Book Review | Nothing To Lose | Lee Child

Nothing to Lose (Jack Reacher 12)

Two lonely towns in Colorado: Hope and Despair. Between them, twelve miles of empty road. Jack Reacher never turns back. It’s not in his nature. All he wants is a cup of coffee. What he gets is big trouble. So in Lee Child’s electrifying new novel, Reacher—a man with no fear, no illusions, and nothing to lose—goes to war against a town that not only wants him gone, it wants him dead.
It wasn’t the welcome Reacher expected. He was just passing through, minding his own business. But within minutes of his arrival a deputy is in the hospital and Reacher is back in Hope, setting up a base of operations against Despair, where a huge, seething walled-off industrial site does something nobody is supposed to see . . . where a small plane takes off every night and returns seven hours later . . . where a garrison of well-trained and well-armed military cops—the kind of soldiers Reacher once commanded—waits and watches . . . where above all two young men have disappeared and two frightened young women wait and hope for their return.

Joining forces with a beautiful cop who runs Hope with a cool hand, Reacher goes up against Despair—against the deputies who try to break him and the rich man who tries to scare him—and starts to crack open the secrets, starts to expose the terrifying connection to a distant war that’s killing Americans by the thousand.

Now, between a town and the man who owns it, between Reacher and his conscience, something has to give. And Reacher never gives an inch.

About Author

Lee Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in New York. It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. His books consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over one hundred million copies. Two blockbusting Jack Reacher movies have been made so far. He is the recipient of many awards, most recently Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Initial Impressions

As a Jack Reacher fan, I have to say Nothing to Lose left me more than a little underwhelmed. This one just didn’t have that usual Reacher punch that keeps you glued to the page. Typically, I’d finish a Reacher book in one or two sittings, but this one took me five days—a bit of a marathon for a novel that usually races along. So, what went wrong?

Setting the Stage: Hope and Despair

The story is set between two towns with metaphorically loaded names, Hope and Despair. I wish I could say I felt something profound here, but instead, the bleakness seemed to leak from the pages and dull the plot. I just couldn’t connect with either of these towns, which is a rarity in a series that often thrives on gritty, evocative locations.

Characterization Woes

And then there’s Reacher himself. Usually, he’s that guy you want on your side—a mix of lone wolf heroism and moral integrity. But this time, his character felt…off. For one, there’s the whole side plot with the local police officer (whose name I can barely remember, which says something in itself). Her backstory felt like it was wedged in just to add drama, and it didn’t really blend with the rest of the narrative.

And then there’s Reacher’s relationship with this woman. Reacher gets romantically involved with her despite her husband still being alive (albeit in a vegetative state). On one hand, Reacher’s busy protecting her husband, kicking others’ butt to take care of the sick husband; on the other, he’s also getting involved with her, presumably to give her what she needs–physical intimacy. It just didn’t align with the Reacher we know, who usually has a clearer moral compass.

A Storyline that Drags and Confuses

Reacher’s penchant for picking fights is usually part of the charm, but here it felt like he was picking them for the sake of it. With the storyline bouncing between terrorism, smuggling, and a host of other conspiracies, it felt like the plot was trying to juggle too many things at once and ultimately dropping all the balls. Every new twist was another random curveball, and by the time the climax arrived, I was more exhausted than excited.

The Final Verdict

I’ll be honest: Nothing to Lose was more of a chore than a thrill. Reacher’s usual mix of charm and grit felt drowned in a storyline that couldn’t make up its mind. Here’s hoping the next installment brings back the Jack Reacher we know and love because this one was definitely a misstep.

Stay tuned for more book reviews.

Until next time, happy reading!

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Shabana Mukhtar

The Other Me Unfolded