Title:

Bad Luck & Trouble

Author:

Lee Child

Category:

Mystery & Thriller

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

February 21, 2024
n the cover of my paperback edition of Bad Luck and Trouble, there is a blurb from Janet Maslin of the New York Times that reads: "Electrifying...This series is utterly addictive." I don't know what other novels Ms. Maslin enjoys, but I agree with her opinion of this book. Bad Luck and Trouble is the eleventh book in the Jack Reacher series, but they can be read in any order (at least, so far I have not noticed any carry over from novel to novel.) I picked this book to read because a friend showed me a couple episodes from the second series of the Reacher TV series. Season two of the Reacher series is based upon Bad Luck and Trouble. I was intrigued enough by what I saw of the story to read the book. to find out what was happening. The TV series showed a couple of over-the-top fight scenes that do not occur in the book. However, the book is plenty interesting and I zipped through all 477 pages in two days.

The novel opens with Reacher wandering about in Portland. He checks his bank balance, and discovers that someone has added $1030.00 to his bank account. A bank error in his favor? Not likely - 10-30 is a military policeman code for an agent requesting urgent assistance. Could this deposit be a message from a former colleague? Of course it is! Reacher is soon off to LA, where he meets up with Frances Neagley, who once worked with Reacher during their army days. Neagley has disturbing news. One of their old colleagues, Calvin Franz, has been found dead - and it appears that he died by being thrown from a helicopter after enduring a horrible bout of torture. Who would do such a thing, and why? Even worse, Neagley has tried contacting other former members of the team, and she has not been able to reach any of them.

Although Reacher and Neagley don't know it yet, they are being watched. By more than one party. They have only the flimsiest of clues, but a burning sense of loyalty compels them to chase every lead - someone has killed one of their compatriots, and that death will not go unavenged. They have a motto: "Do not mess with the special investigators!"

The mystery slowly unfolds. Reacher and Neagley trace back the final days of Franz. The fate of the missing team members becomes clear. There is a lot of mystery to solve here, and Reacher and company bring their special skills and experiences to bear. This being a Reacher novel, there are also bouts of violence. Nothing as spectacular as a gun battle inside a house full of heavily armed villains (like the TV series), but sudden and suspenseful violence nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Azhari Mahmoud, a man carrying $65 million in diamonds and currency, has just landed in the USA. Mahmoud has half a dozen aliases, he discards passports and identities in subsequent chapters as he methodically makes his way west. It is not at all clear what this man is up to, but it is clear he has bad intentions. Can Reacher crack the case before Mahmoud achieves his diabolical goals?

Bad Luck and Trouble has a few flashbacks to the days when Reacher was a major in the army, CO of a crack team of nine special investigators (including himself). I liked the characters on the team that was shown in these brief glimpses of the past, and I hope that Child writes (or has written) a novel where this team is embroiled in a case. Are there any novels that show this team in its glory days? Do the team members who survive this novel appear in any future books? I hope so, I would enjoy reading about future exploits of this team, instead of Reacher always acting in the role of a lone wolf.

This is a minor quibble, but Child keeps reminding us that Jack Reacher travels with no possessions except a toothbrush. Reacher has no 21st century burdens - no insurance payments, no mortgage, no home or auto to maintain, no chores, no responsibility. But the "only a toothbrush" schtick wears thin with constant repeating. I haven't yet stayed in a hotel or motel that provided toothpaste. Would it kill Reacher to carry a comb? What about a razor? Floss? Nail clippers? Given that the lovely ladies are always willing to go to bed with Reacher, ought he not carry a few condoms as well? Reacher could carry all these items in a fanny pack, but I guess that's not manly enough.

Reacher never launders his clothes. Instead, Reacher will go into a second hand clothing store and buy a new shirt, strip off his existing shirt and throw that in the trash. I could not help but wonder - doesn't Reacher ever change his underwear? His socks? These burning questions never gets answered.

I have another plane trip coming up, I think I will carry another Reacher novel with me to the airport - this addictive series is ideal for whiling away the hours spent in travel.