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#19 in the continuing saga that is Jack Reacher from an
author firmly in the MRB power rotation.
As usual, Jack is on a bus, toothbrush in his pocket and
just the clothes on his back. In the greater Seattle area, Reacher picks up an
Army Times newspaper. The best info is in the personals. Right there, in bold,
in a box, in the middle of the page, “Jack Reacher call Rick Shoemaker.”
Fate may have called him to pick up the paper that day, but
loyalty to a friend pushes him to make the call. Within 30 minutes, Reacher is
picked up, taken to a local airport, put on a Lear Jet and whisked off to the
east. Fort Bragg, NC to be exact. There, he is met by Shoemaker. And by General
O’Day, a black ops legend. Plus one Casey Nice, a newbie CIA type assigned to
the State Department who keeps an even keel with the help of Zoloft, and Joan
Scarangello, another fed who is substantially up the food chain of command.
They’ve been waiting for Reacher.
A few days ago, someone took a shot at the President of France.
The shooter used a .50 caliber bullet and fired it from about three-quarters of
a mile away. Put a dent in the most modern rendition of bulletproof glass, but
couldn’t get a second shot off because the French version of the Secret Service
had the President smothered under a mound of protective bodies.
Who is on the short list and could’ve made that shot? [no, it
wasn’t Bob Lee Swagger] After culling down a list of a few dozen, four names
remain; a Russian, an Israeli, a Brit, and an American named John Kott. Of
Serbian lineage, raised in Arkansas, Kott was an insanely gifted sniper. But he
had a bit of a temper, put a guy down and got 15 years for his efforts. Released some months ago. Reacher
was the arresting officer. Caught him once . . . catch him again.
Reacher and Ms. Nice are hustled off to Paris for a look at
the shooter’s nest, talk with the French cops and work out a cautious
relationship with his counterpart in MI5. The concern is that the shot on the
French President was an audition of sorts for a much bigger target, like maybe
one or more of the world’s leaders at the upcoming G8 conference in London.
Reacher’s focus in on finding Kott who is most likely been
taken in by one of the two major organized crime families in London, both of
which don’t look too kindly on this guy nosing into their business (you'll love Little Joey). All the
while, Reacher is having flashbacks to another female partner who was killed during
the takedown of the perp they were chasing. All he can see is the same thing
happening to Casey Nice.
19 Reacher books. All 19 read. No way an author can keep top drawer
form over so long a series, but Child certainly manages to keep them all within
shouting distance of each other. Despite the consistency of plotting, dialogue,
and characters Child is still able to keep the reader riveted to each and every
page. There is some comfort is returning to what may not be an old friend, but
someone you’d sure like to see take the lead when you are cornered.
And no, I can’t rank these books, so don’t ask. Is this his
best? I don’t think so, but I don’t know which I would rank first. I can say with confidence that Reacher fans
won’t be disappointed, that is a guarantee. Newcomers? Hold on tight cuz it can be one bumpy ride.
East Coast Don
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