Never Go Back, by Lee Child

I didn't know anything about Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels until I saw Jack Reacher, the recent movie starring Tom Cruise as Reacher.  The movie, based on the novel One Shot, captivated me and put me in search of Child's novels.  His latest, Never Go Back, lived up to the movie version of Reacher (although, of course, you would have to say the movie Reacher lived up the Reacher of the novels).  He's smart, aloof, marches to his own drumbeat, and has a knack for figuring out what is eluding others.

In Never Go Back, Reacher, an ex-MP who lives as an anonymous drifter, travels across the country back to the MP station where he had been commanding officer.  There he finds himself mired in a mess, having to defend himself from old, questionable charges, and helping the current CO out of her similar mess.  True to Reacher, he has to prove that everyone else is wrong, and in doing so, knocks a bunch of heads together, breaks a bunch of laws, and ticks a bunch of people off.

Never God Back is all about the chase.  Military authorities, shadowy maybe-military dudes, meth-producing hicks, and others are trying to track him down, beat him up, or put him in jail.  He, of course, outsmarts them all.  The problem is, his reason for going back to the MP post, and the reason all these people have framed him and are chasing him down, is first of all unclear and unconvincing.  In the end the revelation and resolution were yawn-inducing.  Oh, that's what they're trying to cover up; big deal, I thought.

It seems odd to say, but the telling of the story makes up for much of the start and finish.  I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience, even though I was disappointed in some of the substance.  I will probably pick up more of Child's Reacher novels, to listen to on my commute if nothing else, and I certainly would look forward to more Reacher movies.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!