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BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE
by Lee Child
Bantam, April 2007
396 pages
14.99 GBP
ISBN: 0593057015


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

I did a very naughty thing the moment I received the new Lee Child book. I ripped off the packaging, ignored all deadlines, switched off the telephone and read it through more or less in one take. I mean, this is the ultimate escapism!

You know what you're getting with a Jack Reacher book – an all-American hero (ironic, given Child is British!) who will save the universe in 45 seconds, taking out the bad guys with extreme prejudice and with some help from a passing pretty woman.

In BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE, though, Reacher has moved firmly into the 21st century. Aside from his folding toothbrush, he now carries two other items – a passport and ATM card. For security is now super-tight in post-Twin Towers America.

In previous books we've had blasts from Reacher's past reappearing, but this time it's up close and personal. A former special investigations colleague summons him urgently and ingeniously. Reacher and Frances were part of a close-knit team of eight who were hand-picked for special projects.

When he makes it down to LA, he finds that one of that team is dead and the six others are suddenly out of contact. He and Frances must try to track down their missing comrades.

BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE is pure, high-octane escapism from start to finish. Much of Child's successful formula survives – the image of the self-sufficient drifter who can plan and take down formidable enemies in a heartbeat. And if you just want to read Child for the action, you'll be holding on to your hat with this one.

But, wisely, Child has acknowledged in BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE that even Jack Reacher has to move and grow in some way. OK, so the state of the nation means our man isn't travelling quite as light as he once did. But some of the most thoughtful scenes are where Reacher measures himself against his former colleagues and close friends and tries to compute just what he has achieved in his life since leaving the army.

Don't worry . . . Jack's not going all touchy-feely on us. But those scenes provide some much-needed light amidst the dark goings-on elsewhere. Child's got a gold medal-winning formula and he'd be mad to tinker with it too much. But a little work under the bonnet has produced another sure-fire winner.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, March 2007

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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