Lee Child's 2016 novel Night School takes us back to Jack Reacher's days in the Army. After a medal recognition ceremony, Reacher is assigned to night school. When he arrives, he and the other "students" quickly realized that the "school" is simply a cover to get them off the radar so they can jump into another investigation. Reacher heads out to Germany, where middle-eastern terrorists and neo-Nazis compete for Reacher's attention.
Unlike most Reacher books, which feature Reacher as the reluctant vigilante and one-man force for justice, Night School has Reacher collaborating in a more traditional investigation. Intelligence comes in, as it tends to do, in bits and pieces. The phrase, "The American wants a hundred million dollars" raises lots of red flags. What could be worth $100 million? Reacher and his colleagues are chasing a mystery, and the bad guys are chasing each other but they don't really know what. The implications turn out to be much larger than Reacher, or even some of the bad guys, could guess.
The way Child puts it all together is interesting and altogether believable--way too believable. As much as I enjoy the Reacher novels, I have to admit this one did not rank up there with my favorites. I liked it, but it was a bit flat compared to earlier books. Still, with plenty of suspense and a compelling mystery, plus some scenes of Reacher being Reacher, taking out a bunch of bad guys, Night School is fun to read.
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