Night School by Lee Child. 7 November 2016; Bantam Press; worldwide release today;

Night School by Lee Child. 7 November 2016; Bantam Press; worldwide release today; RRP $38.00

In his latest Reacher instalment (book # 21) Lee Child takes our beloved Reacher back to his army days, but this time he’s not in uniform. With trusted sergeant Frances Neagley at his side, he must carry the fate of the world on his shoulders, in a wired, fiendishly clever new adventure that will make the cold sweat trickle down your spine.

In the morning, they gave Reacher a medal. And in the afternoon, they sent him back to school. It’s just a voice plucked from the air: ‘The American wants a hundred million dollars’. For what? Who from? It’s 1996, and the Soviets are long gone. But now there’s a new enemy. In an apartment in Hamburg, a group of smartly-dressed young Saudis are planning something big.

Jack Reacher is fresh off a secret mission and a big win. The Army pats him on the back and gives him a medal. And then they send him back to school. It’s a school with only three students: Reacher, an FBI agent, and a CIA analyst. Their assignment? To find that American. And what he’s selling. And to whom. There is serious shit going on, signs of a world gone mad.

 ‘Set in 1996, bestseller Child's splendid 21st Jack Reacher novel (after 2015's Make Me) delves into his hero's U.S. Army past. Right after Reacher is commended for a mission in the Balkans, he's immediately sent "back to school."  It turns out that school means a vital and secret mission: a sleeper cell in Hamburg, Germany, has learned of an American traitor with something to sell to Islamic terrorists for $100 million. Alfred Ratcliffe, the U.S. president's National Security Adviser, tells Reacher and his fellow students—two seasoned agents from the CIA and the FBI—"we have enemies everywhere" and gives Reacher's team its orders: "Your job is to find that American." It's no spoiler to say that Reacher handles the heavy lifting on-site in Hamburg, though he's ably assisted by two former military police colleagues, Frances Neagley and Manuel Orozco. The premise of the pre-9/11 plot is both compelling and disconcerting, and Child applies his trademark eye for detail to make the whole endeavour surprisingly and thrillingly credible.’ — Publishers Weekly, starred review

PS: Mike Hosking to interview Lee Child at Reacher HQ. Mike Hosking is in NYC this week covering the US elections so he’s also going to interview Lee up in his apartment (aka Reacher HQ) while they’re there for Mike’s Newstalk Breakfast show. The interview will run just after the 8am news hour either this Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. You can also catch it online if you miss it.

 

Photo credit: Danielle Siess, Penguin Random House US