Lee Child

3.5/5. Rounded down to 3.

To preface this review- I didn't read 15 other books before this one. This was my random library pick, and I don't really plan to read those 15 books in the future. Now I'll briefly share my opinions about the novel.

The book is okay, not bad by any means, but I wouldn't call it good either. It's one of those binge/popcorn reads which have their place in the world but aren't necessarily my favorite type of book.

I liked its fast pace, and the fact that the plot seems to have been nicely thought out in advance before it was written. I can also say that I didn't mind how Elizabeth Deveraux was written. Do I get the vibes that the author has never met a woman in his life? Yes. But was it offensively written? No, not at all. There are many women that have been written worse than this.

What I didn't like about it, is that Jack Reacher basically has plot armor. He's this cartoonish caricature who has everything going his way; nothing ever affects him personally - just the people around him, and, of course, he's a buff, high-ranking military macho man who knows how to fight like a superhero. Now, do people of his rank probably know how to fight - really well, at that? Yes, I don't doubt it. But did I cringe while reading the fighting "badass" scenes? Absolutely. Another thing that made me cringe was the sex scenes. It just feels like it was written by someone who never had sex. I didn't mind it THAT much, since I don't like reading them in general, but it was still something that stood out. Other than that, I despised the very odd instances when Jack Reacher would deny that the women who were killed were raped as well. He CONSTANTLY went OUT OF HIS WAY to shut down the theory, and it just felt odd.

Overall, apart from those things, the book was fine. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't have missed out on anything if I hadn't read this book.