Customer Reviews

Running Blind (Jack Reacher, No. 4)

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(33)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

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

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.

This is the first Lee Child book I've read, which is perhaps unfortunate, as several of the other reviews indicate that this book is not as good as some of the others in the Jack Reacher series. (By the way, this book has two different titles: "Running Blind" in the USA and Canada, and "The Visitor" in the UK and elsewhere.)

To start with the positive stuff, I love Lee Child's writing style. I'm a fan of thrillers, and this means I'm used to fairly mediocre writing, so this book was a very nice change.

The basic idea behind Jack Reacher's character is also interesting. He's a sort of vigilante Robin Hood, righting wrongs around him that the normal forces in society don't take proper care of. And he's not just muscle and weapons and fighting techniques, he's also very intelligent and knowledgeable and observant.

I also liked the basic story line, with a serial killer who has the FBI outsmarted and a motive that will come as a surprise.

So all-in-all I found the book appealing in many ways.

But now comes the list of problems that I have with this book, problems that are sufficient that it's doubtful if I'll ever get around to reading another book by Lee Child.

The characters aren't really believable. Jack Reacher is supposed be a loner, but not wanting to own anything other than a folding toothbrush must be a bit problematic. Lisa Harper is having problems with sexual harassment in the FBI so she gives up wearing a bra. Jodie Jacobs has found her long-lost secret love from her youth, but still prefers to pursue a high-flying career rather than make the relationship her top priority. And the nasty FBI guys are so nasty that Internal Affairs would be after them if they were ordinary cops.

On top of the unbelievable characters we have a story that lacks realism and seems contrived. The most unrealistic part involves the method by which the murderer kills the victims, which in my opinion is totally impossible on two different counts. Unfortunately, I can't describe this problem in detail without revealing too much and getting this review labeled as a spoiler.

So I think I'll wish Jack Reacher good luck in his continuing lonely travels, and continue my search for thrillers that appeal to me on other shelves in the bookstores of cyberspace and elsewhere.

Rennie Petersen

Author Lee Childs brings back the invincible ex-MP, Jack Reacher. This time, could he be the serial killer the FBI is after? Could he be the maniac that leaves dead bodies smeared with camoflauge paint in their own bathtubs?

In, "Running Blind", we are privy to an edgy laser paced thriller. After some shennanigans from the government with Jack's galpal, he willingly searches for a killer who leaves no clues. Jack begins with a few common threads; all of the victims brought gritty sexual charges against their military superiors, all won their cases, all then resigned, and then they were all found dead in their own bathtubs.

I do not want to take up too much of your time with this review...when you can be engrossed in this blazing blitz of a book on your own!

other reading suggestions: "Messiah" by Boris Starling and "The Empty Chair" by Jeffrey Deaver

Thanks for your interest & comments--CDS

I have read several of the Lee Child's "Jack Reacher" novels and enjoyed them. Up until now. Child creates great characters (Reacher being preeminent) and has a talent for great individual scenes. His endings tend to be a bit clumsy, but I've forgiven that in the past for the joy of the ride. I can't do it with this one. The solution on this one, re. how the murders are committed, is so absurd that it has effectively ended my interest in the series. I figured out the probable solution early on during the book, but I kept telling myself I must be wrong as such a solution would be ridiculous. Unfortunately the ridiculous solution was the solution. I apologize for mentioning the ending without going into detail as to what it was and what specifically was wrong with it, but there's no way to do this without being a "spoiler" and I don't want to mess up the (already bad) ending for people who do choose to buy the book. If you like Lee Child, please continue to read him but know that he has done better work than this.

Continuing with the Jack Reacher series, I'm up to the 4th installment... Running Blind by Lee Child. Still liking the series a lot, and this one had me guessing until the end...

Reacher is coerced into helping out on a case by the FBI. He happened to be in a restaurant when part of a gang came in looking for protection money. Jack took matters into his own hands to break it up, but he also stumbled into an FBI stakeout. Now if he doesn't help solve a potential serial killer, he might end up getting blamed for the deaths. The women being killed all were ex-military and had filed (and won) harassment cases against superiors. Reacher knows them, as he was part of the military police presence that was involved at the time. The women who are dying are all discovered immersed in a bathtub full of camouflage paint, and apparently have gone under voluntarily and without a struggle. No clues, no reason why, but they're still very dead. The FBI is relying on psychological profiling to narrow down the killer, but Jack figures that's all a crock. The struggle is to figure out if they'll listen to him before another victim shows up...

Like the other Reacher novels, you're never quite sure who's the good guy and who's the bad guy. I figured there would be a plot twist somewhere, but the one I got wasn't the one I was expecting. Definitely a page turner to see how it's going to unfold. The subplot at play here is the relationship between Jodie (from the 3rd book) and Jack, and whether his foray into the world of responsibility will send him packing back to his nomadic life once again. That came to an interesting point at the end, and I'm curious to see how it will play out in installment #5...

Fun read...

Running Blind is a definite step up from TRIPWIRE, which absolutely stunk, but that's still not saying much for this book.

Frequent readers of this genre will figure out the motive, the method and the identity of the killer hundreds of pages before Jack Reacher and the entire FBI do. Sure I was momentarily distracted by some of the red herrings Child threw at me, not the ridiculous appearance of an Army chaplain from out of the blue towards the end, that was just lame.

KILLING FLOOR and DIE TRYING remain my favorites in this series. The Jack Reacher character is getting annoying by now with his steadfast refusal to own anything that doesn't fit in his pockets. That includes any changes of clothes! Jack just sleeps in the buff and lets his clothes air out to wear day in and day out. I'm about the same size as Jack, six foot five and 260lbs, and believe me, if I didn't change clothes daily there is no way bra-less FBI agents or gorgeous Wall St. lawyers would be throwing themselves at me. Not that they do anyway, but that's another story.

I may pick up another Jack Reacher story in the future but only if I can find it in my local library where I found this title. While these stories are mildly entertaining, they simply aren't worth the money.

This was probably one of the most sloppy, disappointing and lazy books ever! One can appreciate the originality of the author's idea (there is great potential there), and I can see what Lee Child was trying to achieve, however, the manner in which he achieves is preposterous at best. Don't blame him. Blame his editor.

There are so many things that don't make sense with the plot that you lose count after the first 50 pages. And to make matters worse, the book contains very little suspense. Chapter after chapter nothing much happens, except characters going around in circles, waiting. There is a deadline to aim for and people are dying or are in mortal danger but the protagonists are content to sit around and admit they've run out of ideas without making the slightest effort to think of something else. The manner in which Jack Reacher is brought into the story is bizarre and non-sensical.

And perhaps the one thing that really is bothersome is the manner in which the author treats the FBI agents. Reacher is the anti-establishment. That is clear. And you can't get much more establishment than the FBI, but to portray all of them (except one, whose only role is to fawn over Reacher's manly prowess) as criminal and stupid, is lazy.

The whole book betrays signs of laziness on the part of the author. The most blatant example being his complete lack of background or even interest in criminal profiling. He didn't do his homework and he covers it up with weak and silly arguments. And if he couldn't bother to work and develop a proper plot, action and suspense, at least he could have developed characters. Instead, these people are not even two-dimensional. They're one-dimensional, mere shadows. Heck, Reacher himself barely reaches two-dimensions. Bad, bad, bad! It's a good thing I didn't read the book on a flight or else I would have jumped out for sure.

While fairly well-written for the thriller genre, this book contains some of the worst use of psychology I have ever encountered since the early '40s, when people really believed that hypnosis was this terrifying, all-powerful technique that could drive anyone to do anything. However, the science has since then progressed and even we the hoi poloi now know better. The most cursory research should have informed this author of the basic unsoundness of his murder method. His insistence on its use grated on my nerves and utterly destroyed any enjoyment I may have derived from the book. Characters are badly fleshed-out, awkwardly motivated, and flatter than a stack of pancakes. I guessed the murder's identity and the murder method one-third way through the book, thought to myself, Nah, it's too ridiculous, flipped to the end and Lo, I was right! What a waste of time.

I love Jack Reacher...I would however, love him more if he bathed more often. The man sleeps in his clothes with no more luggage than a toothbrush!In the past, Jack has been a larger than life hero and in "Running Blind", he becomes a larger than life slob, vigilante and all around disgusting bully. He is handsome, smart and has powerful connections with the military, and I find it demeaning the way he resorts to solving all problems by either denial or violence. The way he treats Jody is obscene!I think Mr. Child was out of line in his portrayal of the FBI. I would like to think Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity still mean what they used to.I enjoyed the book, but, figured out the killer and the "how" very early on. I want Mr. Child to clean Jacks' act up a bit and bring him back to the character that he has the potential of being.Definitely a book to be read, I just want "Jack" back!