Tripwire book review

Tripwire by Lee Child, Miloš Đurđević
Series: Jack Reacher #3
Published by Jove on July 1, 2000
Pages: 432
Goodreads

Jack Reacher, ex-military policeman relaxed in Key West until Costello turned up dead. The amiable PI was hired in New York by the daughter of Reacher's mentor and former commanding officer, General Garber. Garber's investigation into a Vietnam MIA sets Reacher on collision with hand-less "Hook" Hobie, hours away from his biggest score.

Tripwire is the third Jack Reacher novel I have read and I actually think it might be my favourite. I don’t know what it was about this story in particular but everything seemed to be a little more realistic and I felt more connected to the people and the romance that takes place in this book. I feel like there is going to be some kind of sexual tension all the way through these books, so I have resigned myself to it. This time it was different, the relationship wasn’t in the middle of a gunfight or another inappropriate moment and it was built off of something other than attraction. It just felt as though it belonged in the story rather than being an add on that didn’t quite fit. I think that made a huge difference in my enjoyment of the story and the characters and probably why it’s my favourite of the three.

We’re obviously following Jack Reacher as he is drawn into yet another mystery and this one follows Vietnam and the veterans that came back. I really loved the way he was represented in this book and how he held himself. I think this is the first time we really see how important the military was to him and how much it impacted his outlook on the world. I think Tripwire has made me see Reacher in a totally different way and I’m not mad about it. Also, we meet Jodie and for once she wasn’t a damsel in distress type of character, which made it a change from the other women who I felt depended on Reacher far too much for it to be enjoyable.

I think the best bit of Tripwire was definitely the mystery and the reveal. The whole way that it was set up I never saw it coming which was really great. It is always a good book that can take me by surprise, I usually figure out what is going on but this book completely blindsided me. The misdirection was really well done and well written all the way through. I also really loved the way that the characters interacted and I’m kinda excited to see how the next one follows on and changes the way this one ends.

I do think that although I enjoyed this book and the mystery was well done I think the writing is more than a little formulaic. Tripwire has a great concept but the ending was a little predictable and I kinda knew how it was going to end without having all of the details. I am hoping that the next one will have a great mystery element but with a less predictable ending.

I have really loved Tripwire and I am looking forward to carrying on with the series. I don’t know whether I will continue to love it as much as I am doing, I can see it being a series that needs to have a bit of breathing space between books.

Are you a big fan of Jack Reacher? What was your favourite book of the series? Let me know!