There are two neighbouring towns by the name of Hope and Despair with nothing but miles of empty roadways between them. Intrigued by their names, Jack Reacher decides to check out the towns for himself and find ay reasons for the curious naming behind them. But this is Reacher we are talking about and not everything is about to be smooth and easy. While he was at Despair and sipping on the much-needed cup of coffee, he is asked to leave the town and the police officer cites ‘vagrancy’ as the cause. Of course, Reacher hasn’t done anything other than heading straight for his usual dose of black coffee. In any case, he ends up in Hope, only to find out that a body has been found on the roads between Hope and Despair. Reacher spurns into action doing what he is good at.

Though the theme of Jack Reacher ‘accidentally’ stumbling across big plots in small towns is starting to become old, I cannot deny that I look forward to it. These are the cases where one gets to see how efficient Reacher can really be. I mean walking into something you know you are walking into and handling it is one thing, but walking in without any clue about it and handling the situation is another thing on the whole. Seeing the wheels turn in Reachers mind, with some action on the side, is a pleasure! And Jack Reacher doesn’t disappoint this time either. He is in full steam when he smells the fish. The thing I love about Reacher books is that sometimes there’s a little something sprinkled in the story that hints towards his illustrious yet elusive career in the military that makes you even more curious. We get some of that in this book.

If you have read Jack Reacher before, then this book offers everything you expect from a Reacher novel. If you haven’t read a Reacher novel before, well then go start from the beginning!

This is a great book in the Jack Reacher series. I read it within a few days, I could barely put it down.

One of the worst novels from the author. The only interesting part was the name of the towns- Hope and Despair. Other than that a run of the mill stuff. The hero goes into a mysterious town and is forcibly removed. A woman cop from the other city helps him fight his battle against a preacher. Religion and the futility of war is touched upon in such a haphazard way that it seems like a novice attempt. Avoid!

Worst. Reacher. Ever.

Boring, boring, boring, boring. By the end, I was skipping whole chapters and asking, "Why do I even care?" Skip this one, not worth your time and it has no bearing on the series continuity.

Multiple plot lines... Created an interesting story.

Ok. I don't want Jack Reacher to be environmental or political. Just kick ass.

A couple years ago I started accumulating Jack Reacher novels I found in Free Libraries around town. When I go on a trip I pick one and read it on the plane or beach, etc and then leave it for someone else to find. That feels like a very Jack Reacher way to do things.

Of the five or ten Reacher novels I’ve read over the years I thought this one was more interesting and more plausible than most.

A very slow burn of a Reacher novel. Decent action and storyline, but not as thrilling as his other books.

From Hope to Despair

Reacher stops in Despair all he wants is coffee and before long he is being kicked out due to a vagrancy charge. Not taking too kindly to this, his curiosity gets the better of him and before long a conspiracy starts to unravel.

This is not my favourite Reacher, certainly not my a long way. The conspiracy theory was completely and utterly far retched, the characters stupid and pathetic and the anti war feature seemingly misplaced.

Not the best one by far 3/5.