The Affair

Jack Reacher is dispatched to a small town in Mississippi, Carter Crossing, to support the investigation into the murder of a young woman. The Army has a base, Fort Kelham, just outside of the town. Army soldiers regularly socialize in Carter Crossing, and the town relies on the soldiers to keep its restaurants and bars busy. The base is used for Ranger training, including an elite force which is sometimes dispatched from Kelham for clandestine missions overseas. One of the Rangers is a suspect in the murders; he also happens to be a Captain and the son of a United States Senator, who is the chairman of the Senate's Armed Services Committee. Soon after arriving in Carter Crossing, Reacher hooks up with the local sheriff, an ex-Marine who was in the Provost Marshal's office. In other words, she was a military cop, just like Reacher still is. She is also (naturally) very beautiful, and Reacher is soon involved with her both personally, and professionally, as they try to find a way to work together to solve the murders (it soon becomes clear that more than one have taken place). She doesn't really trust Reacher - she expects him to be working to protect the Army, even if it means that a cover-up is needed. But is the killer really from Fort Kelham? The sheriff is so convinced that she is not really looking elsewhere. And if the killer does turn out to be someone from the base, will Reacher really participate in a cover-up? If you know Reacher then you already know the answer to that question. Reacher embodies a "take the law into your own hands" approach to dealing with the bad guys. He does what he thinks is right, what he thinks needs to be done, and the heck with the consequences or with any political considerations or anything else that may get in the way. In this case, his career (and perhaps his life) is on the line if he doesn't handle things carefully. This book has less violence and suspense than most Reacher novels but for me it was just as satisfying. There are a couple of scenes where Reacher needs to take care of local thugs in the way that we have seen in other Reacher novels - head butts, planning six moves in advance so that he can take down four, or six, ganging up on him. The thugs in Carter Crossing initially look like a good parallel story to the murder investigation, but not much is done with that sub-plot, which will be a disappointment to readers wanting to see more of the unarmed combat action that Reacher knows so well. For someone new to the Reacher series, it may not be the best book to begin with simply because the majority of the book consists of Reacher's thought process as he evaluates the situation and the various suspects, working through several possible scenarios, finally resulting in how he finally determines who the real killer is (and then what he finally does about it). For those who are already fans of Reacher, I think felt it was highly enjoyable with the proviso that it is not an edge-of-the-seat thriller or nearly as suspenseful as some of the earlier books, and the outcome is not predictable at all. I am a great fan of Lee Child's books. The Affair is the 16th novel in his Jack Reacher series, and I've read them all - in fact, I've gone through the full series twice now. This is my favorite series of books from an active author, and I am one of those folks who has the date of the next release marked on my calendar (unfortunately the frequency seems to be consistent at basically one book per year). There are not very many authors who motivate me to look forward to their next book with as much anticipation as Lee Child, the only other one I can think of is probably John Grisham. Interestingly, both of those authors continue to write their own books, not co-author them as seems to be the trend these days for so many best-selling authors. Coincidence? This is the second book in the series to take place "prior" to Reacher's retirement from the Army, which is when the majority of the books are set. I would like to see more stories occurring during Reacher's military career; it puts more (and different) constraints on Reacher's ability to act unilaterally and adds an element of military bureaucracy that can add greatly to the story. If you are new to Jack Reacher, here is a complete list of the Reacher novels as they were written. (Unfortunately the Amazon doesn't allow more than ten to be included in a review): Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, No. 1) Die Trying (Jack Reacher, No. 2) Tripwire (Jack Reacher, No. 3) Running Blind (Jack Reacher, No. 4) Echo Burning (Jack Reacher, No. 5) Without Fail (Jack Reacher, No. 6) Persuader (Jack Reacher, No. 7) The Enemy (Jack Reacher, No. 8) (the prequel, this takes place before the events of Killing Floor) One Shot (Jack Reacher, No. 9) The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, No. 10) Bad Luck and Trouble (Jack Reacher, No. 11) Nothing to Lose (Jack Reacher, No. 12) Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, No. 13) 61 Hours (Jack Reacher, No. 14) Worth Dying For (Jack Reacher No. 15) The Affair (Jack Reacher No. 16). (also prequel to Killing Floor) If you want to read the books in "chronological-order", then this is the sequence: The Enemy (prequel); The Affair (prequel); Killing Floor; Die Trying; Tripwire; Running Blind (US title)/The Visitor (UK title); Echo Burning; Without Fail; Persuader; One Shot; The Hard Way; Bad Luck and Trouble; Nothing to Lose; Gone Tomorrow; 61 Hours; Worth Dying For.

I always am entertained by plots involving super-high level corruption and interference with justice, and this book has plenty of these things. I am also a Jack Reacher addict. There are several of my favorites (I've been reading them in order.), and several of my "okay but below the average of my opinions about the general quality of Jack Reacher books. I rank this one in the middle for various reasons. Some parts of the book were slow, and with little action. Unlike the earlier Jack Reacher books (earlier by Lee Child's dates of publication), this book has lots of sex scenes. Back when I was a teenager and young man, I would have enjoyed them. As a (much) older man, I was bored--I thought of a cheap attempt to sell what we used to call "dime novels" at a newsstand or train station or airport. The only relevance to the plot of the sex was to focus on the tremendous power and noise of a passing train at the time of sexual climax. The train's passing by is, however, very relevant to the overall plot. Some parts of the plot (as with many other Reacher books) were unrealistic, including some of the shootings and other foul deeds. These things don't bother me--they contribute to the suspense, mystery and entertainment. I am a four-year active duty army veteran, and I know about many military things written in these books; yet I leave it to many other reviews to point out errors. These types of errors don't interfere with my enjoyment of the books. Here's some of the strong points about this book: (1) the plot is very clever, even though some important facts (as with most Reacher books) are not revealed until the end; and (2) damn, I couldn't put this book (or its audio version by the great narrator, Dick Hill) down. Normally, I can reserve readings for slow and relaxing times of a day, when I don't have work or other activities that I need or want to do. Instead, once this book got going--especially the second half of the book--I had to put everything else aside and spend the day and evening on this book. If I had to drive anywhere alone, I had the audio version synced and playing. This book is important for Reacher fans, because it describes why and how Reacher left the army, and how he got started on his itinerant lifestyle. So it's not one of Lee Child's greatest books, but its a good book, and if you like the Reacher series, you will enjoy this one. Also, like the other Jack Reacher books, it can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone book by readers who have not gotten into the Jack Reacher series.

First, I was confused. The story is a flashback, but for some reason I had a hard time catching onto that. I remember feeling irritated because I couldn't figure out exactly where, in time, we were. Then I was hooked, as the story settled into the flashback and I figured out this is where Reacher began. This is his backstory, how he came to be. Why he travels so light. The whole of it. There's more to come, I know, but this is where it all started. I have to say, it was quite fun delving into the why of it all. If you are a Reacher fan, you will love this book. It's like snooping in someone's medicine cabinet. It has everything I've come to love from a Reacher novel: Reacher, of course, in uniform...grrrrr! A couple of love-making sessions that steamed up the mirror and a mystery with clue upon clue and twist upon twist. If you haven't read any Reacher stories, you've been missing out. Go...buy one...right now. I'll wait. First Line: "The Pentagon is the world's largest office building, six and a half million square feet, thirty thousand people, more than seventeen miles of corridors, but it was built with just three street doors, each one of them opening into a guarded pedestrian lobby." Well, ain't that interesting. Great tourist information, for sure. Typical Reacher style, definitely. Not a real hook for me though. Mind you, it picks up pretty quickly as Reacher enters the building, so don't give up based on the first line. Plus, I suppose there are those who will be fascinated by knowing all that about the Pentagon. This was a fantastic read, and one of my favorites of the entire series. The last few books I felt like Lee Child was losing his steam a bit. Like maybe he was tired and done with Reacher. But this one proves he's not done just yet. The structure does feel a bit Hollywood, perhaps in anticipation of a movie now that One Shot is finally in production? Whatever the reason, if you ever liked a Reacher book don't miss this one. If you've never read one, start with this one. Then go back and read the others in order. 1 star each for great plot, excellent writing, fun pace, grrrr factor of lead character, and 1 for overall greatness. Lee Child, you outdid yourself with this one. 5/5 stars!

Another exciting Reacher novel with lots of action and questions. Great read that you don’t want to put down. Must read.

The Affair is a prequel to the Reacher series. It tells of how Reacher, the oft mentioned ex military cop, came to leave the military after more than a decade. The story takes place in Mississippi with Reacher going undercover in a small town next to a base. Tensions are high as a woman has been found brutally murdered in an alley on the town's main street. The military base and the people of the town are both pointing the finger at one another for blame. When Reacher arrives in town, sent to provide information that clears the soldiers on the base, he finds out that the base has been locked down so no soldiers can come into down. He also meets the local sheriff and a former marine, Elizabeth Devereaux, who is suspicious of Reacher's sudden arrival in town but allows him to work with her in order to solve the murder. Its a crime that, like in all Reacher books, has more to it then meets the eye and Reacher's attempts to solve the crime bring him head to head with the military brass who sent him there in the first place and makes him question his place in the military after all these years. Its an very thrilling read which I found to be a lot better than the most recent Reacher novel A Wanted Man (which I read before The Affair). The story is about Reacher reflecting back on this event so he also provides random commentary about the difference in time periods, the story takes place in 1997. Like when he brings up the different things that occurred with military and law enforcement pre-9/11. You also get little hints that lead into the book that chronologically follows this book, The first Reacher novel Killing Floor, with Reacher looking to his brother for assistance a couple different times in the book but not being able to reach him which leads to some concern about his whereabouts. You also get some excellent moments of Reacher executing true justice. Reacher takes on a group of local trouble makers a couple of times in the book as well as encounters as a military force in the woods around the base that may or may not be responsible for executing civilians. Each encounter leads to Reacher laying a serious beat down on the guilty parties. The only real disappointment for me was the reasoning they went with for why Reacher left the army which was a big part of me buying the book. The murder plot sees Reacher do enough things to make him fall out of the military's favor, but that is not the reason why Reacher leaves the army. Its also brought up at various points in the book that the military is going to suffer budget cuts (Reacher minds us a few times that this story takes place before 9/11) and that he may be on the chopping block. But in the end that isn't the final factor in Reacher becoming a civilian. Its the only letdown in the book for me cause I hoped that it would be something more grand and important. Taking out Reacher leaving the army, its still another great crime novel from Lee Child and another solid addition in the Reacher series. I recommend checking it out if you have the chance.

The millions of Reacher fans know that he had been an Army MP Major who left the army after some kind of disagreement or physical assault, after fifteen years of service, after receiving a silver star, and began wondering from town to town, unable to settle down, where he helps people who need help. They know that he is exceptionally tall, has a keen understanding of practical matters, has a clock in his head that tells him time to the minute and wakes him at the exact moment he wants to be wakened. They know that frequently, driven by what he considers to be right, Reacher acts as investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner, even though the law explicitly forbids this behavior. They know that he can fight. Those fans who read the short story about Reacher at age thirteen know that he could fight even at that age and even against large odds. He can anticipate what will happen next, where blows will fall, and knows how, as a brawler, he can land blows that will fell his opponents, like a woodcutter landing his final chop on a tree. They know all this and much more about this hero. But what they don't know, and what they have wanted to know for so long, is why he left the army. Now, Lee Child reveals the past. It is 1997 in this novel, the year that the affair occurred that caused Reacher to leave. Reacher was, as we know, a well decorated and respected MP Major at that time. But he was also a man who did not suffer fools gladly; he was a competent man with his own ideas, which he was not afraid to state. Thus he was well like by many, but not all. This was the year that the army was cutting back its forces. Would Reacher be one of those who were cut? He was given an assignment. A woman had been killed in a small Mississippi town adjacent to a Ranger camp. The town inhabitants and its ex-marine beautiful MP Sheriff were convinced that the murderer was a Ranger. Reacher was ordered to go to the town under cover, as a civilian, control the sheriff, and find the murderer among the civilians. Another MP Major was sent to the Ranger camp itself to look into the situation and control it. This second major was very competent, as competent as Reacher. Was the army setting him up? If anything went wrong would he be blamed? Was this a cover up? Could the other major be trusted? What was this second major really doing in the camp? Reacher discovers that while the murdered woman was white, there were two other murders in the town during the year, both black, all three very beautiful. He is soon drawn to the beautiful sheriff, but the army assures him with proof that she is not what she appears to be. Other murders soon occur. Readers will enjoy reading how Reacher is able to see things that others miss and how he reacts to them with his customary moral force. They will also finally find out why this hero left the military, the work his father and brother did, and begin to wander and help others.

I fell in love last week. It happened on one of those flights between Florida and New York. He was not a stranger. Acquaintances whose judgment I respect in these matters have been telling me for years how terrific he is. He just didn’t seem my type for the longest time. When I finally gave in, I spent the entire three-hour flight with him. And, the rest of the night. I couldn’t get enough. In other words, last week, I discovered Lee Child, and his bestselling creation, Jack Reacher. Because I’ve always heard such great things about the Jack Reacher character, I finally decided to splurge ($1.99) on a copy of The Affair when it materialized as a Bookbub deal in my inbox. I had absolutely no idea where in the series the book fits, or even how many books are in the Jack Reacher series. As it turns out, The Affair is the 16th in the series, but it is a prequel and takes Reacher back to a time when he was still in the Army as a military policeman. Admittedly, it took me a couple of chapters to get into the swing of things, but by the middle of chapter three I was hooked: Reacher is assigned to go undercover in a small Mississippi town which is home to an Army base —and where a young woman has been slaughtered. Not only does Child promise a juicy plot, but his incisive, economical, sardonic writing style was an immediate turn-on. (“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Or: “I think we both understood that the first time happens only once.” ) Specifically, (and surprisingly for me) I totally loved the action sequences described in intricate detail, and accompanied by Reacher’s vivid inner dialog as he sizes up, and deals with his opponents (“No one expects a head butt. Humans don’t hit things with their heads. Some inbuilt atavistic instinct says so. A head butt changes the game. It adds a kind of unhinged savagery to the mix. The guy went down like an empty suit.”) And, this killer of a line about a stunningly beautiful woman : “If some white-coated lab guy had fed an IBM supercomputer with all we had ever known about beauty from Cleopatra to the present day, the circuits would have hummed for an hour and then printed this exact image.” Lest my enjoyment of Jack Reacher is still in any doubt, I might add that upon finishing my first Reacher thriller, I immediately purchased Killing Floor (Reacher #1) and Midnight Line (Reacher #22.)

Lee Child can weave an interesting tale about Jack Reacher but may drive readers who are familiar with proper sentence structure and use of punctuation to the brink. I know that’s the case for me. I purchased the entire Jack Reacher series of books after seeing the first season of the series. I never would have read so many of his books if I hadn’t already paid for them. I have often wondered why, with all the money that Lee Child must have brought in from his writing, he can’t seem to afford a staff who will proofread and correct the many mistakes throughout his books. Same goes for his publisher. I held onto hope with each successive book that he might learn something about writing and make his books easier to read. I hoped, with the addition of his brother on the last couple, that the books would improve but seemed to get only worse. Sometimes, 2 whole pages of back-and-forth banter are written with nothing to occasionally let you know who is speaking, so multiple readings may be needed at times to sort it out. I think almost all, if not all, of the pages have sentences with commas where none are needed, periods where commas are needed, clauses used as sentences, and a new paragraph starting from a clause that belongs in the previous sentence of the preceding paragraph. As I said, hard to read if you understand basic sentence structure. There are often times where I wish Lee had done one iota of research to get facts right. I refer to passages in the stories where it was apparent that Lee Child had no experience or knowledge; I guess, more or less, the writing is off the top of his head. Some problems are: 1: He thinks the flashing emergency lights of vehicles in the western states are the same as in much of the New England states (blue on fire trucks and red on police). 2: He didn’t know what the average shoe size in America is actually 10 ½ (stating it as 9) 3: He thinks a large man like Jack Reacher would have what Lee evidently thinks of as a large foot size of 11, instead of something closer to 14 or 15 (I am 6’1” and wear a 13.) I assume Lee has a small foot. 4: Lee has never been near a fast-moving train, thinking there is violent ground movement when the train is even over a mile away and hurricane force winds near one traveling 60 mph. 5: He seems to think that all gas stations and quick marts sell khaki pants and various shirts, packs of socks, and underwear. 6: Jack Reacher can knock anyone unconscious and very often dead with one punch. I can remember only a couple times when it took two. 7: He thinks face bones will “shatter” from a Jack Reacher punch and can knock out a gorilla or even an elephant. Jack also never has injuries to his hand or elbow from such amazing blows. 8: Jack Reacher’s hands are said to be as large as a dinner plate and his fists as large as Thanksgiving turkeys…really? Yes, his books are hard to read for these and other reasons caused by lack of oversight by his publisher and lack of staff. Please, I hope never to find out he has a staff that lets this stuff through. Good storyteller, other than the lack of research on details and no idea as to sentence/paragraph structure.. Rating would be five for the story. Won't buy future books

This is another great thriller from Lee Child. Must buy and read.

説明通りの条件でした。十分満足しています。また利用したいと思います。

Out of the series so far [1 thru 16]... this is my favourite book! I enjoy reaching each of these books, they are so well written. The language pulls you into the book and I struggle to put them down. If you're looking for a reasonably long series with a superstar ex army bloke, who acts like a Hobo, fights like Jackie Chan and has a morale Compass that is as straight as an arrow... this is the series for you!. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Come tutti i libri di Child una volta che inizi a leggerlo non riesci a staccarti fino a quando non arrivi in fondo

The book is a real thriller. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Hard to put down. The small section at the end tells us how Reacher grew up. Fascinating !