Welcome back to Books With Cause. Let’s dive straight into my latest review.
First, a quick note on the numbering. Reacher books are unorthodox in the sense that they’re not published in story order. Lee Child claims you can read them in any order, but that’s a little too maverick for my brain to handle. I have read the first three books in publication order, but that was a little while before I started this site. I have since decided that I would read them in chronological order from here on out, omitting the three I’ve already read. The Enemy was the eighth published book, but is set the earliest (so far) in Reacher’s life. If you are inclined to read the Reacher books yourself, it’s worth noting that Goodreads helpfully provides both story and publication order so you can choose which suits you best.
I have a lot of admiration for Lee Child. His story is well documented. After losing his job in TV production, Child decided to write his first novel. Because he had a wife and a young daughter to provide for, he needed his book to be commercially successful. He makes no secret of the fact that he deliberately made his books as commercial as possible with the intention of selling as many copies as possible. It worked. It is said that somewhere in the world a Jack Reacher novel is sold every nine seconds.
Child also decided to create a character that he could write multiple books about. I suppose it saves the effort of creating a new lead character every time you start a new book. He needed a character that could have multiple adventures, providing the opportunity for book after book after book. Jack Reacher is the kind of guy who likes to roam around. He never stays in one place. He goes from town to town. You could call him a wanderer.
The Enemy takes place before all of that. This takes place in 1990 when Jack Reacher is still a major in the U.S. Army Military Police. Reacher is ordered to investigate the apparent suicide of a general found dead in a North Carolina motel room. Almost immediately, another general dies under equally questionable circumstances. As more generals die, Reacher begins to suspect a coordinated killing spree rather than isolated incidents. Reacher teams up with Captain Summer, a sharp and capable MP officer, as they uncover a pattern linking the dead men.
Overall, this is the fourth Reacher book I’ve read, but at this point it’s probably the one I’ve enjoyed the least. Maybe it’s because this is essentially a story about military corruption that it just didn’t click with me. In The Killing Floor, we meet a Reacher who has left the army. I think I identified with that Reacher more especially when it came to a problem with authority and marching to the beat of his own drum. That said, I’m glad I read this book because it gives us an insight into Reacher before the man we meet in Killing Floor. This gives us a taste of why Reacher eventually leaves the army. Although there are still two more books in the chronology before he leaves his military career behind.
My Goodreads rating: ★★★☆(3 stars)
