Never Go Back: (Jack Reacher 18)

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Although we come across a little violence, a few deaths and your fair share of bad guys suffering at the hands of our protagonist there was one scene - in a diner - that was the polar opposite and incidentally my favourite part of the book.

It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. To me it was the same old Jack Reacher, saving the world and finding a little love along the way, only to move onto the next town and do it all over again. Through Edmonds, Reacher and Turner learn that an illicit operation was being run through North Carolina under the control of Crew Scully and Gabriel Montague, both Deputy Chiefs of Staff, involving the smuggling of contraband using empty ordinance crates. He’s a superman with a strong sense of justice, and right now he’s aching to meet the woman behind the voice whom he “met” over the phone in 61 Hours, 14. Reacher is finally in Virginia to meet Susan whom he met in 61 Hours, 14, and there have been three books in between 61 Hours and this one.

Things get really nasty when Jack also finds himself under arrest for incidents that happened 16 years ago, incidents that he has no recollection of. A huge draw at countless Waterstones events, working with Lee over the years has for us always been an absolute pleasure. I try to anticipate the ending in as much detail as practical, but Never Go Back was a challenge in this regard. Reacher steals money and a car from a deceased meth dealer named Claughton, but his relatives identify the car, locate Reacher and Turner's motel, and confront them.

Reacher is subsequently informed by a detective that Moorcroft has been severely beaten, and that he is considered a prime suspect. Reacher finds that, a) Major Turner has been arrested and placed in a cell off base, b) he is accused of a 16 year old murder and c) that he has fathered a child and being sued for maintenance and of course the 'icing on the cake' well as far is the efficient Colonel is concerned, is that he has just drafted Reacher back into the Army as a Major, making him subject to all military regulations.I remember slowing down considerably between 40 and 60% of the book - but then it again thankfully reconnects by the 70% mark and makes for a good fast page turning read - the kind you expect from a Reacher book. He should have read Reachers file in a bit more detail and he would have known, like us, that Reacher was never one to really pay much heed to those regulations the first time round and so we knew he wasn't going to pay much attention to them on this little merry go round. Eventually they put Reacher in a car and drove him to a motel a mile away, where the night clerk gave him a room, which had all the features Reacher expected, because he had seen such rooms a thousand times before. Especially when he discovers that the woman he has come to see has been arrested for what appears to be a very unlikely crime of bribery. It’s starting to feel like Lee Child isn’t trying hard enough, he has a formula that’s worked for him and he’s sticking to it – rigidly.

It would certainly lift the veil off love, cure the blindness with which we often enter into romantic relationships - another often repeated theme in literature. Reacher is there to meet--in person--the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner, so far just a warm, intriguing voice on the phone. It wouldn't be fair to say any more; needless to say the story proceeds as long-time Reacher fans will expect.

Liking the sound of her he decides to head to Virginia from South Dakota and turn up unannounced and ask her out to dinner. The book moves along at a furious pace from beginning to end thanks mainly to an enigmatic leading man but equally to a well crafted and thought out storyline and a sound narrative that keeps the reader keep turning the pages to see just what happens next. The next morning, Reacher meets with his lawyers, Major Helen Sullivan and Captain Tracy Edmonds, and learns the details of both cases. Although I was going to give this book a 4 star rating, reading their reviews caused me to halt spitting out my own.