Never Go Back

Let’s face it, Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels are silly macho fantasies. What else to make of stories whose hero who can disable two hostile toughs—one by breaking his fingers, the other by breaking his arms—while on an airliner with a hundred potential but oblivious witnesses? As Reacher says, “Ninety-nine of us grow up to fear the howling wolf, and one grows up to envy it. I’m that guy.” Child’s genius is his ability to throw Reacher into impossibly dangerous and difficult situations, crank up the action to propulsive levels, and watch his hero make mincemeat of a legion of bad guys. In this latest tale, he uncovers a conspiracy having something to do with military corruption in Afghanistan while being forced to avoid the FBI, military police and four pursuing thugs who want to kill him, all while searching for a teenage girl who might be a daughter he didn’t know he had. Oh, and there’s also the closest thing to a love story you’re going to find in a Jack Reacher novel. It’s a wild ride, but ultimately it all makes sense.