So we wonder; how did Reacher get this way? He is a former military policeman. We have an inkling that some scandal in his past caused him to leave the service and commence this endless wandering. We never knew the real story about what went down, until now.
“The Affair” is a prequel to the series — it contains some stunning revelations. As this 16th Reacher novel begins, he is still an MP. It is March 11, 1997 and he is entering the Pentagon. He’s in uniform, but he isn’t looking very military. His hair is shaggy. He sports a stubbly beard. It appears that he might have some difficulty clearing security.
Reacher is supposed to meet someone at the Pentagon. The meeting starts. Then Child flashes back to the sequence of events which forced Reacher to arrive to the meeting in this condition: He was working undercover in a town which was adjacent to a military base in Mississippi.
Our first surprise happens as he prepares to go down south: “I went to my quarters and took a shower, but I didn’t shave. Going undercover is like method acting...” Lo and behold, he has an actual residence, with a bed and an entire wardrobe of clothing. But not for very long.
He arrives in Mississippi under the guise of a former soldier. An unsolved murder near the base has caused a public relations problem.
Maj. Reacher soon learns that he’s actually there to do damage control for the elite units stationed there and a base commander who is the son of an influential senator.
Reacher has been tasked with spying on the local police investigation in the town of Carter Crossing. He meets Sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux: “I stepped in closer to give her a better look and to take a better look. She was more than flawless. She was spectacular.” She becomes his conflict of interest number one.
Child serves up heaping portions of things his readers expect: diner dinners, gallons of coffee, swarms of thugs whom he dispatches with mathematical precision. He provides his usual, pithy combat analysis. At one point he observes that “fighting morons is harder. You can’t guess what they’re going to do. But smart people are predictable.”
There’s humor, too. At the Pentagon, he is informed that his assignment in Mississippi is finished. Reacher insists upon returning: “I have private property to recover.” He is asked: “What did you leave?” Reacher replies: “My toothbrush.”
In “The Affair” Lee Child reveals how Jack Reacher became this wandering exile. Prepare to gasp when you discover what Reacher actually does.
Vick Mickunas of Yellow Springs interviews authors every Friday at 1:30 p.m. and on Sundays at 11 a.m. on WYSO-FM (91.3). For more information, visit www.wyso.org/programs/book-nook. Contact him at vick@vickmickunas.com.
About the Author