It's been a somewhat disappointing year-and-a-bit for fans of Lee Child's hardscrabble hero Jack Reacher. While enjoyable, 2015's Make Me, the 20th book in the series, didn't have the muscles for that milestone and wasn't as memorable as its predecessor, Personal. On the big screen, meanwhile, the recent Never Go Back also turned out to be something of a letdown when compared to Reacher's eponymous movie debut in 2012. Simply put, Tom Cruise and co picked the wrong book.
So it's a joy to report that Reacher #21 is a great return to form - as satisfying for novice as devotee. It's another origins story, this time back in 1996 when Reacher was still in uniform. After he receives his latest medal for a spot of business in the Balkans, the hush-hush higher-ups bring him in to an anti-terrorist operation. The panic button has been hammered because of an interception from a terrorist cell, saying that an American has something on the market for $100m. But what? To lift up the rocks and run down the possibilities, Reacher is booked on a red-eye to Hamburg. And he's got company: series regular Frances Neagley is coming along to watch his back.
Cities like London and Paris have worked brilliantly in other Reacher adventures and Hamburg also becomes a character in itself here. While set only 20 years ago, positioning Night School just at the start of the online onslaught gives it a real old school feel, but it also works as a chilling prologue to the events of September 11. As the clues and coincidences crisis-cross, Child's pacing in the offices, bars and backstreets of the port city is masterful with Reacher also getting both his best nemesis and local ally in quite some time. There's not as much action as may have been expected, but there's a shipload of suspense.
The only niggle is that the ending is a bit rushed and deserved another 20-or-so pages. Having set-up one of the showdowns of all showdowns, Child then chooses a different route to get us to the final page. You'll still ignore family, friends and the real world while reading, but there were more thrills to be had. Should Night School ever make it to cinemas or cable (with someone younger than Cruise in the lead role), it's the safest of bets there'll be some fiddling with the finale.
In the meantime, get ready to enjoy a real class act.
Harry Guerin
