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Lee Child has been one of my favourite authors for seventeen years. I've read each and every one of his books - twice - , met the author himself, got a signed copy of A Wanted Man, shared a beer with Lee in the Savoy Hotel, London and Jack Reacher is one of my all-time favourite characters. I even enjoyed the film and was one of the minority who thought Tom Cruise did a decent job. Basically, I'm invested in this author and have been for some time. However, this was the first time I felt disappointed after reading a book by Child. It's because Not A Drill was...well, moderately decent.

Reacher books are generally addictive. Containing the right amount of mystery, intrigue, smarts, and humour for any fan of thrillers, I would consider these books essential reading. Harking back to the days of hard boiled noir and anti-heroes, Reacher is a leading man that everyone appreciates. However, when Child started doing short stories, the Reacher enigma, so to speak, lost some of its appeal. This isn't due to the story itself - Not A Drill is concise, smart, short and very slick - it just seems to be...too short. Reacher revels when he's unwound slowly and the short stories don't do it for me in that respect. Just as they get started, it's over.

The worrying thing is that the other shorts were great, so I concluded that Not A Drill was missing something. It hit me when I reached the 74% mark on my Kindle and the story ended. And there it was. This story was rushed, the conclusion ending on a cliffhanger/sudden ending that kind of come out of nowhere. Yes, Child has his next novel, Personal, coming out this month, and if this is the lead in, then fair enough. However, if that isn't the case, then this story was a blatant attempt to sell the new novel, the final 16% of my Kindle time taken to show us an excerpt of the new book. Good promotion, yes, but as a Child fan; I'm invested. I will buy the next book but I would also have liked another 16% of Not A Drill...I felt short changed and this is rare, but this left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

3* - Too short. Yes, Reacher is better as a longer tale, a novel you can sink into and spend several hours divulging with. It doesn't mean the shorts should suffer but they shouldn't end this quickly. This seems like a stopgap to the next novel - and I can't wait - but this story shouldn't suffer in the process. Worth a read - all Child stories are - but you may end up feeling rushed to a conclusion that doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe that was the point...let's hope Personal explains this if that's the case.