Jack Reacher returns with another blisteringly-paced thriller

Jack Reacher returns to the pages of another novel, this time as a major in the United States Army, in Lee Child’s latest book Night School.

Before lunch, he receives another medal for services rendered, and after lunch is shunted off to a training course. When he arrives, he finds that his services are required for a delicate investigation and that the training course was just a ruse to place him under cover and out of sight. Reacher finds himself in the company of an FBI agent, and an agent employed by the CIA. When the three men began comparing notes, they realised that they had all just successfully completed classified missions, which left them free to participate in whatever is coming next. Then their control arrives to explain the mission – an attractive middle-aged woman with the surname of Sinclair.

Sinclair explains that an Iranian agent has reported overhearing a conversation between an American citizen and a Saudi who was presumed to be acting as a go-between; organising the sale of an unknown object for a price tag of one hundred million dollars. The Iranian agent is trustworthy, and Sinclair needs help to try to find what kind of product or service is worth this huge price tag, and how an unknown citizen has access to it. Reacher and the agents are now part of a quarantined unit who must go back through Sinclair for everything that they need in the course of the investigation, to eliminate the risk of security breaches.

A control centre was established, with secure staff, phone lines and internet access established for the group. Each of the big three was allowed a personal staff member of their own choice, and soon Reacher’s trusted sergeant Frances Neagley joined her boss. Reacher decided that he would be best employed by going to the location where the conversation had been heard to check out the local environment for leads. Soon, he and Neagley were on a plane to Hamburg in Germany.

Reacher and Neagley spearheaded the investigation on the ground in Hamburg. They managed to find out most of the information that they needed to solve the puzzle, only to have the prize snatched away at the eleventh hour. Then they found themselves in a three-way battle with desperate individuals, some of whom did not realise the magnitude of the threat that they were involved in.

This is the twenty-first Jack Reacher novel, and all have been optioned to be used as the basis for movies. As a leading author of thrillers, Lee Child’s work always appears on bestseller lists. Reacher is quite a believable character who walks the fine line between following instructions and getting a result. I like a hero who makes decisions on the run and follows his own instinct when necessary.  Along with Neagley, the heroes make a dynamic duo. Neagley is the kind of woman who can put men on the ground in a writhing heap. 

I like a hero who makes decisions on the run and follows his own instinct when necessary.  Along with Neagley, the heroes make a dynamic duo. Neagley is the kind of woman who can put men on the ground in a writhing heap. I finished the book in one sitting, and it was on pace all the way through. I score it a ten, and I’ve promised myself that I will go and see the movie when it does eventuate.

Night School is available now from Dymocks. Click here to learn more.