Child corrupts Reacher
I was a fan of Lee Child and have read and own all of his Reacher series of books (in signed 1st editions). He has let his politics interfere with his story line. Bad Luck and Trouble was the start of using his "fame" as a chance to let us know his politics. In "Bad Luck...." it was his obvious support of PETA and his disdain of hunting. I thought that kind of a sorry state for a character as rough and tumble as Reacher.

In Nothing To Lose, what was a good story line turns into a diatribe against the Iraq war and turns Reacher from a man who served his country into a man supportive of deserters and the like. Totally unnecessary except to allow Child, an immigrant to our nation, a chance to show his political disdain for the country he chose to live in (I am not sure of his immigration status).

For me these last two outings into his political beliefs ruin a good story and transform a character from a truly good guy to an anti war, anti American Berkleyite. "The last good war America fought ended in 1945" ....to paraphrase one line....well, the last good book Lee Child wrote was The Hard Way in 2006.

He may have "nothing to lose", but "bad luck and trouble" will follow him.

Don't Bother
I guess it's time for Reacher to retire. Bad Luck and Trouble was a disappointment. This is a waste of time. When I started fast forwarding on Disc One I knew there were serious problems with this book. I quit halfway through Disc Two.

Reacher got stupid, thinking with a part of his body that does not include his brain. I used to like Reacher because he was outside the routine testosterone nonsense that drives modern suspense novels. Now Child has made him a boring, predictable male hero. Yawn.

There is too much good stuff to read to waste time on this one.

Politics and Reacher don't mix
I would have given the book 4 or 5 stars, but the political overtones are not appreciated.

The storyline is solid and typical to earlier Reacher novels. He stumbles into a situation and has to remedy a wrong caused by bullies of the innocent. In this case it revolves around the town of Despair, Colorado, where he is unwelcomed and tries to understand the mysteries surrounding the town and its secrets (while of course leaving many to have to seek medical attention).

Where the book (and Reacher) go askew is when Reacher starts to develop political opinions. Anti army, anti Whitehouse, anti VA. A little bit of the author's political views being projected? A word of advice to the author. People who would enjoy this series are not the ones who would share his political views. Unless Lee Child is aspiring to be a columnist for the New York Times, he should cut it out and let Reacher remain politically agnostic.

"Nothing to Lose" Loses Its Grip on Me
Jack Reacher (or Lee Child) has kept me company much of the past two summers, catching up on all 11 books, and I eagerly awaited "Nothing to Lose." This is my first real disappointment in the series for a number of reasons.
That recycling plant and the Despair populace were just too unbelievable. Are they born-again bombers? A lynch mob? Robots? For sure they were all stupid since the entire town couldn't hunt down Reacher (who was, to his credit, apparently driving an invisible black police car) and finish him off. Is it be possible a town like that could even exist in this century with one omnipotent master, a nearby military MP base, huge amounts of truck traffic, yet one two-lane road leading to Hope?
How many men can Reacher alone beat up in one fight? The second time he came into Despair, you'd think one of the guys would have just pulled a revolver, capped ol' Jack and hauled him into the desert. Sure that would end the series, a terrible thing to think about, but Reacher keeps putting himself in weird dire situations that have become pretty far-fetched.
Also, I'd like to think that Reacher would not have become a lover to a married woman, even given the situation. Friends and confidantes, yes, but I thought Reacher had more sense.
I also agree with an earlier reviewer about not needing to read Reacher's views on the current state of the military. I don't know many ex-military who would criticize like Reacher (or Child) did. I read for escape, not lectures.
Still and all, it was a Reacher book. Just not near the best in a series where the bar of good writing/reading has been set higher than most.

Good but not great
This book is good but not great as some of the past stories have been.