Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel

Finally reaching his destination in Virginia, Jack Reacher heads for his old army unit – the 110th Military Police. Intending to take the unit’s commanding officer Major Susan Turner out for dinner, Reacher finds the major has been detained in a military prison. Faced with accusations against his own army record, our hero must track down Major Turner, get her out of jail and find out what the hell is going on.This is book 18 in the Jack Reacher series and though it’s not one of Lee Child’s best – a bit slow in places – it’s still a great read. The story kept me gripped most of the time and it was interesting to see how it differs from the (Tom Cruise) movie version (completely different, as it happens). With a little less ass-kicking than usual, the plot centres on unearthing the reasons behind the deaths of two soldiers in Afghanistan, as well as finding out if Reacher has a daughter.Great story, if not one of his best.

A great fan of Jack Reacher books - I own 18 and have read 16 so far - I had to stop reading this one less than a third of the way through out of complete frustration. It was too contrived and unbelievable, even for a Jack Reacher book. I was initially interested in it, because I enjoyed the Tom Cruise movie of the same name. Reading the book, however, I can see why the movie-makers almost rewrote the entire story in order to make it credible. I can't imagine them actually filming the story in the book. I don't think anyone would sit very long watching it in the theatre. So, give this book a pass and watch the movie. It's much better, despite the little guy Tom Cruise.

After a run of three books of Jack heading towards to his old military unit headquarters in Virginia and getting waylaid, Jack finally arrives to meet the voice on the telephone he was so intrigued by in  61 Hours . She is Major Susan Turner but when he finally arrives she is not behind her desk. She is locked up and Jack is brought back on active service to stand Military trial for crimes he allegedly committed during his prior service. It seems not even Jack can escape the past, but when he is charged with something he clearly didn't do, it is evident that someone is fitting him up, will Jack manage to unravel the conspiracy?This is the eighteenth book in the series, and is the destination he has been heading to over the last three books; ( Worth Dying For , The Affair  and  A Wanted Man  respectively) - it all plays out in motels & U.S. military bases and is definitely one of the more institution-based JR novels. There is the usual fare of Reacher's raw-physicality, black coffee, Pentagon-statistics and attractive female lawyers. However it does feel much more like a return to form for Lee Child after a couple of damp squibs in a row despite a rather uninvolved ending to the story.As an aside, it seems as if Lee Child has developed a random predilection for describing lightbulbs in this instalment. All in all, insanely difficult to put down - a real page-turner - and if you are a Reacher fan already you know what to expect!! 61 HoursWorth Dying ForThe AffairA Wanted Man

I can see why they made it a movie. But again, why wasn't *this novel* turned into a movie.It's a really good read. Thrilling. Twists, turns, the despite the film, are still enjoyable to read as there still unexpected.Ignore the rest of the negative reviews, this is a really good read. Much better.Lee child's was hitting his stride from 15 through to 20 and this proves the point.

So in the 18th outing for our beloved Jack Reacher, he is unceremoniously dumped back into army life and accused of murder. But this is Jack Reacher so you just KNOW thats not what the problem is going to be ultimately...and therein lies an issue I had this time around.First I want to be clear: The standard of writing has not dropped one iota. Lee Child can make you turn the pages and no mistake but...I am wondering if the term "running out of steam" could be fairly applied here. I think it could. The plot was involving, yes, and the first half of the novel fairly pelted along and caught you up once more in Jack's world..but by the time I was heading past the half way mark I was kind of jaded. Been there. Done that. Probably 18 times now....It must be difficult I imagine to make Jack Reacher different - I mean he is what he is and he does what he does, that is the beauty of the character. And if Mr Child DID send him off in a completely different direction you can bet there would outcry aplenty. Still, there might perhaps be something to be said for giving him a different reason for being occasionally - and what annoyed me somewhat, was the fact that a smaller part of this plot had the potential to do just that. Anyone who has read it previously will know just what I mean! Reacher would still have been able to be Reacher, but I feel an opportunity to allow him to see through fresh eyes and therefore perhaps surprise us every now and then in his actions was lost.Another downside to this particular Reacher adventure was the fact that it kind of lost its edge as it went. The ending was neither here nor there, and after a reasonable set up and lots of "hooks" it just kind of gently ran downhill to the finish and landed silently there not doing much.Having said all that, I didnt dislike it particularly. I didnt love it either, its certainly not my favourite of the series but if you have loved Reacher in the past I see no real reason for you not to do so again with this instalment. Everything you expect is there...but not the "and then some". Just exactly what you would expect.I should probably point out that I made the mistake of watching "that" movie and therefore the rather diminuitive Mr Cruise kept invading my headspace during the reading of this book. I quite liked the movie to be fair but still. I'm not sure I can ever now go back to the pre movie days of imagining Reacher as a not handsome but extremely tall, well built and rather imposing figure.I will keep reading them because I do enjoy them and I did enjoy this. Just not as much. I have enough faith in Lee Child as a writer (because he's a darned good one!) that he will at some point refresh the character and make him less predictable - because we don't want to lose Reacher oh no. We would just like him to grow....Happy Reading Folks!