11.09.2017

The Midnight Line, Child - B +

                                              The fall trifecta - Grisham, Connelly and Child. This is the latest Reacher and, like our protagonist, things are slowing down a bit. Jack no middle name has to be pushing 60. That didn't stop him early in this book from taking on seven bikers, but the truth is the pace, tension, frenetic motion, etc. has slackened. Somewhere in Wisconsin, Reacher comes across a West Point Class of 2005 ring in a pawn shop. It's very small and he concludes that any gal who got through the academy in the four years after 9/11 had to be as tough as nails and in trouble to let the ring go. He follows the trail to S.D., then to Wyoming, and he eventually pairs up with a former FBI agent working as a private investigator. Eventually the investigator's client, the drop-dead gorgeous twin of the missing army officer, joins the team. They find the sister, who on her fifth combat tour had an IED blow up in her face and, needless to say, is no longer gorgeous. She's also addicted to pain meds and living very far off the grid in Wyoming. The DEA is hot on the trail of the dealers and the network doing business in the area. Reacher leads the way in wrapping up the group dealing drugs and helps the officer get back to getting some help for her injuries.
                                             Child seldom deals with sensitive topics and here he combines the trauma of a wounded combat vet with the opioid crisis. It feels like a new direction for Reacher. The book is dedicated to the almost two million Americans who have received Purple Hearts.

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