Lee Child begins Make Me with Jack Reacher getting off a train in the middle of nowhere, a place called Mother’s Rest. Reacher stops there on a whim but soon finds himself being followed. Reacher meets Michele Chang, a former FBI agent who now is a private detective. Her partner has disappeared. Reacher is drawn into the search which leads to some very dark places. Make Me is the 20th Jack Reacher novel, but you don’t have to read the other novels in the series to enjoy this book. Lee Child has created a compelling character over the past 20 years. I’ve enjoyed the action and cleverness in this series. I found the conclusion disturbing and memorable. If you’re looking for a fast-moving suspense novel, Make Me is first-rate. It’s the best book I’ve read in 2016 so far. GRADE: A
And see, I found it less compelling than some of his others. Chang was a cipher to me, unlike several of the women Reacher was involved with in previous books. I found it a little slow getting going until he finally figured out what was going on, Once he did, however, it was nasty in the extreme, even by Reacher standards,
I wouldn’t put it at the top of his books, though it was as readable as ever. I read it back to back with the latest Michael Connelly book, and for me the Connelly has it all over this one.
Jeff, I have the Connelly book on my stack, too. MAKE ME was like DEADPOOL for me: I had low expectations going in and was surprised at what unfolded.
I’m more with Jeff. I liked the dialog but the rest of the book didn’t click very well for me.
Rick, I spent about 65% of MAKE ME trying to figure out where this story was going. And then, all of a sudden, Lee Child tromped on the accelerator. Astonishing finish to this book!
I’ve read two and the second was so similar to the first I never continued. Maybe that was happenstance though.
Patti, MAKE ME has some real differences from the other 19 Jack Reacher books.
I thought the book was okay, but the Reacher books seem heavily padded to me. There’s no bit of information too small for Child to leave out or devote a full page to.
Bill, I know what you mean. I’m guessing Lee Child has a word count he has to reach to make his publishers happy. and, I’m guessing it’s around 100,000 words.
I liked it, but wonder about the future for Reacher. I’ve heard the next one will be a prequel, going back to his army days. I totally agree with Reacher about thick coffee mugs.
I also like Connelly, but prefer the Lincoln Lawyer series to Bosch.
Lee has said that he will stop writing the series when he’s done as many books as J. D. McDonald’s Travis McGee series. I wonder if that will include prequels?
Maggie, given that Lee Child smokes like a fiend, his writing days might be limited.
I read one and thought it sucked! Add to that his okaying of The Smirking Dwarf to play Reacher in the movie and you have another big reason I don’t read him! I have enjoyed his free booze at a couple of Bouchercons. though!
Bpb. Lee Child mentions in REACHER SAID NOTHING that many fans are upset about Tom Cruise buying the rights to the Jack Reacher books. I got the impression Child received millions of dollars in return.
I talked to Lee about this I think at the last Toronto Bcon. This was before way before cruise was in the picture. There had been many options, including cruise, though he was not going to be in it, just produce. The most promising was Harvey Weinstein. I suggested Hugh Jackman, and lee said they were in talks.
Sadly, that didn’t work out. I am guessing that I wasn’t the only fan who wanted to see Reacher on screen. cruise made it happen, and though he certainly didn’t embody Reacher physically, it wasn’t a horrific movie
Maggie, I suspect Tom Cruise had the top bid on the Reacher film rights.
“enjoyed”
Bob, I fixed it for you.