Reviewing: "Gone Tomorrow: A Reacher Novel" by Lee Child

“Gone Tomorrow” is the thirteenth novel in the Jack Reacher series and this one opens in a subway car in New York City. There are five passengers in the subway car with Jack and only one of them gives him any cause for concern. Twenty years ago when Jack was in detached duty with an Israeli army captain he learned the list of suicide bomber characteristics. The female passenger he is watching fits every single one of them.

But, Susan Mark, that female passenger was not a suicide bomber. Moments after Jack started talking to her, she pulled a gun and quickly committed suicide. According to one of the detectives who came to the resulting crime scene, Jack pushed her to do it by approaching her. Maybe he did. Or maybe, something or someone else caused it.

As long time readers know, once involved in something Reacher isn’t going to let it go until he decides it is over. A succession of suits from various governmental agencies arrive to ensure the cooperation of the NYPD, Jack, and anyone else involved. The bad guys have other ideas. With all of these people involved and telling Reacher to go home and forget about it, once knows that Reacher is just going to keep pushing with violent repercussions for everyone.

This latest Reacher novel is another good one despite the author’s need to constantly remind the readers of the freedoms lost in the wake of 9/11 tragedies. A drum that he has beat before to great effect and does tone down some in this novel while making the same points he has in recent novels. Much of the storyline is back dropped against the modern scourge of Al Quada and the fact that at one time they were our friends when they were fighting the Russians in the eighties. As he has done before, Lee Child has taken current political events and dropped Jack into the thick of a part of it.

While Reacher was always a taciturn fellow, he seems to be even more withdrawn in this book. Dialogue as a result is limited with most of the prose concerning action scenes or scenes where Reacher contemplates events while riding subway cars and trains or standing outside of various locations. As in the recent reads, he once again befriends a member of local Law Enforcement and before the final epic battle, spends some quality private time with her.

Oh, the sacrifices one must make for his country.

Still this is one of the better Reacher novels of recent memory. “Gone Tomorrow” is full of misdirection while moving forward at a rapid pace and only features one rather ridiculous plot coincidence. Though, as recent real world history has shown, just about anything is possible.



Gone Tomorrow: A Reacher Novel
Lee Child
http://www.leechild.com/
Delacorte Press (Bantam Dell)
http://bantamdell.com/
June 2009
ISBN #978-0-385-34057-1
Hardback
421 Pages
$27.00



Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.



Kevin R. Tipple © 2009