Running Blind by Lee child - book review

I should've updated "Trip Wire" as the next in review in the series, but felt that book to be quite tedious and for an almost non-existent story it dragged for close to 300 pages. And the ending rivals "Balayya" movies, with Reacher getting shot right in his chest, only for the doctor's in all their "surprise" claim it to be a "medical miracle" that his pectoral muscles literally stopped a bullet and Reacher survives!!!  But "Running blind" the next in the series, more than made up for it. With Jodie, the lady who gets introduced in previous book, having a continuation in this one as well as designated girl friend of Reacher, also doubling up as his lawyer, the series actually get a second character who has a running storyline other than Reacher.

The story begins with a bar fight that is settled by Reacher in his own way. Only for it to balloon into a controversy involving FBI, who somehow profile him as a potential and almost certain serial killer, who is going around killing the lady ex-colleagues of Reacher from his army life. The intriguing point being, the MO of the killer, who leaves the victim in a bathtub full of olive green paint, a color typically associated with army. The surprising part being, none of the victims have any wound or signs of injury or even a struggle, with the killer supposedly entering their house through front door, possibly being known to the victims previously. And there are literally no evidence about the perpetrator, their motive and means as well as to what was the murder weapon or how they killed their victims! 

There is a gang war side story, due to the bar fight initiated by Reacher, which ends quickly before it can side track the serial killing investigation. The killer or the MO is never revealed till 99% of the book and towards the last dozen page only, we get to know about the killer and on the "how" and "why" is explained. Like Sherlock Holmes saying as the story goes about eliminating the impossible, the single clue that gets mentioned in the middle, literally reveals itself as the only viable option as how the killer could've operated. The real twist being, the "why" part, which was almost Agatha Christie-ish in nature. 

One common aspect that i noticed on the 4 books i've read so far in this series being, despite pages and pages of description about the mind set of Reacher or about the travel, for most of the time Reacher is on the "move" literally, the story can still be caught up with just by going through the dialogue sections. In fact, if you remove the description or mind voice sections, the series could very well fit in as a blog!! 

"Running Blind" is an apt title for this book with the investigation going everywhere and finally through trial and error, somehow managing to catch the killer on the act. The end scenario, where despite finding the killer, Reacher ending up on the wrong side of the deal is another interesting twist. Motivates one to go about with the next in the series - "Echo Burning", which has started off quite well.