are reasonable. But facing an army of bad guys, she needs help as anyone would. We meet other fascinating characters along the way.

My recommendation, if you’re a fan of this series, whether you liked The Sentinel or had trouble getting into it as I did, is to get this book. Reacher is back. Those who have never read a Jack Reacher novel but enjoy a gripping, suspenseful thriller will also enjoy Better Off Dead.

Better Off Dead by Lee Child and Andrew Child is published by Penguin Random House and is available from October 26, 2021. I received an advance copy of the book used for this review from the publisher via NetGalley, representing my honest, unbiased opinions.

This is a really good book and if you have enjoyed any previous Reacher story, you will love this one as well. This one takes place right in a small town on the border of the United States and Mexico. Reacher ends up agreeing to help a woman who is desperately looking for her brother who she assumes is wrapped up in some really nasty stuff. This book seemed a little implausible as what Reacher accomplishes by himself is a bit of a stretch but I will happily dive in again when a new Reacher book is put out. If you suspend belief just a bit, this book is really good. And for all we know, maybe Reacher is a one man army. Thank you all for the DRC for my honest review.

Better Off Dead is a good book but not your usual Jack Reacher story.
This whole thing takes just over 24 hours to catch a domestic terrorist, stop a deadly bomb, save a brother and the woman who got him involved in the first place.

Jack is pushed to the limits and the body count keeps mounting.

Better Off Dead – Lee Child & Andrew Child

There’s just something about a Jack Reacher book…

In this latest adventure, written by both Lee Child and his brother Andrew, Reacher is on foot, somewhere in Arizona, as he heads west toward the coast. He comes across a jeep that appears to have hit a tree, and notes the female driver slumped across the steering wheel. As he walks closer to assess the situation and to check her for injuries, she suddenly sits upright, holding a pistol straight at him, wanting to know where Michael is…

That is just the beginning of Reacher’s unanticipated involvement in discovering the whereabouts of Michael, a former military bomb defuser, now in the clutches of Waad Dendoncker, a former civilian contractor for the Army believed to have turned domestic terrorist. As Reacher gains the trust of Michaela, former Army, and Michael’s twin sister, she begins to explain how he came to find her that morning. Needless to say, his interest is piqued and he really has nowhere he needs to be, so he decides to lend his assistance.

Dendoncker is the owner of a catering service that services high profile aircraft & private flights by providing food and attendants – but believed to be a cover for so much more. Piece by piece, Reacher & Michaela gain information – then Michaela goes missing – leaving Reacher determined to find her…and perhaps stop a weapon of mass destruction as well.

Filled with all of the action we’ve come to expect from a Reacher novel, I almost felt like I was reading sequences from a Steven Seagal movie script at times. That is not a complaint – just Reacher doing what Reacher does best. Action-filled, suspenseful and colorful, I read this one in one sitting, and now start the long wait for the next! You just can’t go wrong with a Reacher novel!!

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from #Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group, in exchange for an objective review.

I'm a Lee Child/Jack Reacher addict. There, I said it. But so are a lot of people, which is probably why I never get approved for these ARCs. But this year...I did. And I COULD NOT WAIT to dive in.

Jack Reacher is back in another small town in the middle of nowhere and, shocker, someone could use his help defeating some bad guys. Yes, these stories are all the same in a lot of ways, but you can't help but love reading them.

This is the second Reacher book written by both Lee Child and his brother, Andrew. You CAN TOTALLY TELL that this book is way more Andrew then Lee. You definitely notice a change in tone, especially how Reacher seems less confident and lets a strange woman he's just met take the lead in a dangerous situation. Or when he calls his morning coffee "sublime". That's just...such a non-Reacher term. And there's too much inner monologue for Jack Reacher. I don't think this book is quite as sharp as the best in the series, but it's nothing to complain about (If you want a fast-paced action thriller).

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I have to disagree with the negative reviews. I’ve read every Reacher book and I thought this one was just as good. Reacher hasn’t missed a step or a body slam, as he is drawn into a network of bomb makers, straddling the Texas/ Mexico border. His strategy and investigative instincts attracts the attention of the bad guys, as he uses his federal contacts to take down this terrorist group.
If you’ve loved Reacher since Th Killing Floor, I guarantee you’ll enjoy this latest.
My thanks to NetGalley,Delacourt Press and the Child brothers for this ARC.
The five stars were appropriate. I’m looking for Reacher’s next adventure.

For some reason it's been a while since I've read a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child / Andrew Child but
Better Off Dead didn't disappoint! Still an action packed, fast paced thriller with Reacher finding himself in a
situation where he's able to help with his special type of assistance. Looking forward to more of Reacher's travels! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Typical Lee Child’s book but I do enjoy reading them. This lead me to read books by his brother. I like both writers. For Lee Child readers I recommend this b

The latest installment in the Jack Reacher long running series. It recounts his adventures in a small town in the Southwest near the Mexican border. A fast read that kept me guessing. Reacher becomes involved with a former FBI agent in search of her missing brother, an ex military bomb specialist.

I enjoyed the book a lot but it feels different than the previous books in the series, likely due to Andrew Child’s influence.

I usually love Jack Reacher books, but this one felt flat to me. It took me a while to get into this one and ending felt way too quick

Great book from a great author who book are full of action and suspense like forward to the jack reacher serie come to Amazon prime

Jack Reacher is back! This latest novel by Lee & Andrew Child does not disappoint fans of Jack Reacher. The hitchhiker is once again on the road to nowhere when he happens upon a life-or-death situation. What makes this latest version so likable, is the way the authors get right into the telling of the story. Because of Jack Reacher’s history, other books have bogged down in giving new readers the back story. Not so here. From page one until the end, Reacher is going from one emergency to the next. The action isn’t in the big cities but is found in remote spaces where only someone walking might find it. I kept expecting a curve ball, where the female became the villain. Yet I didn’t know until the last page how it was going to turn out. Hat’s off to the Childs for writing a great thriller.

You can keep your pumpkin-spice everything; one of the real joys of fall is the arrival of a new Jack Reacher novel. This book starts in the usual way, with Reacher on the road and suddenly encountering someone who needs his help—or so he thinks. The typical pattern is turned on its head in the best way when we find out this damsel is not quite as distressed as she seemed. The rest is a dramatic, compelling, get-the-bad-guys thriller in which I lost track of the body count early on (did this many people always die in these books?). Lots of beating people up, getting out of impossible jams, facing terrifying enemies who don’t respond to punches that would flatten a normal person, etc.

Now that Lee Child’s brother is co-writing in preparation for taking over the series, things feel a bit different. There seemed to be less actual investigating in favor of more fight scenes than usual. In the writing itself, I could feel the joint effort. There’s a recurring staccato pattern consisting of many simple declarative sentences and sentence fragments in a row—something I didn’t realize was vaguely stress-inducing until I would finally hit a patch of “normal” writing and suddenly relax, in the way that you relax when some background noise you hadn’t consciously noticed is turned off.

Of course, I’m always torn between racing to the end of a new Reacher novel and being sad that it’s over, with a whole year to wait for the next adventure. Thanks, Andrew Child, for making sure the series will continue.

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for a digital advance review copy.