In Too Deep - Lee Child and Andrew Child - Jack Reacher Book 29

In Too Deep
Jack Reacher Book 29
Lee Child

Andrew Child (Andrew Grant)

Delacorte Press
Penguin Random House Canada
ISBN 9780593725801

eISBN 9780593725818

ASIN B0CR2Z9KKD

A few years back I fell in love with the Reacher stories. I picked book 24 up for my dad for Christmas, read the back and got myself the eBook. I ended up reading one a week until I had read all the novels and published short stories. I have read some of the related series by other authors, and love the TB show. As hard as it was to put this down, I stayed up way, way too late to finish it, overall I was A little disappointed. But I am getting ahead of myself. 

This is the fifth novel in the series that is a collaborative effort from Lee and Andrew Child. And the first they have written together that is set back when Jack is in the Military. A few years ago I read the first 24 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. After I read the first two that they co-wrote I read the 9 previously written by Andrew. And now I eagerly await the fall release of a new novel written by the two of them to continue the saga of Jack Reacher. Like the Epic of Gilgamesh, the story of Reacher is an epic tale that now spans decades. And Reacher has more adventure in most of the stories than some people have in a lifetime. And this fifth offering by the brothers has some interesting twists. Let us get back to this specific story.

The description of this offering in the Reacher series states:

“Reacher had no idea where he was. No idea how he had gotten there. But someone must have brought him. And shackled him. And whoever had done those things was going to rue the day. That was for damn sure.

Jack Reacher wakes up alone, in the dark, handcuffed to a makeshift bed. His right arm has suffered some major damage. His few possessions are gone. He has no memory of getting there.

The last thing Reacher can recall is the car he hitched a ride in getting run off the road. The driver was killed.

His captors assume Reacher was the driver’s accomplice and patch up his wounds as they plan to make him talk.

A plan that will backfire spectacularly ...”

Reacher wakes up. Reacher is bound. Reacher will make them all pay. And in his typical style the punishment is brutal, it is extreme and it is complete. At the time of the writing of this review Good reads has over 3600 ratings, 1552 are 5 Star and 1210 are 4. I give it a solid four stars. The problem is I figured out a lot in this story well in advance of events. Yes, Reacher is injured, and yes there is a romantic interest. There is some serious violence. 

This story is book 29 and I believe it would fall in that order chronologically, based on the injury. I still prefer the UK covers to the North American ones.

This is a good story from the Child brothers. But it just feels like something was missing. If it had been an action story about almost any other character I would have loved it, I just expect more from Reacher and the Child brothers. It is not my least favourite in the series, but it is close. If you are a fan of Reacher either from the books or TV show give it a read. And if you have never read a Reacher story I would start with something else. This is a good book in an entertaining series!          

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

Better Off Dead

No Plan B

The Secret

In Too Deep

...
Jack Reacher's Rules
...

Reacher Short Stories and Novella’s:
No Middle Name – Complete Collected Short Stories
Stories in No Middle Name Collection:
Too Much Time
Second Son
Deep Down
Guy Walks into A Bar
James Penney’s New Identity
High Heat
Everyone Talks
Not A Drill
Small Wars
Maybe They Have A Tradition
No Room At The Motel
The Picture of the Lonely Diner

...

Other Short Stories:
The Fourth Man
The Christmas Scorpion
...
Faking a Murderer with Kathy Reichs
Cleaning the Gold with Karin Slaughter
Good and Valuable Consideration with Joseph Finder
...

Other Books by Lee Child
The Hero
Jack Reacher: A Mysterious Profile

I Heard a Romantic Story 

...

Books by Andrew Grant:

Run

…

David Trevellyan Series:

Even

Die Twice

More Harm Than Good

…

Detective Cooper Devereaux Series:

False Positive

False Friend

False Witness

…

Paul McGrath Series:

Invisible

Too Close to Home

…

Books Andrew Grant Contributed To:

In the Company of Sherlock Holmes

Murder and Mayhem in Muskego

Hotel California Music and Murder Mystery 1

…

The Devil's Ransom - Antony Barone Kolenc - The Harwood Mysteries Book 6

The Devil's Ransom
The Harwood Mysteries Book 6
Antony Barone Kolenc
Loyola Press
ISBN 9780829457209

eISBN 9780829457216

ASIN B0DG7TXVNW

This is the final book in the Harwood Mysteries. I have really enjoyed the 6 novels and also the three short stories in the same world published as the Lucy Mysteries. The author has indicated the series will conclude with this sixth volume. This story is historical fiction set in medieval England in the middle of May 1188 A.D., about 6 months after the previous story. The description of the volume is:

“In this captivating climax to the award-winning Harwood Mysteries series, Xan must unravel his most perilous mystery yet. Xan, Christina, and Lucy undertake a dangerous voyage across treacherous seas so that Xan can confront Moorish pirates who are holding Uncle William for ransom. When the friends encounter a sinister evil force, their faith and friendship is put to the ultimate test. Set at the dawn of the Third Crusade, their adventure is brimming with peril and intrigue.

Will a malevolent figure from their past thwart their mission?

Are demonic forces at work outside the city walls?

Will Xan and his friends fall prey to the dark forces that threaten to consume them?”

If you have already read the other Harwood Mysteries you will be familiar with many of the characters in this must read story. This volume is in a way the darkest in the series, but it is also one with much hope. Tony in the author’s note at the front of the volume this time states:

“With each new book in The Harwood Mysteries series, my characters, along with my readers, have grown in age and maturity. Hence, this sixth in the series, The Devil’s Ransom, which contains themes that are more mature than topics in its predecessors, is intended for a slightly older audience. To help guide young readers through the varying degrees of light and shadow in this story, detailed historical notes providing context to key events and actions within these pages can be found at the back of the book. I encourage parents and teachers to read this book in tandem with their youth—the conversations will be interesting and fruitful, to be sure.

Ultimately, this is a tale about the struggle between good and evil. While I do not want to give anything away about what unfolds in the chapters ahead, I leave you with this assurance from Sacred Scripture: If God be for us, who could be against us? (Romans 8:31). The answer is at the heart of this novel. I hope you enjoy it—hold on for a thrilling ride!”

I would agree this is for a more mature reader, or to be read through with your child and discussed as you go. There is a case of possession, and a lot of spiritual warfare. Xan and his friends make some mistakes, and learn to apologize and seek restoration. We encounter 2 previous foes, one who has appeared across the series. We also have the juxtaposition of Xan and his friends being in Muslim controlled territory as opposed to being at home in England. There is even a meeting with the Governor of Xelb one Isa ibn Abi Hafs ibn Ali. Xan again finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He is given a task several large guards could not complete. He is forced into this for a reason he cannot say no. But he has learned to trust in God, even if he makes mistakes along the way.

This story contains elements of Jesus’s encounter with the demoniac, an exorcism, and spiritual warfare on many levels. Tony has done a masterful job of finding balance between telling a new tale and staying true to historical fact and places in this conclusion to the series. This volume and series are well researched and the author’s note at the beginning is essential reading. The characters are very well written, it is a solid plot with a few twists and interesting subplots woven well into the story. It also contains a huge surprising cliff hanger ending. The story moves at a good pace. With travel by land and sea, and a visit to a far off city. It was a very hard book to put down. 

It was great to watch Xan’s and Christina’s growth in this story and their interactions with and others on the journey. It was also wonderful to watch Lucy and Christina’s friendship grow and the interactions with Lucy’s adopted brother. This story and the main Harwood series is marketed for Middle grade readers but are great for tweens and teens, and by the ends of this I would say the series is excellent for young adults as well. I am in my fifties and I loved them. This is another well written story and one that will leave you desperate for more stories set in this world.  Antony ‘Tony’ Barone Kolenc is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps. He currently teaches law. In this story and series, he has shown that he has great skill as a story teller in both long and short form fiction. It is a historical fiction story guaranteed to entertain, readers young and old alike. It is a great story in an excellent series. I can easily recommend the book and the series. 

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2024 Catholic Reading Plan!

Books by Antony Barone Kolenc:
The Harwood Mysteries:
Shadow in the Dark
The Haunted Cathedral

The Fire of Eden

The Merchant's Curse

Murder at Penwood Manor

The Devil's Ransom

…

Harwood Short Stories:

The Lucy Mysteries:

Lucy and the Deadly Rule

Lucy and the Hidden Clover

Lucy and the Forsaken Path

…

Incarnate Series:
Incarnate
…

Other Books:

Penny and the Stolen Chalice

…

Contributed to:

Gifts Visible & Invisible 8 Christmas Stories for Teens

The Christmas Lights

Ashes Visible & Invisible 10 Stories for Teens

A Foul Christmas

A Saint Nicholas Eve Carol

The Gift of the Angel Tree 

Shadows Visible & Invisible 7 Stories for Teens

...

Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency - Patrick Abbott

Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency

Patrick Abbott

This story was available for free via the authors substack and newsletter. I have had the first book in his Fallen series for a while but had not got around to reading it yet. I have been aware of Patrick and his writing for a little while. But this short story was the first of his works I have actually read. He released this as a free Halloween short story. I was intrigued by the cover, the title and the description:

“What happens when a man escapes a Haitian vodou ritual and meets a ghost only to be mistaken for being a zombie by an overeager vampire? You get the ghost and “zombie” drafted in the vampire’s effort to make a paranormal detective agency! Debra the vampire wants a profitable business, Fred the ghost needs to move on to the next world, while Max “the zombie” is desperate to return home in this humorous misadventure in a hidden side of Savannah, Georgia, filled with monsters, magic, and more.”

This is a really fun story. Readers will be hooked right from the beginning. And the story has more than a few surprising twists. None more so than at the climax of the story, and to be honest it will leave you desperate to find out what happens next. I can only hope there will be a continuation of this story so we can find out. I found myself thinking about this story several times over the next few days after reading it. And I have recommended it to a few friends. 

Debra is so over the top, we cannot help but feel she gets what she deserves in the penultimate chapter of the story. Fred is a ghost just trying to find a way to heaven living a strange purgatory here on earth. The fact that Debora and Max can see him and interact with him gives him the first hope he has had in year. And Max is just trying to figure out how to get his life back and is pretty certain he is now a zombie or any other form of undead. He just has no money, no id and no opportunities. SO he is stuck between a hard place, and a Vampire with grandiose plans and a ghost as his support and back up for the vampire’s hare-brained plans. 

This is a laugh out loud funny story. It reminds me a lot of some of the works of Tom Holt and Robert Asprin. It is a wonderful story and you really cannot beat the price. I can easily recommend this entertaining story. Join the trio as they travel from crypt to restaurant to Bed & Breakfast and beyond trying to establish their agency.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2024 Catholic Reading Plan! 

Books by Patrick Abbott:

Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency

…

The Fallen Series:

Fallen

Risen

…

A Very Chapel Falls Christmas - Amanda Lauer

A Very Chapel Falls Christmas 

Amanda Lauer  

Viident Publishing

Feminine Genius

Feminine Genius

ISBN 9781635825664

ASIN 

I have read 4 novels and 2 offerings in anthologies by Amanda Lauer so when I was offered a chance to read her new novel I jumped at the chance. I have said a few times about books like this that it is in a genre I do not typically read. But as a father of daughters in their teens and twenties I do find I am reading more of it to read what they are reading, or because I am fans of authors who write across genres. This work is the first adult fiction from the pen of Amanda and she hit it out of the ballpark, or more accurate for this story she slapped the puck out of the rink. I really enjoyed this story and had a hard time putting it down. 

I read an advanced copy of this work and it did not have a description of the book or even a finalized cover. All I knew was that it was a ‘contemporary Christmas romcom’ and knowing Lauer that faith and Catholicism would be a strong undercurrent. I started this volume with no clear expectations. Once I started reading I could hardly put it down, I devoured it over two days and a few sittings. I stayed up way to late one night reading and when I work up early the next morning just got up to keep reading. 

The description of this story states:

"An epic breakup finds Nik Forrest, a world-famous musician, back in his quaint hometown at the same time his ex-fiancée returns, making for a Christmas holiday with its share of surprises, calamity, laughter, and love--if the two of them can learn from the mistakes that drove them apart in the first place. When she moves back to Chapel Falls, Noelle Clark was never expecting to see Nik again, except for on the cover of magazines. Try as she might to avoid him, the two exes keep running into each other throughout the holiday season. From the Ugly Sweater Shuffle to the Christmas Cookie Crawl, Nik and Noelle begin reconnecting at the renowned Christmas festivities that put their city on the map. Now Noelle is starting to fall, again, for the charming musician. But their future is tested when Nik's storied past comes knocking. Willow, the woman who dumped him at the most prestigious award ceremony in the world, shows up at Chapel Falls with a ring on her finger and a business offer Nik can't refuse. Nik must choose between the dream he has chased for years that cost him his first chance with Noelle or the hope of a second chance with the girl of his dreams... if it's not too late for good. Can Nik prove to himself and to his true love that he has moved on from Willow, the fast life of Nashville, and moved back to Noelle, just in time to pull off a picture-perfect Christmas surprise and start their life together?"

The characters are masterfully written. You will find yourself cheering for our main characters Nik Forrest and Noelle Clark but also greatly appreciating some of the other characters such as, Rosalia, Mayor Barb Gilbert, Jim and others. And we cannot forget the two pets Koko and Cocoa. The story takes place over a few weeks leading up to Christmas Eve. Nik is a famous hometown boy back in the region and doing numerous events for the community. Noelle is back in town after 10 years back home in Alaska, but this small town feels like her hearts home and at the beginning she is back in town looking for work. Oh and the two broke up 10 years ago when Nik left town to head to Nashville to pursue his career as a musician. After a few chance encounters they are both wondering about the past and what might have been, and maybe what might be. But to find out what happens you will need to read this wonderful holiday romance.

The story reminds me of some of Madeleine L’Engle’s adult fiction. It has a clear undercurrent of faith, excellent characters, a well-crafted plot and excellent pacing!  This book was a wonderful fun read. My only regret is that with RomCom’s the story often ends here and I wonder what happens next, in the community, with the threatened lawsuit, and of course with Noelle and Nik. It truly is a story that leaves you wanting more! 

A fantastic read I can easily recommend! 

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2024 Catholic Reading Plan! 

Books by Amanda Lauer:

Anything But Groovy

Dubbie: The Double-Headed Eagle

A Very Chapel Falls Christmas

…

Heaven Intended Series:

A World Such as Heaven Intended

A Life Such as Heaven Intended

A Love Such as Heaven Intended

A Freedom Such as Heaven Intended

A Faith Such as Heaven Intended

…

Royal & Ancient Series:

Royal & Ancient

Lent Royal and Ancient

...

Contributed to:

Treasures: Visible & Invisible

The Best is Yet to Come by Lorene Hanley Duquin

Living Virtuously by Erin Harrison

Ashes Visible & Invisible 10 Stories for Teens

…