Friday 17 May 2019

The Midnight Line - Lee Child - Jack Reacher Book 22

The Midnight Line
Jack Reacher Book 22
Lee Child
Penguin Random House Canada
ISBN 9780399593482
eISBN 9780399593499
ASIN B06WP486XH


To date this is my favorite Reacher story. I have read a Jack Reacher book each week for the past dozen weeks. This is the 22nd book in publication order and it is 34th in chronological order if you include the published short stories and cross over short stories. It currently comes directly after Faking a Murderer with Kathy Reichs. It is an older Reacher we encounter in this story. 

This story begins with Reacher taking a stroll through a small Wisconsin town, while the bus is at a rest stop. He sees a class ring in a pawn shop window, a West Point Class Ring. A ring that is small, and years after Reacher graduated. The ring must belong to a woman. And Reacher has an urge to find the owner, and their story, that would cause it to end up in a pawn shop. And thus begins a pursuit. Reacher is in pursuit of the story of the ring and its owner, and he will not take no for an answer. From a Pawn Shop to a biker gang, to a low-level thug, to a drug ring. Along the way Reacher is compared to Big foot and sasquatch. There is more than contract taken out on Reacher. Reacher is chasing a supply chain in reverse. He ends up calling in some favors at West Point. He meets a PI who seems to be searching for the same person. They agree to work together as long as it is mutually beneficial. 

This was an interesting story. We find out what rules Reacher is willing to bend, and even break for a vet in need. That his believe if they served, they are due some slack, especially if their service has cost them so much. The story also gives us a look into addiction, and its impact on the person and their family. 

Having jumped around a lot in the reading of Reacher novels, it is very interesting to see this older Reacher. Parts of it made me think of the Toby Keith Song As Good As I Once Was. But have no fear Reacher can still take it all and give as good as he ever could. This story has a little more depth and more layers than much of the Reacher novels I have read to date. 

A very interesting read. A story that makes you think a little more, but that is a good thing. And still a lot of Reacher left to read.

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 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
...



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