Jack Reacher, Book 28
The gripping new Jack Reacher thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child
A string of mysterious deaths. A long-classified mission. A young MP with nothing to lose.
1992. All across the United States respectable, upstanding citizens are showing up dead. These deaths could be accidents, and they don’t appear to be connected—until a fatal fall from a high-floor window attracts some unexpected attention.
That attention comes from the secretary of defense. All of a sudden he wants an interagency task force to investigate. And he wants Jack Reacher as the army’s representative. If Reacher gets a result, great. If not, he’s a convenient fall guy.
But office politics isn’t Reacher’s thing. Three questions quickly emerge: Who’s with him, who’s against him, and will the justice he dispenses be the official kind…or his own kind?
“This is a terrific novel. Reacher continues to be one of the most compelling lead characters in the thriller genre, and the lean, unadorned writing continues to pull us through the story. If there were any doubts when Lee Child announced his retirement and started cowriting the books with his brother, Andrew, his eventual successor as Reacher’s chronicler, the last few books should have put them to rest.”–Booklist
“The plot gets a bit complicated, and readers will find a few nice twists. But mainly, Reacher provides the entertainment with his not quite believable fighting skills. An enjoyable, fast-moving yarn.”–Kirkus Reviews
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I had almost given up on this series as I didn’t much care for the first two books written by Lee Child with his brother, Andrew. The Sentinel was okay, but I hoped the next book would be better. Better Off Dead was worse though, I didn’t really enjoy it, not the way I loved all the earlier books. In fact, I skipped the third book, No Plan B. But then I read that Andrew had gotten a contract for the next four books in the series alone, with no Lee Child involvement. So I decided to give him one more chance, and I’m very glad I did. I enjoyed The Secret; it was a one-day read for me, as it should be!
In an interesting turn, the book was set in 1992, so it was nice getting some more of Reacher’s back story. Reacher is an Army MP and is assigned to an inter-agency task force. There are representatives from Treasury, the CIA, the FBI, etc. The group is told that in 1969, there was a special project in India with a team of seven men, all chemists, working on a project together. One of the men has since died of cancer, but two of them had recently died under suspicious circumstances. The task force is asked to figure out who is behind the possible murders and more importantly, how to stop them.
This was a completely engrossing read with all the usual Reacher tropes; a decidedly taciturn Reacher, a deserted old building, underground passages, an occasional fight with Reacher against multiple opponents, and some really good twists at the end. I am so happy to say I am now looking forward to the next book in this series.
11/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE SECRET by Lee Child & Andrew Child. Delacorte Press (October 24, 2023). ISBN: 978-1984818584. 304pp.
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