Running Blind (Jack Reacher, No. 4) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lee Child (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 28, 2007

See Jack Reacher now in his first major motion picture.

Across the country women are being murdered by a killer who leaves no evidence, no fatal wounds, no signs of struggle, and no clues to a motive. They are, truly, perfect crimes. In fact, the only thing that links the victims is the man they all knew: Jack Reacher.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Jove; Jove Premium Edition edition (August 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515143502
• ISBN-13: 978-0515143508
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (612 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Jack Reacher is back, dragged into what looks like a series of grisly serial murders by a team of FBI profilers who aren't totally sure he's not the killer they're looking for, but believe that even if he isn't, he's smart enough to help them find the real killer. And what they've got on the ex-MP, who's starred in three previous Lee Child thrillers (Tripwire, Die Trying, Killing Floor), is enough to ensure his grudging cooperation: phony charges stemming from Reacher's inadvertent involvement in a protection shakedown and the threat of harm to the woman he loves.

The killer's victims have only one thing in common--all of them brought sexual harassment charges against their military superiors and all resigned from the army after winning their cases. The manner, if not the cause, of their deaths is gruesomely the same: they died in their own bathtubs, covered in gallons of camouflage paint, but they didn't drown and they weren't shot, strangled, poisoned, or attacked. Even the FBI forensic specialists can't figure out why they seem to have gone willingly to their mysterious deaths. Reacher isn't sure whether the killings are an elaborate cover-up for corruption involving stolen military hardware or the work of a maniac who's smart enough to leave absolutely no clues behind. This compelling, iconic antihero dead-ends in a lot of alleys before he finally figures it out, but every one is worth exploring and the suspense doesn't let up for a second. The ending will come as a complete surprise to even the most careful reader, and as Reacher strides off into the sunset, you'll wonder what's in store for him in his next adventure. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Jack Reacher, the wandering folk hero of Child's superb line of thrillers (Tripwire, etc.), faces a baffling puzzle in his latest adventure: who is the exceptionally crafty villain murdering women across the country, leaving the naked bodies in their bathtubs (which are filled with army camouflage green paint), escaping the scenes and leaving no trace of evidence? The corpses show no cause of death and Reacher's sole clue is that all the victims thus far were sexually harassed while serving in the military. There's got to be some sort of grand scheme behind the killings, but with no physical evidence, FBI agents bumble around until they finally question Reacher, a former military cop who handled each of the dead women's harassment cases. After Reacher convinces investigators he's innocent, theyAcuriouslyAask him to stay on as a case consultant. Reacher doesn't like the ideaAhe's too much of a lone wolfAbut he has little choice. The feds threaten him and his girlfriend, high-powered Manhattan attorney Jodie Jacob, with all sorts of legal entanglements if he doesn't help. So Reacher joins the FBI team and immediately attacks the feds' approach, which is based solely on profiling. Then he breaks out on his own, pursuing enigmatic theories and hunches that lead him to a showdown with a truly surprising killer in a tiny village outside Portland, Ore. Some of the concluding elements to Child's fourth Reacher outingAhow the killer gains access to the victims' homes, as well as the revelation of the elaborate MOAfall into place with disappointing convenience. Yet the book harbors two elements that separate it from the pack: a brain-teasing puzzle that gets put together piece by fascinating piece, and a central character with Robin Hood-like integrity and an engagingly eccentric approach to life.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Jove; Jove Premium Edition edition (August 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515143502
• ISBN-13: 978-0515143508
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (612 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lee Child is the #1 internationally bestselling author of the Jack Reacher thrillers. His debut, Killing Floor, won both the Anthony and the Barry awards for Best First Mystery, and The Enemy won both the Barry and the Nero awards for Best Novel. "Jack Reacher", the film based on the 9th novel, One Shot, stars Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Rosamund Pike, Jai Courtney, and David Oyelowo and debuted in December 2012. Child, a native of England and a former television director, lives in New York City and the south of France with his wife and daughter. Find out more about Lee Child and the Reacher novels on his official website: LeeChild.com, on Facebook LeeChildOfficial, on Twitter #LeeChildReacher, and YouTube leechildjackreacher.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#9 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#4 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#4 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#4 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#6 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#9 in Books

#4 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#4 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#4 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#6 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#9 in Books

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

402 of 433 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Dirty Trick March 1, 2007

By George E. McCormick

Format:Paperback

Running Blind is a great book, as are all of Lee Child's books. Retitling it and selling it as The Visitor is a dirty trick on those of us always on the lookout for a new Jack Reacher book.

502 of 552 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars US Title - Running Blind February 27, 2006

By Karen Bickley

Format:Paperback

I was really excited that I had missed reading a Reacher book but it turns out to be Running Blind.

303 of 332 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Warning: Rip off February 12, 2007

By C. Touart

Format:Paperback

This book is "Running Blind" under a different title. It should be illegal to sell this book. I feel so cheated.

100 of 107 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Jack Reacher the Epitome of Excitement! February 18, 2000

By R. Watkins

Format:Hardcover

I have just finished reading the latest in this great series by English author Lee Child. Just like Killing Floor and Die Trying, this novel flies along at a frantic pace that you try hard to keep up with.

Reacher is the suspect in a bizarre series of murders in which ex-army women (who left the force because of a variety of sexual harassment cases) are left naked in their bathtubs filled with green army paint. The killer leaves no clues and what is even more bizarre, they have no idea how the women died.

Even after Reacher's name is cleared, he is blackmailed by the FBI into unravelling this bizarre case. He must get to the killer before more women die, or face the consequences of the FBI's fury.

Read and Enjoy

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's the link for Running Blind May 17, 2007

By Traveling

Format:Paperback

My thanks to the other posters for the "Truth in Advertising" warnings that "The Visitor" is really a re-titled "Running Blind". The Jack Reacher series for me is a "buy on sight" type of thing and I might have been misled if it was not for the other reviewers.

That being said don't be put off from the original novel by the Publisher's shady marketing. Running Blind is one of the best Jack Reacher novels:

Running Blind

81 of 90 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars RIP OFF!!!!! April 17, 2007

By Mad Hatter

Format:Paperback

I was very disappointed when I realized the book, "The Visitor" was the same book as "Running Blind". Where is the integrity and honesty? They should be ashamed. Will make me think twice before buying another Lee Child book!!!!

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exciting, Well-Done Thriller September 2, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I have now read all of the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child and I believe this one to be the best of them all. Not that it doesn't have flaws - some of the activities carried out by the FBI are pretty questionable, Reacher at times approaches super-human in his skills, and there are probably a few too many red herrings and digressions. Nevertheless, for what it is, this is an extremely fast-moving and exciting thriller. It is genuinely hard to put down and the ending will likely surprise you (though admittedly a careful reader will probably see it coming; there are clues aplenty). Child plays fair, however, and you buy the whole thing. I do wish Child's novels "reached" (pun intended) a wider audience; he is a good writer who has created an interesting and charismatic character. This book is well worth your time.

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Publisher deception May 18, 2007

By David P. Smith

Format:Paperback

I've read every Lee Child novel with Jack Reacher and was set to buy this one. Thank goodness I looked here and found it is just RUNNING BLIND with a new title. The one star I gave it is for the publisher. RUNNING BLIND gets five stars.