The Enemy by Lee Child
This Jack Reacher novel is set back when he was still in the army. The action begins in the first few minutes of 1990. Jack has been very recently reassigned to Fort Bird, a base in North Carolina from his previous stint in Panama. Jack hasn't questioned why the transfer took place, and because of the absence of other senior officers, Jack is essentially in command at the base.
When a call comes in that a soldier has been found dead in a nearby motel, Jack at first redirects the call to headquarters, but when he is then made aware that the soldier is a two star general he goes to check out the situation. There are a few things about the situation that strike him as odd, and he checks in with his superior in Washington for further instructions. He learns that his instincts to keep this quiet are good, and that the general is married and he must go and break the news to the widow in Green Valley, Virginia. He chooses a female officer at the base, Lieutenant Summer, to accompany him. Summer is a young black officer with an application in for Reacher's special unit, and he finds her a good partner in the ongoing investigation.
The General, Kramer, was based with a armor division in Germany and was on his way to a conference on the west coast. But the details of the conference are hard to come by, and Reacher finds that there is someone very high up who has pulled some strings to place officers like himself in particular places. As his investigation grows, it takes him both to the German base and to the base on the west coast that the conference was to be at. And it nearly costs him his life.
In his personal life, we find him and his brother Joe called to Paris to be with their mother Jacqueline as she deals with health issues. It was interesting to see this side of Reacher, and see how he interacted with his family.
A good addition to the Reacher series as it gives the reader insight into both the personal side of the man, and the case that first had Reacher questioning the army and its motives.
I like Jack Reacher; he's a fun character. It's nice that this book gives a different side of him. There are a couple other of Child's more recent novels that I haven't read yet besides this one. I'm starting to think I might need to have a 'Reacher Week' just to catch up. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lark. I really like Reacher as a character too. He has a moral centre that doesn't waver. I started somewhere in the middle and have been reading the more recent ones, but missed several near the beginning that I'm going back to pick up now.
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