Book Reviews and More: The Sentinel - Lee and Andrew Child

Thursday, 26 November 2020

The Sentinel - Lee and Andrew Child - Jack Reacher Book 25

The Sentinel
Jack Reacher Book 25
Lee Child

Andrew Child (Andrew Grant)
Penguin Random House Canada
ISBN 9780593295144

eISBN 9781984818478

ASIN B084FLW5KM

Last year I read the 24 previous Jack Reacher novels, and also the Jack Reacher short stories, novellas and crossovers. In fact, I had to make sure I read other books in between. So it was a long wait of almost a year for this volume to be released. And then this one ended up being something very different. It appears that Lee Child is passing the Reacher baton to his younger brother. Lee is 14 years Andre’s senior. And Andrew is a well-respected author in his own under his name Andrew Grant. This one is in some ways different and in others very much like a Reacher novel. This story does not give any real indication where it falls in the Reacher story arc. Some novels give a clear indication of which came before or which came after. But this one seems to float out there alone.

In some ways this story feels like Persuader, Reacher is in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is a long preamble set in Nashville. The Nashville incident could make an interesting story in and off itself. But Reacher leaves town and ends up on the hunt for coffee. He witnesses what he recognizes as a set up for an obduction. And that the intended victim is completely oblivious. Reacher sticking to his moral code steps in and turns events around. And soon he finds himself in a strange situation. Trying to protect a computer geek. Deal with an undercover agent. Determine who is really the bad guys and what they are really after. All in a town that has all it’s computer systems locked down with ransom ware. And everyone in town thinking the guy Reacher saved is if not at fault directly responsible for the situation the town is in. There are also implications about the security of elections.

And of course the novel released just weeks before the US general election in 2020. The story moved along at a brisk pace. I could not tell which parts were written by Lee and which by Andrew. The story flowed well. Some interesting twists. And some history lessons. Overall a very good read.

On a side note I can’t wait to see what Diane Capri does in her Hunt for Reacher series. How will Otto and Gaspar debrief the characters from this story.

The Reacher novels were originally great reads during my commute to work. They were excellent for my ride on the bus. But since it is 2020 and I now work full time from home, this story was read on a day off, over a few mugs of coffee, in part sitting on the porch in the sun on an unusually warm fall day. The Reacher novels are entertaining, usually fast paced and always interesting. This is a good read in a great series, and one of my favorites. I look forward to what the brothers will come up with together next, or what direction Andrew will take the character.

Books by Lee Child:
Jack Reacher Books Publishing Order:
Killing Floor
Die Trying
Tripwire
The Visitor /Running Blind
Echo Burning
Without Fail
Persuader
The Enemy
One Shot
The Hard Way
Bad Luck and Trouble
Nothing to Lose
Gone Tomorrow
61 Hours
Worth Dying For
The Affair
A Wanted Man
Never Go Back
Personal
Make Me
Night School
The Midnight Line
Past Tense
Blue Moon
The Sentinel

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