Book Review of Nothing Left by Scott Blade – A Jack Widow Novel
Table of Contents
My Rating – 3.8 out of 5
Plot Summary (Storyline) – Nothing Left
My first Scott Blade and first Jack Widow. Created in the image of Jack Reacher, Widow is almost a Reacher clone. While Reacher is ex-Army MP, Widow is Navy, a Seal, and NCIS Detective. Both are nomads across the continental US, with no credit cards, no mobile phones, and no ties to a past that can keep them at one place. Whereas the action in Reacher novels is brutal and physical – explained in terms of Maths and Physics, Widow, though he is also 6’4″ and 220 pounds, relies on his guns and Seal training, more than Reacher does. But for a Reacher fanboy like me, it’s like reading two new Reacher novels in a year! But Widow is not Reacher!!
Of course, it is tough to replicate Reacher without shamelessly copying his style also, but Scott Blade does a good job. The similarities notwithstanding, Nothing Left is a good enough novel on its own. It begins as Widow is dropped near the New Mexico town of Angel Rock, about three miles outside the city limits. As he begins to walk down the highway towards the town, a pair of bright tail lights draws him towards them. On the deserted roadside, beneath gigantic windmills, is a parked Police cruiser with two cops inside it. Both are dead, shot 26 times randomly. As a shocked Widow stares at the grisly scene, another cop car comes to a halt near him.
Out steps the Sherriff of Angel Rock, Lacy Voss, with her Glock drawn on Widow. Out in the middle of nowhere, with two dead cops and a hulking man standing next to the car, Widow is the one and only suspect right now. But wait a minute! Voss seems to know Widow, but she doesn’t tell from when or where and Widow can’t remember. Voss doesn’t arrest Widow right away because she knows he didn’t do it, couldn’t have. And knowing his background at NCIS, Voss invites him to help as a consultant. Turns out the murdered cops were State Police, what they were doing so far away from their base, this late at night nobody knows.
The crime scene is amateurish, with shell casings littered all over, the killer’s footprints clearly visible, and skid marks from the getaway car also evident. It is clear that the killer is no professional, couldn’t even shoot straight, and in probability hasn’t gone too far from here. There is rage and anger on display here but no motive which is apparent. But what happened here that pushed a man to murder two cops? Could Voss and Widow figure that out before the morning? Because with the dawn, the State Police and maybe even the FBI would be called in and this will no longer remain Angel Rock’s case. Will Widow’s curiosity to know where Voss knew him from, retain him?
Conclusion – Book Review of Nothing Left
The second half of Nothing Left really takes off at a frantic pace till its breathtaking climax. The uncanny (but willing) similarities with Jack Reacher is in a way satisfactory and one can’t help but think that this is how Reacher would have done it, or not. There are some plot holes in the story but nothing that really derails the narrative or its flow. Like Reacher, Widow also doesn’t form any bonds, romantic or otherwise, and after each episode in their journeys just move on.
First Jack Reacher, now Jack Widow – they have made a nomadic lifestyle fashionable and if you want it to be as exciting, make sure of an elite Military background, a hulking muscular frame, and an insatiable sense of justice. Else, just read these books and dream on!
*I hope you have enjoyed reading this book review as much as I have enjoyed writing this! Do watch this space for more such reviews and navigate through the links below for more… Thank you!! *
