Women who have left (or, perhaps in one case, is about to leave) the U.S. Army because they were victims of sexual harassment are being murdered under bizarre circumstances. With more than 88 remaining potential victims, the FBI is stymied for clues and short on enough manpower to protect them all.

Reacher knew the first two victims, so, naturally, the FBI wants to know if he is the killer. If not, he better prove it by helping them figure out who did do it. The FBI is really evil in this novel. Kind of explains why Reacher, in later novels in this series, never calls on his FBI acquaintances when he needs help. He knows they wouldn 19t pee on him if his hair was on fire, and he would not do the same for them.

In 18Running Blind 19 (differently tiled as 18The Visitor 19 in the U.K. edition), Child writes terrific descriptions of Reacher 19s phobia toward commitment of any kind. His famous phobia about keeping his clothes long enough to have to use a washing machine is displayed explicitly and, I think, eloquently. Child outdoes himself there. (The big man who thinks nothing of fighting off five opponents [One never has to fight all five, but only the biggest two or three; at that point the rest will usually run away.] is afraid of not knowing how to use a washer and dryer.) This is also the one where Reacher owns a house and hates being tied down by it. Although he hasn 19t had a chance to sell it by the end of this novel, he has already declared that he will do so.

Half way through, I thought I had figured out the trick behind the plot, and I had, but then Reacher came in with an obvious wrinkle I had not thought of 14or is it yet another red herring 14to be followed by another and another? I was at least right about the how, but not so much about the who, even though it should have been obvious. Hide the who in the who-dunnit in plain sight and the audience never sees it (and I use the word 18it 19 advisedly) coming, even though the clues are all there, being wagged in one 19s face much of the time.

Pretty clever plot 14almost preciously clever, though. The subplot about rival New York City protection rackets turns out to run throughout the novel and ties in to the final solution 14but only sort of. It 19s plain that Jack Reacher is a trickster of nearly mythical proportions. The wary reader should never forget that. Favorite moment: Reacher is so angry with the FBI for manipulating him that he plays an elaborate trick on them. Not sure what recourse the reader has for revenge on Child for his manipulations. ( )

Excellent plot, schemingly brilliant murders, and Reacher at his best. Perfect!! ( )

Probably closer to 3.5, since I liked this one better than Tripwire. Didn't figure this one out before hand, but I feel like I should have, all the clues were there, and I guess I was on the cusp of it, but never put it together. Anyway, not much to say, by book #4 you know if you like Reacher or not, and I do! ( )

I love reading fantasy. I bought this book for a change and I struggled to finish it. Perhaps mystery or thriller doesn't suit me. It took me over 6 years to finish this book because I kept reading another book while putting this on hold. I almost thought this will be a DNF. I have another Jack Reacher book in my TBR. Hopefully I can finish it faster. ( )

Not the best Reacher book, but it's still a Reacher book. What mostly holds it back is its pacing and repetitiveness. It's a bit padded here and there, but the twist ending and overall story are make up for it.

A few regional incongruencies still manage to make their way in, such as an Oregon cop repeatedly calling a bathroom a 'powder room'. It does have quite a bit of that 90s style political correctness - an example being Reacher shooting down the possibility that the killings are motivated by race or gender, because it's "illogical" to acknowledge race or gender.

Still worth a read to see what happens to Reacher after Tripwire, but it's not quite as good. ( )