I love Lee Child…Jack Reacher got me back into reading in a big way, so when I saw that Lee Child had compiled his short stories into one book, I was very excited!

Overall these stories are entertaining and range from super short to short. I guess I am used to reading Stephen King's short stories which are more like novellas sometimes, so these bite-size stories were fun to read here and there!

They were quick and entertaining and I’d read a couple at a time and then return later for a few more.

I give these four stars as nothing is earth-shattering about these stories. They are what they're meant to be, fun, quick reads.

There were a few characters I’d love to see have their own novels, like The Bodyguard…which, ironically was my favorite story of them all!

Solid stories throughout the book! Definitely recommend.

A collection 20 short stories written entirely by Lee Childs. I am not a fan of short stories. For myself short stories don’t seem to have enough substance to interest me..

This is a collection of short stories that Lee Child has written over the years. Some were excellent and some were just okay. Overall, they were enjoyable and worth the read.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Lee Child, and Penzler Publisher’s for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

I have always liked the writing of Lee Child, especially his Jack Reacher stories. They are filled with action suspense, and even a little humour. With this collection of twenty short stories, Child takes the reader away from the nomadic brute and turns the focus on a number of individual situations. Child offers up these short pieces, hoping to pique the interest of the reader at least a little. With a variety of themes, time periods, and perspectives, Lee Child shows how he has the passion for storytelling and the gift of doing so effectively.

To say the collection of short pieces have no common theme would not be a stretch, but they share a passion for grit and determination. Child spins stories about FBI agents, failed bodyguards, and even the odd drug dealer of two, each making their way in the world and trying to give life a sense of purpose. The stories vary in length and delivery, but each has a great deal of merit. They offer the reader an insight in the everyday man, as well as those who have a mission to accomplish. Justice comes in many forms (as we see in Reacher stories), and Lee Child makes sure that there some something for everyone in this collection, which does not let up until the final story is put to bed. Investigating or perpetrating crime returns throughout the collection and keeps the reader guessing which side they choose to support. A gripping collection of stories, from all time periods, racial perspectives, and ideologies. A classic collection that is sure to leave the reader wanting more.

Child is able to pull the reader in with his strong writing style and easy to follow narrative flow. The stories gain momentum when they are able, and leave the reader on the edge of their seat throughout. No story is like the others and few even parallel any of the past writing I have done with Child at the helm. Characters are well-developed and keep me wondering about them, as if I might see one or two appear in a Reacher book one day. While not my favourite of his writing, Lee Child has done well and kept me wanting to return to see how things developed for some of these protagonists, while others I am happy to leave in the trash heap.

Kudos, Mr. Child, for a unique collection to appeal to your fan base!

I enjoyed these short stories and his take on them in the introduction. Hard to tell when one ends and another begins but that's okay - i'm sure that will get cleaned up. I have no doubt this book is going to do well and I def recommend

In typical Lee Child writing prose we get a series of great action packed shorter versions. Great stuff, highly recommended

Oh my Goodness! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. It’s been awhile since I have read short stories and I’m so glad I read these. I’m a huge Jack Reacher fan. But even though these didn’t include Reacher, I thoroughly enjoyed these stories. Each one was very twisted but interesting and well written. I highly recommend this book.

Popcorn. Unbuttered.

The stories are enjoyable.

The Kindle formatting jarring though.

The stories move at a steady pace that keeps you reading despite the format problems.

Working alone instead of carrying another writer definitely works for Lee. But no stories/character even hints at enough as something I'd imagine for a re-read.

As a big fan of Lee Child's Reacher books, I dove into this short story collection with high expectations. I wasn't disappointed. He can really write well developed characters and unexpected twists in the short story format. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Mysterious Press for an advanced reader copy

Series of short stories. The book to me, was not like other Lee Child books and did not keep my interest.

This one was not for me. I obviously didn’t do any research or I would have realized this was a selection of short stories. They didn’t hold my interest. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Lee Child's Jack Reacher books are fantastic! So I figured these short stories would be just as good. Unfortunately they did not hit the same spot as the full length Reacher books do. The stories were just too short. I would be fully immersed and then the end. Maybe short stories are not for me. Maybe these stories would have been better there was a bit more added on and they were novellas. Maybe they are fine and is exactly what other readers are looking for!

“I had overlooked short stories completely. I knew what they were, obviously. I had read and enjoyed hundreds. The best of them struck me as small, intricate, perfectly formed items, like Fabergé eggs.”*—Lee Child from the foreword.

This collection is entirely comprised of short stories that do not feature Lee Child’s most famous character, Jack Reacher. The joy of reading these stories is to see Child experiment with different protagonists and story worlds.

My favorites include:

The Bodyguard: A political kidnapping changes the trajectory of a bodyguard’s life.

Safe Enough: My favorite story in the collection involves an electrician who becomes involved in a missing person investigation.

Normal in Every Way: In this historical piece, a young police file clerk acts like a database putting the pieces together to solve crimes.

The .50 Solution: An assassin’s latest client has a few unusual requests.

The Bone-Headed League: An FBI agent’s murder investigation ties to a Sherlock Holmes mystery.

Pierre, Lucien & Me: A cool tale of art fraud and regrets.

Shorty and the Briefcase: An injured cop uses his brainpower to assist in a bust.

The Snake-Eater by the Numbers: A corrupt cop boosts his arrest numbers with an unfortunate frame.

For me, this was a 3.5 star read, rounded up to four.

Thanks to Mysterious Press, an Imprint of Penzler Publishers, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text, and the quoted material might be altered or removed from the final version of the book.

I love Jack Reacher books and have read each and every one. I liked the idea of short stories. They are just too short. I would really get into a few of them and then they just ended, I would have rather read some slighlty longer pieces with fewer of them, The book formatting also was difficult to follow as I wouldn't always know where one ended and the next began. I expect this to be fixed for the final version.

Safe Enough is a collection of short stories. Each of the stories has a very interesting premise. Unfortunately, the stories were TOO short. Just as they got interesting … boom … they ended. The writing style is, as usual, excellent, but I was left wanting an expanded tale.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Safe Enough.

I’ve been a fan of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books for many years. Having enjoyed the occasional Reacher short story, I was confident in Child’s ability to tell a compelling story in just a few pages. These stories were even better than expected! Despite expecting a twist in each story, I was almost aways surprised by what the twist turned out to be and the payoff that came with it. Many of the stories felt like Child’s chance to enjoy writing a bad guy protagonist with no pressure to make him redeemable or kill him off. Some stories made me hope to soon be reading a full novel about the protagonist, some made me wonder how long Child had been trying to weave the clever plot twist or interesting character into a longer book, and some were simple, perfect short stories that could and should be nothing else. My favorite part of Safe Enough, however, was the introduction. The short story of Child’s writing career and how it led him to publish this collection was the best (kind of) short story in the book! Given Child’s background, it’s no surprise two of the most compelling stories were the only ones lacking his trademark violence and instead having a writer as protagonist: New Blank Document and Dying for a Cigarette. As Child leaves Jack Reacher behind, I hope he will keep publishing short stories, and maybe start a new series inspired by one of the characters in Safe Enough. My vote is for a writer protagonist who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty if he has to but prefers getting to the bottom of a story to get justice.

Thank you to Penzler Publishers and NetGalley for the privilege of reading a DRC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was such a great collection of short stories. So fast paced and packed with action. Although nothing will compare to the Jack Reacher series this collection of short stories really lets you enjoy Lee Childs' writing style. So worth the read.

Twisted! I love short stories, little vignettes that you can read while in the bathroom, or while nuking supper or whatever. I also love Lee Child:s Reacher series so I saw this and was insanely curious. Curiosity killed the cat they say, and mine this time paid off! This is not, I repeat, not Reacher! Reader be warned! However, it is utterly fascinating and comp!Steph twisted! The forward by the author warned that the stories are short and some are, only a page or so, but that page packs one heckuva punch! You're reading all g and think you've got it figured out and it pulls a switch back that leaves you shaking your head and going back, trying to figure our where you lost the thread that led to that switch! Absolutely wild! Loved it! Need more of his short stories!

This is a collection of stories, some short, some longer that Lee Child wrote during the years of his writing career. While nothing can compare to Reacher, in my opinion, these stories were a good read.

This is a collection of short stories authored by Lee Child over a twenty year span. It is an eclectic mix of work; some are very short, a few stories are longer as is typical of such a compilation. The majority of the stories deal with crime, police, etc. Some are very good, others just okay (IMO).

These are not Jack Reacher shorts, of which the author has several to his credit. You can tell some were written years ago when the author was honing his craft. Safe Enough is an easy read well suited for vacations or quick escapes.

I reviewed an ARC version that regretfully offered no table of contents, preface or other information about the origins of these stories. I hope the final version of the book offers some insights from the author about the collection of stories, why he wrote it, the characters, and any other facts the reader may find interesting.

Overall I give this collection of short stories three stars, or a "good" rating. It is hard to read Lee Child and not think of Jack Reacher, an iconic character that is still drawing book audiences and now a sizeable television audience with the Reacher series on Amazon Prime Video. No doubt that influenced how I approached this new book, even though I kept thinking "this isn't a Reacher book."

Interested readers should judge for themselves. I want to thank NetGalley, author Lee Child, and the publisher for the opportunity to review this new work. I attest my review is original and unbiased.