Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child

Kindle edition

Here we go with another Jack Reacher. I started this book on October 24 and finished it on October 26.

Lee Child uses a formula for this Jack Reacher books, much like Vince Flynn/Kyle Mills do for Mitch Rapp books, and Michael Connelly does for Harry Bosch books, and like many other authors with long-running series do. It makes books predictable, in that you know what you're in for. Predictable in this sense isn't a bad thing. 

These are easy books to pick up when you need some mind candy. A book that is good, interesting, easy to read, maybe even addictive. I like these books. Jack Reacher is an interesting guy with an interesting, if violent (mostly not due to his instigation) life.

This book follows Reacher as he heads to the D.C. area to meet, in person, the woman behind the voice on a phone. She's in his old role in the service and she helped him out in a prior book.

Of course, he gets there and some shit hits the fan - this time something to do with him. A BS charge of a homicide from long ago. Rather than walk away, which Reacher never does, he stays and sorts through the shit.

This is a good, quick read. Love this character. Love these books. Love this author.

Post written on May 29, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

Song of the Lion by Anne Hillerman

This is another book from the "free" books at my parents' house. I started Song of the Lion by Anne Hillerman on March 11 and finished it on March 20, 2019.

Again, Hillerman is great at developing her characters and weaving an interesting story. This one starts with a high school basketball game and ends with a potentially deadly fight at the Grand Canyon.

Like with the 3 of Hillerman's books I've read so far, I like the Southwest setting - she writes about many places I've been so I can really picture the landscape and the setting in my mind.

I think I connect really well with books set in places I've been. The familiar setting adds another layer of "realness" to these fictional tales because they have a real element to them.

As with most serial books, they can become a bit predictable, but if you mix them in with other books, I think they hold much of their interest, intrigue, and entertainment value. Like with the Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch books - don't just read those - read other things in between and they will continue to hold their magic for you.

A Wanted Man by Lee Child

After finishing Relic on September 6, I picked up A Wanted Man by Lee Child.  I started this on September 7 (happy birthday to my brother) and finished it on September 16.

Oh, Lee Child, you do know how to spin an addicting and entertaining book.  This is another in the Jack Reacher series from Lee Child, and like the others, does not disappoint.

Also like the others, we meet Jack Reacher in the middle of nowhere hitching a ride.  This ride, like some of the others, begins a hellish, nightmarish, and twisty few days for Reacher and others.

There was a murder in a small town, and the FBI have been called in (among others) to figure out what happened.  Reacher gets picked up on the highway and becomes wrapped up in the situation.

As always, Reacher's keen eye and cop's mentality help him figure things out.  Also as usual, his military experience and contacts help him out, as does his mental and physical toughness.

There were some twists and turns I didn't anticipate, including the fact that this is one of the few novels (spoiler alert) in which Reacher doesn't get the girl.

These are entertaining books, quick reads, and I always like them.  If you need some mind candy (what I call quick, easy, entertaining books), you can give this series a try.  Unlike some other series books, I don't think it is super important to read these in order.

The Affair by Lee Child

So, after finishing String Too Short to be Saved, by Donald Hall, I started a Jack Reacher book by Lee Child - The Affair.  I started this on August 18 and finished it on/around August 28 or so (I got bad with my reading tracking).

I'm a fan of Lee Child and Jack Reacher books - I've read many of them (in order too!).  Child has a formula for these books, and it works.  It is funny, I was visiting my dad while I was reading this book and we decided to watch the first Reacher movie with Tom Cruise.  I have a love-hate relationship with that movie.  I love it because it brings the book to life.  I hate it because, um, Tom Cruise as Reacher?  In no way, shape, or form does he match the description of Reacher that Child repeats in book after book after book.  Reacher, in the book, is huge - he's tall, thick, muscular.  Tom Cruise... isn't.  It just doesn't match up.

But the movie is entertaining, just like the books.  The Affair is no different.  It is entertaining and a good read.  This book answers the ultimate Reacher question - how did he exit from the military.  It was interesting to have a look back into Reacher's life.  If you've ever read a Reacher book, you know he doesn't follow orders.  He goes off on his own line of inquiry and investigation.  That's Reacher.  And, that's what he does here too.  This book has a few turns that were unexpected.  And, of course (with 2 exceptions so far) he gets the girl.

Reacher isn't that different in the military than out.  He's his own man, doesn't really follow orders, is kind of rogue.  The story for this one is that Reacher is sent to a small town to support a military investigation into some deaths of beautiful young women in the town adjacent to the military base.  There is another investigator on the base, and Reacher is trying to gather intel in the town.  Of course it gets messy.  Of course he kicks some ass, and then some - I was surprised at what he did at one point.  He takes chances, goes out on limbs, all in an effort to do the right thing and uncover the truth.  How he does that though is somewhat not entirely law-abiding.  Oh the irony.

I really liked the look back into his life, and look forward to his next nomadic adventure.

Worth Dying For, by Lee Child

So, after finishing Looking for Alaska by John Green on August 31, I started the next Jack Reacher novel, Worth Dying For, by Lee Child on September 2 and finished it on September 13.  As with all of the other Jack Reacher novels, this one didn't disappoint.  Lee Child has a very successful recipe for his Reacher books, but does throw in a few unexpected elements every now and again.  It's like adding in a pinch of a new spice into the recipe.  The recipe is tried and true and is super tasty, but adding in a pinch of something new adds a little bit of unexpected taste and texture to something that is already good.

It still perplexes me to no end at the casting of Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher.  It defies logic and completely contradicts the main characteristics of Jack Reacher - mainly being a very large and tall man - which Tom Cruise is decidedly not.  I am not the only one who feels this way.  One person suggested Channing Tatum could be Reacher.  I'm not sold on that, but I really don't have a concrete suggestion about who could be a fit for Reacher.  Hugh Jackman?  Joe Manganiello?  The Rock?  There seem to be a lot of suggestions out there some I agree with, some not (no no no Brad Pitt, Ben Afflek, Liam Neeson).  Regardless, Tom Cruise was cast, and one article I found (from about a year ago) mentioned that another Jack Reacher movie was in the works with Tom as Jack.  I found a few others that also mention a Jack Reacher 2 being made...  We'll see how that one turns out.

Let's talk about Worth Dying For.  It's good.  Read it.  The end.

Just kidding.  Worth Dying For, shows us another side of Jack Reacher - a physically impaired, hurting Jack Reacher.  This book picks up immediately after 61 Hours ends.  Reacher is leaving the wintery South Dakota town after protecting the old lady witness (and not getting a girl), and ends up in a small wintery Nebraska town while trying to make his way to Virgina to see about a girl.  This small Nebraska town is super small, as in everyone knows everyone, and some of the townfolk even have an emergency secret phone tree (that turns out is not so secret after all).

A small family of men, the Duncans, "run" this town and the residents of the town are fearful of this family because of events that took place 25 years ago.  The Duncans came to run the crop shipping business in their farming town, and the residents who have disputes with the Duncans or wish to not use the Duncans to haul their harvests end up with rotting harvests sitting on their farms.  Not a great situation, but there doesn't seem to be much the residents can or are willing to do about it.  

But wait, Reacher is there - so the Duncans better beware...  As usual, Reacher ends up involved in town business and going off to do his own investigation on the historical event that transpired.  There seem to be other things at play in this town in addition to the harvest-hauling monopoly-racket the Duncans have going on.  The Duncans are wrapped up in some kind of trouble involving Italian, and Middle-Eastern customers from Vegas.  Apparently what happens in Vegas doesn't really stay there.

So, with Reacher poking his nose around in things that have nothing to do with him, a number of things get wrapped up together that ordinarily would have nothing to do with one another.  Two Italian hit men are looking for Reacher.  And two different sets of 2 Middle-Eastern hit men are looking out for the Italians, the other set of Middle-Eastern men, and for Reacher.  

     "...Got a description?" 

     "Big guy, blue eyes, white, six-five, two-fifty, brown coat." 

     Mahmeini's man said, "That's worthless.  This is America.  This is farm country.  It's full of settlers and peasants.  They all look like that.  I mean, we just saw a guy exactly like that." 

     Safir's guy said, "He's right.  We saw one too.  We're going to need a much better description." 

     Cassano said, "We don't have one.  But it will be easier when we get up there.  Reacher stands out, apparently.  And the local population is prepared to help us.  They've been told to phone in with sightings.  And there's no cover up there." 

     Mahmeini's man said, "So where is he hiding out?" 

     "We don't know.  There's a motel, but he's not in it.  Maybe he's sleeping rough." 

     "In this weather?  Is that likely?" 

     "There are sheds and barns.  I'm sure we'll find him." 

     "And then what?" 

     "We put him down." 

     "Risky." 

     "I know.  He's tough.  So far he's taken out four of the local people." 

     Mahmeini's man said, "I don't care how tough he thinks he is.  And I don't care how many local people he's taken out either.  Because I'm sure they're all idiots up there.  I mean it's risky because this isn't the Wild West anymore.  Do we have a safe exit strategy?" 

     Cassano said, "They tell me he's kind of a hobo so nobody is going to miss him.  There's not even going to be an investigation.  There aren't even any cops up there."

As per the usual recipe, Reacher pokes around, investigates some, theorizes some, and draws upon his MP experience to help him figure things out.  And, as per the usual recipe, Reacher gets captured by the bad guys - in this case, the Duncans.

     Reacher has been fighting since he was five years old, and he had never had his nose broken.  Not even once.  Partly good luck, and partly good management.  Plenty of people had tried, over the years, either deliberately or in a flurry of savage unaimed blows, but none had ever succeeded.  Not one.  Not ever.  Not even close.  It was a fact Reacher was proud of, in a peculiar way.  It was a symbol.  A talisman.  A badge of honor.  He had all kinds of nicks and cuts and scars on his face and his arms and his body, but he felt that the distinctive but intact bone in his nose made up for them...

      The blow came in exactly as he expected it to, a clenched fist, a straight right, hard and heavy, riding up a little, aiming high, as if Duncan subconsciously expected Reacher to flinch up and back...  But Reacher didn't flinch up and back.  He started with his head up and back, his eyes open, watching down his nose, timing it, then jerking forward from the neck, smashing a perfect improvised head butt straight into Duncan's knuckles, an instant high-speed high-impact collision between the thick ridge in Reacher's brow and the delicate bones in Duncan's hand.  No contest.  No contest at all...  Duncan screamed and snatched his hand away and cradled it limp against his chest and hopped a whole yowling circle, looking up, looking down, stunned and whimpering...

     "Asshole," Reacher said.

In yet another skirmish Reacher kicked ass and took names.  (An aside here - for the past six months or so, I've been taking a self defense class and learning a variety of defense and offense techniques - JKD, Kali, Silat, Thai Boxing, Wing Chun, and more) to defend myself against a theoretical (hopefully) attacker.  These classes have been SUPER fun and SUPER empowering, and I've loved every minute of them.  It is amazing how good it feels to punch, kick, flip, stomp, and disarm - though I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of the punching, kicking, flipping, stomping, and disarming.  I have a new appreciation for the MMA and Martial Arts fighters I see as I'm flipping channels on TV, and it is cool to watch a Jason Bourne movie and know what style of fighting he's using - JKD, Kali - and be able to do some of the things he's done, albeit not as fast or fancy.  So, reading about Jack Reacher's fights in the book, I can actually picture what he's doing, how he's doing it, how he sets up for his moves, and how it impacts the opponents because I've done it in class.) 

     His shoulder was moving because he was already driving hard off his back foot, jerking forward, twisting at the waist, building torque, hurling his right elbow into the gap created by turning the guy counterclockwise an inch, aiming to hit him with the elbow right on the outer edge of his left eye socket, hoping to crack his skull along the line of his temple.  No rules.  The blow landed with all 250 pounds of moving mass behind it, a solid jarring impact Reacher felt all the way down to his toes.  The guy staggered back.  He stayed on his feet.  Evidently his skull hadn't cracked, but he was feeling it.  He was feeling it bad, and his mouth was opening, ready to howl, so Reacher shut it again for him with a vicious uppercut under the chin, convulsive, far from elegant, but effective.  The guy's head snapped back in a mist of blood and bounced forward again off his massive deltoids and Reacher tried for his other eye socket with his left elbow, a ferocious in-and-out snap from the waist, and then he put a forearm smash from the right into the guy's throat, a real home run swing, and then he kneed him in the groin, and danced behind him and kicked him hard in the back of the knees, a sweeping scything action, so that the guy's legs folded up under him and he went down heavily on his back on the path.

     Six blows, three seconds.

     No rules. 

Reacher is kicking ass and taking names.  He's not really taking names though - just kicking ass.  He does a lot of ass kicking (same dependable recipe does it every time).  At the end of the book after much ass kicking, solving the mystery, and ridding the town of the Duncans, one of the good townsfolk asks Reacher where he is heading next.

     They drove the first ten miles in silence.  Then they passed the abandoned roadhouse and the two-lane speared onward and empty ahead of them and Dorothy asked, "What's in Virginia?"

     "A woman," Reacher said. 

     "Your girlfriend?"

     "Someone I talked to on the phone, that's all..."

If you are in need of some mind candy, an easy, entertaining read, with ass kicking, violence, and Reacher - pick this one up.  You'll appreciate the vulnerable Reacher (and how he became that way) if you read 61 Hours.  But if you haven't read that one, you'll still enjoy this book.  I'm looking forward to the next one to see what happens with this girl, as this is the 2nd book in a row where Reacher hasn't gotten the girl.  Is he losing his touch?  Somehow I don't think so...

61 Hours, by Lee Child

So, after finishing How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, by Zoey Dean, I started the next book in the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child, 61 Hours, on January 8.  I finished it on January 24.  What can I say about the Reacher books - they are highly entertaining.  They follow a certain recipe.  They are action packed.  They usually have a twist or 2.  He usually gets the girl.  Then he rides off into the sunset in search of the next small town where he can save the day in some way, shape, or form.  I still don't get the casting decision of Tom Cruise in this role - he is decidedly NOT Jack Reacher.

So, 61 Hours begins with Jack Reacher on a tour bus filled with old people making its way to Mount Rushmore in the dead of winter.  He isn't dressed appropriately (i.e. he does not have a warm coat or anything that a normal person would wear in a snowstorm).  He's asleep in the back of the bus, trying to not stand out, to not blend in, to be invisible.  He never stays that way for long.  The bus crashes in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a gigantic blizzard, and he is fearful that the passengers, and he along with them, will freeze to death if they don't get help.  Some law enforcement people from a nearby small South Dakota town come and help them - they send a bus (a prison bus to be exact) to move the passengers to the town, and the townsfolk volunteer to host the old people until the weather clears, they get a new tour bus, and are able to continue with their tour.

Reacher is immediately eyed suspiciously by the chief of police and his second in command.  He eventually learns that there is an older lady in town who is the main witness in a trial of suspected drug dealers, and the local police is on protective duty to keep her alive until she can testify.  There are "sinister forces" at work threatening the life of this lady, and the police will stop at nothing to protect her.  To a point.  There is a new federal prison in town, and one of the agreements the local police had to make in order to get a ton of funding for the force is that if there is a riot at the prison, EVERY cop has to drop everything and high tail it to the prison until the riot has subsided.  This includes leaving the witness.

Well, you guessed it - a riot happens.  The police head to the prison.  The witness is left alone.  Reacher protects her - she comes out unscathed, this time.  The police "hire" Reacher as a consultant to protect the witness and help them figure out what is going on and who the "bad guys" are.  Reacher uses some of his old army contacts to help figure out what an old government compound is (that is currently being used by suspected drug dealers).  He regularly talks to a woman, Susan Turner, who holds Reacher's old post - there is an immediate chemistry between Reacher and this woman.  I suspected that Susan would be the girl that Reacher gets.

I obviously don't want to spoil the various twists and turns of this book - but this is one book where Reacher doesn't get the girl.  I really thought he would get the girl - but he doesn't.  Things don't get completely wrapped up with a big red bow like they do in some of the other Reacher novels.  But, by the end of the book, most things get figured out, most things resolve, and Reacher moves on - just like clock work.  

This book is an easy read, highly entertaining, and I really enjoyed it.  As always, I look forward to the next adventures of Jack Reacher.

Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child

So, after finishing The Soul of All Living Creatures, I had a few week hiatus from reading because life got busy (when isn't it?) and I wasn't quite sure what to read next.  I didn't have anything in the queue.  When packing for our holiday trip to Southern California, I asked the husband if he had any suggestions on what I should read next...  He suggested the next Jack Reacher novel.  So as we were rushing to get out the door and to the airport, I hopped onto my handy dandy book blog (this one!) to see which Reacher I read last so we could look at the list and grab the next one in the series - which just happened to be Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child.  I started this one on December 20 and finished it on December 25.  A good, quick read.

A typical Jack Reacher novel, Gone Tomorrow, tells the story of Jack Reacher, ever the nomad, having trouble find him when he is trying to mind his own business and keep to himself, and him being unable to walk away and let things be.  Lee Child's Jack Reacher tales are pretty formulaic - but they (so far) are always entertaining.

In this iteration of the Reacher novel, Jack Reacher finds himself on the subway in New York City at 2am looking at what he thinks is a female suicide bomber.  Ever the hero, Reacher intervenes and approaches the lady and the situation deteriorates from there.  But, in each Reacher novel, the situation is never exactly what it seems, and Childs weaves an intriguing web of layer upon layer of shit hitting the fan that Reacher wades and sifts through in an attempt to help the down and out, the trodden upon, the little guy or girl.

One unique thing about this book, Reacher doesn't get the girl in the first half of the book...  He gets her all the way on page 452 (out of 543) and it isn't the girl that you expect it to be.

She said, "What do you want to do right now?"
[Reacher said,] "Honest answer?"
"Please."
"I want to unbutton your shirt."
"Danger makes you horny?"
"Women make me horny."
"All women?"
"No," I said.  "Not all women."
She was quiet for a long moment and then she said, "Not a good idea."
I said, "Ok."
"You're taking no for an answer?"
"Aren't I supposed to?"
She was quiet for another long moment and then she said, "I've changed my mind."
"About what?"
"About it not being a good idea."
"Excellent."

This book has to do with some things that I'm not entirely sure I should write about in this blog out of a slight fear that it could raise the eyes of some organizations that I'd rather not raise the eyes of.  I will say this - it was a great story, and when the shit hit the fan, as it inevitably does in every Reacher book - it REALLY hit the fan.  I found it difficult to put the book down toward the end because I really wanted to see how it ended.  Usually books help me fall asleep.  Reacher books generally (when the shit is hitting the fan) help me avoid sleep - I get all worked up and need to read as fast as I can to find out what happens.  This one was no different.

If you need a little mind candy and a good, quick read, pick up the Reacher books - but read them in order, they will make more sense that way.

Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child

It is a double-book blog day today...  From Craig Childs to Lee Child - two VERY opposite books.  After finishing Craig Childs' The Animal Dialogues on May 10, I started Lee Child's Nothing to Lose and finished it last night - May 31.  The books couldn't be any more different.

Nothing to Lose, is another in the series of Jack Reacher books by Lee Child.  Though most of the Jack Reacher tales follow a similar formula, they are each still very entertaining.  I started this on right before leaving in a trip to Europe with my husband (3 cities and a wedding in 10 days).  Talk about a whirl-wind trip!  But this blog is about the book, not the trip.  This one took me a little longer than normal to finish, but it was worth the extra time.

Jack Reacher, the ever-wandering nomad, finds himself in a very small town in Colorado called Despair.  He is kicked out of Despair for being a vagrant.  He is dropped off at the town line and picked up by another police officer from neighboring town, Hope.  Hope and Despair - there is a lot of that in this book.  The officer from Hope, an attractive lady (of course), and Reacher start to build a friendship over the fishy things happening in Despair.

Never one to leave something along, and never one to walk away from a perplexing situation, Reacher begins to dig around in Despair to figure out why they are so set on keeping outsiders out of their little town.  The lady cop from Hope explains that Despair is a "company" town that doesn't take to outsiders.  They don't want outsiders taking jobs away from their residents, who all seem to work at the recycling plant or other services (restaurant, gas station, and rooming house) in the town.

He was thinking about Despair, and he was wondering why getting him out of town had been more important than keeping him there and busting him for the assault on the deputy.

Many fishy things are discovered by Reacher during his stays in both towns, and he can't leave without figuring them out.  I can't go too much into detail on what goes on (I don't like spoilers), but here are a few things to give you some idea of what this book beholds:

• a young, broke girl waiting for Reacher in a diner, who more or less bolts when she finds out he used to be a military cop
• another young, broke girl in the diner who lets Reacher buy her some meals
• a religious fanatic who owns the "recycling plant"
• a man, bigger than Reacher, who regularly wields a very large wrench

He waved his two employees forward.  The plant foreman kept his hands loose at his sides and the big guy slapped the wrench in and out of his palm, wet metal on wet skin.

• wandering aimless in the desert
• a random Military Police outpost
• love-making

He bent and kissed her again.  Moved his hand and caught the tag of her zipper and pulled it down.  She was naked under the dress.  Warm, and soft, and smooth, and lithe, and fragrant... He carried her in and put her down and her dress slipped from her shoulders and fell.  They kissed some more and her hands tore at the button on his pants.  A minute later they were in her bed.

• bar brawls (several of them)
• a nosy motel worker
• lots of MacGyver-ing
• Reacher kicking ass
• More of Reacher Kicking ass
• And, Reacher figuring out everything and moving on

Reacher took the borrowed phone out of his pocket and dropped it on the bed.  Followed it with the registration, from the old Suburban's glove box.  Asked Vaughan to mail both things back, with no return address on the package.  She said, "That sounds like the start of a farewell speech."  "It is," Reacher said.  "And the middle, and the end."

 Jack Reacher books are all entertaining.  They are pretty quick reads, and all have some elements that are really easy to figure out, some that are surprising, and some twists and turns that aren't expected.  I've enjoyed the ones I have read so far, and look forward to seeing what other shenanigans Reacher will get himself into, and what impossible situations he will MacGyver himself out of.  Until the next one...