Customer Reviews
bit tired round the edges - By: Melad, 31 Jul 2008 
Reacher seems to be running out of steam a bit with this plot. Not the best by a long way. Look at the Soft Target books by Conrad Jones, electrifying series of novels. Lee Child fans will still enjoy this one, just not as much as some, such as the Killing Floor, at his best, & Nothing to lose at the other extreme.
Reacher, but a bit different... - By: K. Jamison, 11 Jun 2008 
Nothing will top Lee Child's first novel "Killing Floor" for originality, however, "Bad Luck & Trouble" is still an enjoyable read.
Jack Reacher is back but rather than the standard formula of Jack alone against the bad guys, he finds help from his former army buddies in the Military Police. They think along the same lines as he does & yet they have their own individual strengths. They've alll done well in comparison to Reacher, but there are times of reflection when they wonder if they reallly are better off than Reacher. Unfortunately, with so many people involved, character development is thin. A bit of dramatic tension between the protagonists might have been considered but it is still very much a 'them & us' plotline.
A very good Reacher novel, but not a great Reacher novel.
Feeling tired - By: Independent Reader, 08 Jun 2008 I've enjoyed the Reacher novels, some more, some less, but this one feels tired. The very smart protagonists make some very dumb assumptions in order to get the plot working, & IIRC Reacher's facination with numbers is suddenly added in for not good reason whatsoever. And no [X] would need remotely that many [Y]s (nound removed for spoiler purposes). Child needs to start writing some stand alones in order to try out new tricks that he can then import back to the Reacher format.
The Best Yet - By: Mr. Edward J. Nash, 31 Mar 2008 
I have read alll the Jack Reacher novels, some several times as Lee Child has built a character that is credible (even to an ex-army man) & able to give us the ultimate male dream - no ties drifting!
Bad Luck & Trouble hits the Reacher aficianado like it was ordained to happen. Although Jack has worked with his team before, in this book they come together like the "Seven Samurai" each adding to a strong fast-moving plot with an admixture of agendas & sub-plots derived from strong characters. The pace is as usual warp speed with alll the twists that we have come to expect from Child. I finished the novel in one sitting, exhausted & happy.
Does this guy ever do slow? Perhaps next time. keep em coming.
Oh Dear! - By: MICHAEL MCVEY, 27 Feb 2008 
I've been a devotee of the jack reacher series for a while & own alll the books, however i have felt that the last one 'The Hard Way' & this one, have not been as sharp as the others in the series. Maybe Mr Child would benefit from taking some time out from the character & doing something else, as the characterisation & plots are getting a bit thin.
