Minerva Correctional is one of those new-fangled for-profit prisons designed to help inmates return to normalcy. Not to mention that they specialize in cleaning up the records of the wrongly convicted.
An arsonist-for-hire’s son has destroyed his liver through drug abuse. An off-the-radar group performed a transplant that failed. He’s on the prowl to destroy anyone involved in the supply chain of the diseased liver.
Angela St. Verain, bookkeeper, dies in Gerrardsville, CO. Suicide. Hit by a bus.
An accountant, this one in Winson, MS died the week before in
a house fire. Apparently, he died while smoking in bed.
Jack Reacher saw the woman’s death. She didn’t step in front of the bus. She was pushed. Reacher takes off after the guy in the hoodie, corners him in an alley, ‘suggests’ the guy fess up. Checked out an envelope the guy pulled from the woman’s purse. Only thing he learns is Winson, MS and a photo.
Cops arrive. The detective interviews Reacher. Runs his name and is impressed by his record. Wants help. The detective says there has been another recent death. Ray, a local 40ish accountant, divorced and living next door to his ex-, died of a heart attack. His ex-, Hannah, discovered the body. Also a numbers guy, he was an obligatory exerciser who died of a heart attack.
Suicide. Heart attack. Fell asleep smoking. Life sucks. Stuff happens.
All 3 cases are closed. No connection seen. Reacher checks up on the two Colorado deaths. Both had worked for Minerva Corrections. Some irregularities were found by the Winson victim (also a Minerva employee). He talked with Angela because the numbers didn't add up. Angela takes the data to Ray, a mentor to her. Now all three are dead. To find some justice for Angela, Reacher sets out for Winsom, MS. Ray’s ex-, Hannah, decides she wants justice for Ray so she grabs Ray’s truck and takes off driving Reacher to MS.
All roads lead to Winson. The CEO of the prison and his top subordinates
do more than house and rehabilitate inmates. They get their pick of inmates,
some of which are ne’er do wells that no one will miss. They also house some who have some
medical experience, forgers, and anyone smart enough to follow directions while
cooking. These hand-picked cons are housed apart from gen pop. Get extra privileges. The prison's feature activity is when they get wrongly convicted inmate acquitted.
When this happens, the CEO puts on a big show for the publicity. And this week’s
acquittal just happens to be none other than Jed’s father, neither of which knows the other. But their profit margin comes not from housing prisoners.
And the arsonist will be arriving the same day Reacher, Hannah, and Jed turnover the remaining puzzle pieces.
If Reacher’s involved, you should be able to guess what’s gonna happen when all these ingredients get shoved into the same pot. The CEO thought he knew how to take care of a homeless lug.
Problem is, when confronted by Reacher, he has no plan B.
The MRB boys have been firmly in Reacher’s camp since we first started
this blog way back when (’05? ’06?). Child delivers what his readers want. An alpha male
who wanders around helping out those in trouble for no reason other than to do
what’s right regardless of what the law says. Since daddy Child (Lee) retired,
he’s been joined by son Andrew to carry on the Reacher saga. This is the 3rd
book written jointly. I thought that I could tell when a different Child was
writing in the first book. Not anymore. I see the story as being a seamless
effort by the two. The Childs continue to deliver what fans want. With 2 movies and 1 Prime series, there is no loss of subjects for more Reacher streams.
This one is a bit more complex than recent Reacher books what with multiple story lines finally intersecting in a typically Reacher-ish conclusion. Doesn't matter. It's a fast read. Got it from the library on Monday. Finished in on Friday. Not to mention I managed to read Plan B while being distracted by the World Cup – my true obsession.
East Coast Don
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