Welcome back to Books With Cause. Let’s dive straight into my latest review. We’re following on from my last post with the second novel in the Jack Reacher chronology.
If you haven’t already, I recommend you check out my previous post where I reviewed The Enemy. The reason is that I briefly explained how the Reacher books aren’t published in story order. The Secret, published in 2023, is the 28th published Reacher novel, but is set second from Reacher’s perspective.
Another note I need to make here, this is the first Reacher novel I’ve read, which has been co-written. The reason is that in 2020, Lee Child announced his decision to retire from writing the Jack Reacher series. He announced that he would be handing the responsibility over to his brother, Andrew. We are currently in a position of transition where the brothers have co-written the last six novels (to date) with plans for Andrew Child to fly solo at an unspecified date.
Hopefully, that clears up all questions regarding chronology and authorship.
Following on from the events in The Enemy, The Secret takes place two years later in 1992 where Reacher is still in the army but has recently been demoted. He is then assigned by the Secretary of Defence to investigate a series of suspicious deaths. Each of the dead people previously worked on a top-secret chemical project that was covered up by the CIA in the 1960s. The connection between them is what makes their deaths suspicious. Reacher and the task force face a race against the clock to prevent future deaths, as well as finding out who knows about the project and why they would want each member of the team dead.
Reacher books tend to alternate POV. While The Enemy was writer first person from Reacher’s perspective, The Secret is writer third person, and we spend time with different characters. There are pros and cons to both, but I think it makes it all interesting when I’ve read these two books back to back. With the former book, we get an intimate insight into Reacher’s head, but we only know what he knows. In the latter book, we spend less time with Reacher, but because we spend time with other characters, we know plenty of things that he doesn’t know. It creates a feeling of tension and provides an opportunity for dramatic irony when Reacher interacts with certain characters.
If you enjoy thrillers and you enjoy Reacher books, there’s a strong chance you’ll like this. I wouldn’t put it as a favourite, but it is a good read. I only have one more Reacher in the army to read, and then it should be full-on maverick Reacher for the rest of time.
My Goodreads rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 stars)
