Deep Down (Jack Reacher, #16.5)

Deep Down (Jack Reacher, #16.5) - Lee Child I like most Reacher books, but not this one. Am I the only one to shake my head over this book?Someone is selling military secrets (supposedly the specifications for a sniper rifle). The top military can't work out who it is, so they bring an undercover guy from the military police (Jack Reacher). They've identified four suspects, and Reacher's job is to find out who of the four is guilty.That's a promising premise.But... It's so blatantly obvious what information is really being sold here, and therefore who dunnit.I have no particular knowledge of military matters, yet all I needed to solve the mystery was a glance at the summaries of the transcripts at the beginning of the story. If I could work it out so easily, how come that military professionals could not?I was hoping that this blatantly obvious solution was a red herring, that there would be a surprise twist - but no.The story has several other weaknesses - structure, point-of-view, characterisation - which make it of a lower standard than what this author normally delivers.The price is also frustrating. I paid $1.99 for the ebook. For this price, I could get a decent full-length novel. I wouldn't mind paying that amount for a high quality story - but this story is not "high quality", not by my standards, anyway.You may enjoy this story if you're a Jack Reacher fan and enjoy anything featuring your hero, regardless of plot. You may also want to read it to see if you discover the solution as easily as I did.On the other hand, if the plausibility of a story plot or the depth of characterisation are important to you, you may find this book disappointing.If you're new to the Jack Reacher series, one of the other books by the author may be a better start.