The Secret

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S THE SECRET ABOUT?
It's 1992 and Capt. Jack Reacher has been assigned to a task force organized by the Secretary of Defense. He's the U.S. Army Representative, and there's someone from the CIA, the FBI, and the Treasury Department. They've been brought together to investigate a series of possible murders of scientists from around the country—although there's the possibility they're freak accidents or suicides, too.

In the 60s these men were part of a secret project that was abandoned after an accident caused some civilian deaths. But now it appears that someone has found their names and is working their way down a list. Can Reacher and the task force find the killer in time? show more What's the purpose of killing them now?

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE SECRET?
If this were a thriller about any other character and had someone else's name on the cover, I might have said it was enjoyable enough.

But it's about Jack Reacher and Lee Child's name is on the cover (even if it's pretty well established that Andrew is doing most of the writing), so there are certain standards that have to be met. The Secret falls far short of them.

I could go on a prolonged screed listing my problems with the book—but I'm going to skip it. Those problems range from minor (there's no way that a 1992 version—or a 2023 version—of Reacher is going to say "pearl clutching") to major (there's no reason for the big multiple attackers vs. Reacher fight in the middle other than it's been a hundred pages since Reacher's done anything violent, and that time was pretty quick and undramatic). I'd also say I was disappointed by the use of the rest of the task force, which was subpar at best, the big reveal at the end was lazy, and the concluding chapters were a letdown from the mediocre pages before it.

But for me, it boils down to this—that guy walking around in a uniform wasn't Jack Reacher. He was a decent Generic Thriller hero who could possibly develop into a character worthy of a series. And that's a fatal flaw.

The Secret wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good, either. Reacher deserves better from his creator—and from anyone hired to carry on the character, and he's not getting it. I've tried (and some of my readers have told me I shouldn't) to give this new arrangement time to develop into something worthwhile, but I think my experiment is over. I'm going to move on to other thriller series now—I may check in with what the Child brothers are doing in a couple of years, but if I'm going to keep a positive regard for Jack Reacher, I'm going to have to focus on my memories (and whatever Alan Ritchson is doing on the show). show less

Jack Reacher… Lee Child, Andrew Child, The Secret, Scott Brick, narrator
Jack Reacher is one of my favorite characters. Marching through life to the beat of his own drummer, vigilante-like, he is always on the side of might makes right. This book was no different, and it sped along at warp speed. An old, secret military project between Russia and the United States, to develop antidotes to bio-weapons, or perhaps to create one with no antidote, took place in India, in the late 1960’s. Suddenly, more than two decades after it ended in what should have been ignominy, it had suddenly come back to bite the participants. One by one, they were dying, supposedly from natural causes, but somehow too frequently and suspiciously not to arouse show more questions surrounding their deaths. During the time of the biological experiments, when disaster struck with the escape of a lethal gas, a scapegoat took the fall for the deaths that occurred, and the story was whitewashed.
As few clues arose to identify the possible killer, and more participants died, a small task force was assembled by the Secretary of Defense in order to find out if their deaths were actually homicides and not accidental or suicides. Jack Reacher and a few others were brought in to investigate the possible crimes. They were ordered to find the culprit involved, to bring possible names and suggested theories to him ASAP. He wanted this issue settled or there would be Hell to pay.
To be honest, while I really liked the book because of the constant action, there were too many threads to keep an accurate track of developments. It began with compromised weapons and moved on to corporate intrigue, secret labs, sudden violent and unusual deaths, corrupt government, business and military officials, etc. There was over the top violence, and I often had to suspend disbelief as the murderer/s seemed too clever by half and Reacher a bit too prescient, often making scenes seem very implausible. Yet, somehow, by way of the author’s explanations, they also seemed possible. Also, the conclusion, which seemed to justify the murders because of heinous behavior on the part of others, seemed a bit irrational.
Still, the story is really creative and the characters are all very interesting as they develop. In very circular fashion, the ultimate reason for the disaster and the revenge that followed, was revealed. Almost single-handedly, my hero succeeded. I am hooked and can’t wait for the next Reacher novel. The narrator, Scott Brick, really helped make the book move along with the appropriate emphasis in every scene. show less

Army MP Reacher in a 1992 Prequel
Review of the Random House Audio audiobook edition (October 24, 2023) narrated by Scott Brick, released simultaneously with the Delacorte Press hardcover edition.

Reacher Statistics
'Reacher said nothing.' count = 10. I was getting concerned when there had been only 2 of these in the first half of the book, but the count went up significantly in the 2nd half.

Toothbrush mentions = 1. Reacher notices his hotel room has been searched because his toothbrush is not standing exactly on the vertical in the bathroom drinking glass.

The Secret is the 4th & final collaboration of brothers Lee and Andrew Child in a phased-in retirement and handover of the franchise between them. Andrew Child is currently contracted show more to continue the series alone for at least 4 more additional books. Readers have various methods to monitor how well younger brother Andrew has taken over the reins from original writer Lee. For me, the measure is whether the laconic tagline 'Reacher said nothing' is getting sufficient play and whether there are enough toothbrush jokes in the mix. For the former the count is medium in this outing. For the latter, there is only a single mention. There weren't any lines to top my all time favourite: "Reacher was already packed and ready to go. His toothbrush was in his pocket." (from Blue Moon (Reacher #24, 2019)).

See photograph at: https://parade.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700/MjAxNzk0MDI3Nz...
Andrew and Lee Child (pennames for Andrew and James Grant) photographed by Tasha Alexander. Image sourced from Parade Magazine (link below).

The Secret is one of the occasional prequel novels that show the later transient wanderer Reacher when he was still serving in the U.S. Army in the Military Police. There is a short introductory section where Reacher solves a case of missing weapons, but he is soon enlisted in a greater manhunt. A series of scientists are being murdered across the country for an unknown reason i.e. 'The Secret' of the title. A group of elite investigators from the military, the FBI, the CIA etc. are called in to try to connect the murders, establish a motive and catch the perpetrators. The reader actually knows who the perpetrators are right away, but the motive remains unknown for the longest time. Of course Reacher & allies solve the case in the end with a few twists along the way.

This was maybe a so-so Reacher as he was not always centre stage in the narrative. It did at least make a change from the standard drifter Reacher template where he stumbles into some dastardly criminal conspiracy and has to rescue various innocents or even entire towns with his vigilante ways and means.

The narration by veteran reader Scott Brick in all voices for the audiobook edition was excellent as always.

Trivia and Links
There is a very short book trailer for The Secret by Random House which you can watch on YouTube here.

There is an October 23, 2023 interview with Andrew Child about The Secret by Barbara Peters at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore's YouTube channel which you can watch here.

Both Andrew and Lee Child are interviewed about The Secret and their other collaborations and the future of Reacher at Parade Magazine by Elizabeth Held, October 27, 2023. show less

This book is set in 1992, and takes us back to Reacher when he was a Captain in the army. Reacher is brought in as a member of a high level team set up by the Secretary of Defence to determine why five former scientists have been murdered. The thing they have in common is they all worked at an American research facility in India in 1969. Something happened at that centre that caused a quick closure of the facility, and a big disbursement of staff back to American shores. It was nice to see Reacher as an army officer, and his interaction with other army staff and superiors. He is still the Jack Reacher that we know and love though--big, brawny, an excellent tactician, and someone who won't tolerate bullshit, and wants to get to the truth show more at all costs. It also became clear to me why he decided to leave the army and strike out on his own. This is an excellent book, and Reacher and his team's efforts to get to the bottom of this big and very secret mystery kept me guessing until the end. If you are a Jack Reacher fan, you need to read this book. show less

Reacher Chronology #2 Publication #28

I’m reading Reacher in chronological order, not publication order, so I have yet to meet him following him leaving the army.

This story follows on from #8-The Enemy. It’s great to see another Reacher story about his time as an MP in the army set in 1992.

Lee and Andrew Child co-authored the book. As one would expect it has a good storyline with a few twists. The narrative allows the reader to pick up on clues as they read without the story being spoiled.

The initial few chapters are a bit odd, jumping around a bit between locations and people.

Essentially the first part featuring Reacher is in Illinois, investigating irregularities in army weapons inventory. It’s a bit of a puzzle as to what it show more adds to the main story. There’s no link with the rest of the book and it feels like it was a short story that was added because it didn’t fit anywhere else. That said it does have the characteristic Reacher wit when he corners his suspect.

The main story involves Reacher being seconded to a special unit in Washington investigating the deaths of a team of scientists involved in a 1969 project in India. There’s a few stereotypical heavies along the way that Reacher has to deal with and, as always the actions sequences are well written.

The main killers do get a little irritating as they are just too efficient…or is it the security details that are protecting the scientists too ineffective? Also the basic information about the killers seems to be overlooked by the investigating team(s). I will not put a spoiler here. You will see what I mean when you read the book. It’s a little too much of a stretch here for total believability. However putting this to one side it is a great conspiracy story.

Reacher is excellent as usual. It’s great to see him in his MP role. More of this please! I suppose we cannot expect too much of this MP heroics as it would become difficult to see why such a successful officer left the army and became a drifter. show less

In Lee and Andrew Child's "The Secret," which takes place in 1992, a pair of siblings are killing off retired scientists. The U. S. Secretary of Defense, Charles Stamoran, has a personal interest in this matter since, in 1969, he was connected to a covert project in India that involved the victims being targeted for death. Our hero, Jack Reacher, is an army MP who is sent to work with three other government employees in Washington, D. C. Their mission is to to identify the scientists' executioners. This will not be easy, since the culprits are stealthy, careful, and clever.

The authors write in a staccato, no-nonsense style, with brief chapters, brisk dialogue, and fast-paced action. However, there is little character development, and show more the convoluted plot is far-fetched and predictable. Reacher is a taciturn man who, using his considerable brains and brawn, generally fends off any and all attackers with ease. We have seen this scenario—wealthy and influential people breaking the law to avoid public disclosure of their misdeeds—many times before.

The lack of nuance notwithstanding, the Childs generate enough suspense to satisfy fans of this genre. Furthermore, the Jack Reacher in these pages is one we fondly remember from the early days, when he wasn't as much of a loner. All in all, this is a mildly diverting thriller that focuses on the greed, thirst for vengeance, and arrogance of individuals who lack a moral compass. show less

The Secret – Lee Child and Andrew Child

The Secret is another brilliant Reacher thriller, which happens to be a great read and an engrossing story. It still makes me smile that this all-conquering hero is the creation of a Brit, showing how heroes should be written. Personally, I think Reacher is better than anything the Americans have created to date.

The Secret is set at a time when Reacher is still in the army and has just been busted down to the rank of captain from major. He is currently in Chicago and has been given new orders to report to Washington DC, and like a good soldier he will report. He is part of a special task force, for which he is doing a lot of grunt work, under the direct command of the Secretary of Defense.

By the show more time Reacher has reached a non-descript building, others have arrived before him. Unusually, present were agents from the FBI, CIA and the Treasury and they are awaiting the arrival of the Secretary of Defense along with a deputy. When they arrive, they outline the requirement to work together and that any required resources will be given.

Informed that someone is killing scientists that had once headed up a secret laboratory in India in 1969. They are required to stop the killing and to make sure the full power of American Justice falls upon them. They also need to also find the remaining scientists from the project and keep them alive.
When Reacher and the agents begin their investigation, nothing seems to make sense. They are behind the curve, with no idea who which scientist might be targeted first. Reacher suggests that they need to come at their task from a different angle, they need to find out exactly what the scientists were doing in India and the “secret” work they were involved with. More importantly who has the most to lose.

Reacher is given licence to be Reacher and conduct his side of the investigation the best way he can. He does pick up allies on the way which he will require, especially where technology is concerned. There is also an array of figures who are out to make sure that Reacher and the task force do not find out what happened or what is currently happening. Reacher does not take this well and responds the only way he knows, quickly and very violently. He has the safety of not only the USA but the world on his mind.

It is only when they start posing the questions, things happen, and the get some of their answers. Sometimes those answers are not quite what they expected. Reacher knows he has to see this through to the end, make sure the scientists are safe, and the threat has been neutralised. Reacher has to do, what Reacher does best.

This is a brilliant read, gripping, entertaining and a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Another brilliant addition to the Reacher story. show less