Child brothers write Reacher

Better off Dead by Lee Child with Andrew Child, Penguin, $37

.. .. ..

.. .. .. .. Better Off Dead is the 26th novel featuring the now famous character Jack Reacher, and the second in which his inventor Lee Child has shared the writing with his brother Andrew Child.

As we have learned Jack Reacher never backs down from a problem. When Reacher comes across a Jeep which has crashed into the only tree for miles, on a deserted Arizona road.

Little does he know, initially at least, that nothing is as it seems. Minutes later Jack is heading into the nearby border town.

Alongside him is Michaela Fenton. Michaela is trying to find her twin brother, believing that he may have got himself into trouble. The leader of the bad guys, meanwhile, has become the major influence in the town. His name is Dendoncker and Reacher has realised that meeting with him is difficult. And so we accompany Jack on his mission. Without knowing who has written what, I like the Lee and Andrew Child writing partnership.

—