Never Go Back by Lee Child

NOW FILMED AS THE SECOND JACK REACHER MOVIE, STARRING TOM CRUISE Drop-out military cop Jack Reacher has finally hitch-hiked his way to Virginia. His destination, the closest thing to a home he ever had: the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th Military Police. Reacher has no real reason to be here, except that he spoke to the new commanding officer on the phone. He liked Major Susan Turner's voice. But now he's arrived, she's disappeared, and things are getting weird. Accused of a sixteen-year-old homicide and co-opted back into the army, Reacher says nothing. But he's sure as hell thinking of a way out. 'Reacher is a man's man, a loner, a renegade crusader for justice...on the top of his form' Sun 'Bone-crunching, joint-popping... a man of steel' Evening Standard

As good as any of the Reacher novels. The first half was excellent but the second dragged a bit. The fifty-fifty refrain was nonsense.

While I enjoyed this, I didn't find it as satisfying as the ealier books.

Not the best Jack Reacher but still highly enjoyable

The journey that Reacher started following 61 Hours is at an end – he's back at the 110th MP, his old unit to meet the person the goes with the voice at the other end of the phone line – the new CO, Maj. Susan Turner. He's planning on asking her to dinner, and to see what happens from there. Sure, walking from South Dakota to get a date seems extreme – but other than bringing justice to various locations between South Dakota and Virginia, what else does Reacher have in his day planner?

Sure, since this is Jack Reacher – it won't go all that easily for him. He arrives at the gate, hoping to get a date – instead he gets a global conspiracy, a cross-country trip, a chance to visit life-changing mistakes he may have made over a decade ago, and a return to active duty. On the whole, this is a lot less violent than most Reacher novels – with a comparatively very small body count (but it is violent, and there is a body count – never fear).

This story alone is fun – Reacher being Reacher. This time he's got a version of himself along for the ride. Turner has the job he used to have, has a lot of the same opinions, skills, background – but Turner's made some different choices in her life, has different attitudes, making her a mirror image in many ways (not just being small and female). She's willing to do a lot to take down the criminals behind the conspiracy, but not as far as Reacher will. She's far more interested in the courts and the Army having a crack at the conspirators, while Reacher's just focused on stopping them and breaking as many eggs as he has to go get his omelet made.

Turner's own appraisal of Reacher and the reader's own look at her in contrast to Reacher tells us a lot more about the ex-MP than what we've seen before (at least adding depth and color to our impression of him, if not actual new information). In many ways Susan Turner is the most objective look we've ever gotten of Reacher (our typical omniscient third-person narrator isn't terribly objective when it comes to Jack Reacher). She likes him – a lot – but is very critical. I like her and think there's probably a lot her appraisal.

This was a very satisfying read – Lee Child and his hero, firing on all cylinders, doing what they do best. Told in a pretty fresh way, with added insight into the character. Just what the doctor ordered.