The Enemy opens with a heart attack. A two-star general is found dead of an apparent heart attack. Within hours his wife is murdered. Within days two special forces soldiers are murdered, one at a time. At the center of each death is Jack Reacher, a complicated military cop. Ordinarily considered one of the best, suddenly Reacher is starting to look like a suspect instead. Normally a loner, Reacher finds himself working with a partner trying to clear his name. It is obvious he is being set up and Reacher will stop at nothing to get to the truth including going AWOL and much worse. The Enemy is peppered with military jargon and violence but not overwhelmingly so. Reacher has a likable character. He is human enough to do the wrong thing from time to time. How he gets out of the trickier situations really makes the story. I was fascinated from start to finish. ( )

This book is not the latest in Lee Child’s “Jack Reacher” series, but it merits a distinctive look, for reasons I’ll delineate below.

Lee Child books are crime/suspense/thrillers, some of which feature Jack Reacher, “hero, loner, soldier.” Short, clipped sentences describe plots that are not too gory, occasionally a bit obvious, but engaging enough to keep one burning the midnight oil to turn the pages.

“The Enemy” is an earlier book in the series involving Jack Reacher, who in this “episode” is a 29-year-old Military Police Office, a Major of the 110th Special Unit, newly transferred at the end of 1989 to Fort Bird, North Carolina.

Shortly after he arrives, a 2-star general is found dead in a nearby sleazy motel. Reacher picks an attractive woman MP, Lieutenant Summer, to help him solve the string of crimes that are linked to the murder.

This particular book is worth reading for a different reason. The real issue of interest is not the murders per se, but the situation (elucidated by Child) that the military was facing as the USSR was disintegrating. Since WWII, the resources and energy of the U.S. military focused on gearing up for a possible confrontation with the Soviet Union. When the Berlin Wall crumbled at the end of 1989, so did the results of an entire 40-some years of military preparation. Suddenly, the traditional enemy was gone, and a host of weaponry, infrastructure, strategies, agendas, and careers were on the brink - no longer of war, but of obsolescence.

The analysis of how much the military was shaped after the war by the perceived threat from the USSR is very thought-provoking. The descriptions of the different kinds of tanks in use and what they were good for; the kind of roads necessary to support them; and the costs and personnel involved, will give you a lot of insight into the current problems faced by the U.S.

The military and political information is fascinating, but there are some other gems of insight too – like this one when Jack and his brother Joe face the death of their mother:

“Life,” Joe said. “What a completely weird thing it is. A person lives sixty years, does all kinds of things, knows all kinds of things, feels all kinds of things, and then it’s over. Like it never happened at all.”

“We’ll always remember her.”

“No, we’ll remember parts of her. The parts she chose to share. The tip of the iceberg. The rest, only she knew about. Therefore the rest already doesn’t exist. As of now.”

We smoked another cigarette each and sat quiet. Then we walked back, slowly, side by side, a little burned out, at some kind of peace.

Recommendation: Even if you don’t like crime/thriller/mysteries, this book contains some fascinating political analysis you aren’t apt to get in such an entertaining format. Thus I recommend this book over others of the Lee Child Jack Reacher series, primarily for the insight it confers into international relations. ( )

The usual fare.

This time we are taken back to Jack's early life while still serving in the US army as an MP major. Sunddenly transfered to a new base, he has to cope with the unexpected death of a 2-star general, the repercussions this invokes.

Limited violence compared to some, Jack has to be in full investigative form which is quite enjoyable. How accurate the descriptions of the US army bases and lifestyles are, only the author knows, but they don't detract from the plot without being too explicit either. The plot is somplex and the motives of the opposition byzantine - not wholly belivable, but it is fast paced and you can skip over the worst of the unlikely flaws. We get some development of Jacks character and background through the interaction with his family. This does bog down the plot a bit as it is a complete sidetrack, but for those who have followed Jack's progress through several books it is a welcome explanation.

Fun and fast muc like the others. ( )

In my continuing effort to understand the source of Jack Reacher’s financial independence, I picked up a copy of Lee Child’s The Enemy. It is the prequel to the Reacher books. Unfortunately, it did not resolve the mystery. Fortunately, it was still a fun book – as I knew it would be.

I’m glad I read The Enemy. It was fun to see Jack Reacher in uniform. It was unique to see him carrying luggage and owning spare uniforms. But I still don’t understand how he meets his expenses in later books. I can’t see a military severance lasting that long, even though his tastes are rather simple.

My complete review is on my Blog, Nate's Library, specifically at: http://nates-library.blogspot.com/200... ( )

According to a guy I met at the bookstore, I’d be doing myself a favor by picking up this book. Well, why not, I said to myself, it’s on sale and it’s got all these glowing reviews by Newsweek, New York Times, USA Today, Chicago Sun-Times,…

I was sadly disappointed. The book did not live up to the hype. Maybe I was just too ill (had a fever at the time I was reading it) to appreciate it or I was expecting too much from it.

I liked the beginning pages, though. It was the middle part—where the hero, Reacher and his lieutenant, Summer, investigates the crimes — that left me flat and bored.

I had to read on though, because the good part might just be toward the end. I was, in part, right. The end was a surprise as the hero, Reacher, does something I never expected a hero to do. So, that was OK.

But overall, the characters were all too remote —so stingy with emotions. It’s as if they actually reveled in their stoicism. Maybe the author has this “macho thing”. For instance, Reacher and Summer have sexual relations in the story but as the case closes, Reacher never sees nor hears from her again? Huh? What ever happened to cellphones and e-mails? It’s not as if the story was set in the 50’s.

Oh well, the book was not a total waste of time. The author peppers it with interesting bits of trivia on weapons, tanks, etc. These made up for the book’s rather dull characters.

Entertainment Weekly commented, “[Child] emerges as a worthy successor to Tom Clancy. ” I’ve read Tom Clancy and enjoyed him immensely. I don’t think Lee Child’s style comes very close to Tom Clancy’s power to thrill. But then, this is the first novel I’ve read by this author. So perhaps his other lauded work, The Persuader, might just get me to change my mind.

My Mark : Mediocre ( )