77. Nothing to Lose - Lee Child

#12 Jack Reacher
Audio read by Dick Hill
Random House Audio, 2008
11 unabridged cds ($44.95)
14 hours
432 pages
Rating: 3.5 (a bit tedious in places)

Jack Reacher is certainly an interesting character. He is homeless, cocky, loves the way he lives, and has a certain code that he lives by. He carries no wallet, an ATM card, and knowledge of numbers and the way the body works that he can throw someone an elbow, placed just right, and incapacitate them...maim them...or even kill them, if he desires. He can figure his way out of all sorts of dilemmas. He's quite uncanny. And unbelievable, sure, but is that why you'd read these thrillers, for reality? Don't think so. He also has a way of getting involved in capers that make the reader ponder questions about the U.S. government and what's REALLY going on.....

In this novel, Reacher is traveling from one corner of the country to another...from Calais, Maine to San Diego, CA. He travels by hitchhiking, by bus, by walking. He is dropped off in Hope, Colorado and discovers there's no public transportation to continue west, so he begins the 15+ mile walk toward the next town, Despair, Colorado. No cars travel along this road, and he ends up walking the entire distance. What he gets to is a town that wants him out, gone, bye-bye. And of course, him being Jack Reacher, he wonders why and what's going on. We're soon to find out.

A hotel in Hope becomes his home for the next week or so, and a female cop becomes his "helper" and confidante. Well, confidante to a certain point, he always keeps some things to himself. And what they discover is scary, both unbelievable and believable, and a good tale involving the government, the war in Iraq, and even touches on the lives of guys that are being asked to return to Iraq for duty over and over again.

I enjoyed listening to this story, although the next Reacher novel I have I think I'm going to read to see if my take on the guy and his personality changes.