Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel, Book 18 Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B00E7YISSG | Format: EPUB
Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel, Book 18 Description
Never go back - but Jack Reacher does, and the past finally catches up with him....Never Go Back is number-one New York Times best-selling author Lee Child's new novel of action-charged suspense starring "one of the best thriller characters at work today" (Newsweek).
Former military cop Jack Reacher makes it all the way from snowbound South Dakota to his destination in northeastern Virginia, near Washington, D.C.: the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. The old stone building is the closest thing to a home he ever had.
Reacher is there to meet - in person - the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner, so far just a warm, intriguing voice on the phone.
But it isn't Turner behind the CO's desk. And Reacher is hit with two pieces of shocking news, one with serious criminal consequences, and one too personal to even think about.
When threatened, you can run or fight.
Reacher fights, aiming to find Turner and clear his name, barely a step ahead of the army, and the FBI, and the D.C. Metro police, and four unidentified thugs.
Combining an intricate puzzle of a plot and an exciting chase for truth and justice, Lee Child puts Reacher through his paces - and makes him question who he is, what he's done, and the very future of his untethered life on the open road.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 13 hours and 43 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Random House Audio
- Audible.com Release Date: September 3, 2013
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00E7YISSG
Getting a Reacher novel in the mail is a lot like being handed an ice cream cone on a sweltering summer day. It's simply not there for admiring or slowly savouring, you tuck right in and enjoy every lick. And like the cone, "Never Go Back" does not disappoint.
This time, Reacher travels back to his old MP unit to meet its new commander, mainly because he was intrigued by the sound of her voice on the telephone. Once there, he finds that she's been locked up, and he is being brought back on active duty so he can answer to a homicide charge and paternity suit. As always, nothing is quite as it seems, and Reacher has to peel back layer after layer to get to the truth. All while staying one step ahead of the law, drug dealers, and the Army.
I don't know if the Reacher series can get any better, but it certainly isn't getting any worse or showing any author fatigue. The writing is crisp, the pacing brilliant, and the plot is deliciously convoluted and innovative. You simply cannot put this book down, it's that compelling and addictive.
The one weakness is Child's lack of understanding of the U.S. military. Reacher refers to an Army major as "miss", something no recent field grade officer would ever do except as a deliberately provocative insult. He has a base with three checkpoints at the entry and exit. I've never seen a base with more than one entry checkpoint, and only an exit checkpoint during exercises or times of heightened security. Checking everyone's ID and trunk three times on the way off-base is manpower intensive and utterly pointless. There are other things that seem hinky to me, and I think an Army staff officer would point out more flaws.
For the last couple of books, Jack Reacher has been trying to make it back to the East Coast to meet the woman who has, up to this point, simply been a voice on the phone helping him out on his adventures.
Well, he finally makes it, and when he shows up at the headquarters of the MP unit she now commands, he's mousetrapped. She's been arrested and relieved of command, and he's been accused of crimes he'd allegedly committed back when he was an MP himself; he's recalled back into active duty - making him subject to military discipline and judicial punishment - and placed under arrest.
He manages to break her and himself out of jail, and the rest of the story is about how he tries to clear both their names by getting to the truth at the bottom of these events.
I've long been a Reacher fan, having read the entire body of work, and thoroughly enjoyed them until the last few offerings. I thought the last two were particularly weak. There are elements of this book that I thought were pretty well done... somewhat reminiscent of the classic Reacher of yore.
Unfortunately, when I got to the end of the story and it was revealed what was actually driving this entire plot against Reacher and his girlfriend, I had to wonder what author Child had been smoking. I can't say more because it would be a huge spoiler. I will say this: I thought it was absolutely ridiculous.
Further, there wasn't much "payoff" to the reader in the way the story ended. Certainly not in the sense of the "classic" Reacher books of old. In many ways, Reacher's somewhat of a bystander or observer in the resolution of this story.
Overall, I found the book to be somewhat shallow and rushed. Not nearly as emotionally engaging as the earlier Reacher books.
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