Three Jack Reacher Novellas, by Lee Child

Like many a Jack Reacher fan, I will read anything Lee Child writes.  He never disappoints.  Three Jack Reacher Novellas gathers stories that have been published elsewhere and give a bit of insight into Reacher's earlier years.

Deep Down (included in the paperback edition of A Wanted Man).  Reacher is recruited to investigate a potential leak on a team that is acquiring a new sniper rifle for the U.S. military.  Posing as a special forces sniper, he sits in on the tail end of their deliberations.  His assignment: socialize with the women on the team and see what he can find out.  He has no problem with the socializing part, but soon he learns that his cover may not be as strong as he had hoped.  Lucky for Reacher, he's smarter than the other side (as always).

Second Son (published in 2011 as a Kindle single).  As the new kid on base, young Jack Reacher is targeted by the local bullies and meets up with a cute girl from across the street.  When Reacher's brother is accused of stealing the answer key for a school placement test, and his father is accused of losing an important code book, Reacher is on the case.  This story shows Reacher's young toughness and his precocious investigative skills.  (I was reminded of Encyclopedia Brown.) 

High Heat (included in the paperback edition of Never Go Back).  While on summer break, sixteen-year-old Reacher leaves Korea to visit his brother at West Point.  Passing through New York, on his way to catch a bus, he sees a man slapping a woman.  Of course he intervenes, and of course it turns out to be more complicated.  The guy is a mob figure, the woman is an FBI agent.  Despite the threats, Reacher can't stay away, and helps shut down the mobster's operation.  Oh, and he also happens to help with the Son of Sam investigation.  This one seems to give even Reacher too much power and insight as a sixteen-year-old tourist, but it's fun how Child places the story within the events of the New York blackout of 1977 and the Son of Sam investigation.

Reacher's Rules (2012).  This is a fun compilation for Reacher fans.  Child puts together rules for living, quotes, and a few aphorisms collected from Reacher's experiences.  I got a kick out of the rules, in part because I can't see Reacher himself compiling it; it's just how he lives.  Some of the "Things You'll Never Hear Reacher Say" are amusing, like "Can you carry my bags?" or "I'll have to ask my wife."  Many of the tips, like "How to Open a Locked Iron Gate with a Chrysler" or "The Science of Burning Down a Building" are taken from the novels, of course, but told in a more analytical, detached way.  If you have read and enjoyed the Reacher novels, you will probably love Reacher's Rules.  If not, I'm sure you'll find it rather bizarre.

Three Jack Reacher Novellas don't have the punch and import of the full-length novels.  They are, however, enjoyable, especially for Reacher fans who like to hear Reacher's backstory.  The legend of Reacher continues.