Never Go Back, by Lee Child; A Review

Jack Reacher #18

Why is it that no sooner does Jack Reacher arrive in a town to find he is in trouble? It happens once again in Never Go Back, entry number eighteen in Jack Reacher’s most excellent series. Lee Child has done it again too. It was a pleasure to read (or listen) of his latest problems.

If you have followed Jack you will know why he is heading to Virginia. A couple of books ago he got some help from a woman on another problem he was helping to solve. Finally arriving in Washington DC, he simply wants to meet the woman whose voice intrigued him so–Major Susan Turner. She happens to be the Commanding Officer of the very military police division that Jack headed up and began years before.

So when he walks into her office and finds her missing, he is very curious. The temporary CO, Morgan, has been expecting Jack. Within minutes the CO reinstates him back into his former rank. Next,  he arrests him.

Thoughtful, calm Reacher is willing to go along while he learns details of why, but instead of answers he ends up with more questions. Where is Major Turner? Why are they suddenly deciding to charge him with a crime over 15 years old. Why is it he remembers nothing about it?Is it Reacher himself they are after, or did he once again simply arrive in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Turns out Major Turner has been arrested too. Strange coincidence? Or is he caught up in a larger plot? If so it may be a plot that includes several superiors, very close to the top.

You have to wonder if trouble follows Jack or if it draws him much as a magnet would. Either way we have a fresh chance to see Reacher be Reacher. That is part of what we love about him. Another part is that there is no way he can let it go and leave. He must find the truth and the answers.

As usual Reacher carefully examines every situation as only he can. Fascinating detail into his well trained thought process always add to the story. The occasional violence in this one is fairly graphic. Effective, though not fatal.

In Audio with Dick Hill Narrating

If you are a fan of reacher, you have probably have a voice in your head whenever you start a new addition to the series. Since it is one of my favorite audio series, the voice I hear is that of Dick Hill. He is terrific as Jack. Actually I can’t think of a book he has read that wasn’t enhanced by his performance. Every time I get a new one, I am smiling even before I start the book. He is very good.

If you haven’t read one, I hope you do. He brings out our own thoughts of what it would be like to live as he does, traveling light, without all the material stuff that holds us in place. Some days doesn’t it sound good to get on a bus and go wherever it takes you?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Merry Citarella, often writing as Merrci, writes on a wide range of topics. Recently relocated to the Oregon Coast in the northwest United States, she frequently writes travel features on the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She specializes in health and aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, food, lifestyle, and book reviews. For more information you can see her on The Writers’Door. You can read more articles here or at her websites Alzheimers HQ and Simple Living Ideas