Monday, May 3, 2010

"The supreme act of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." Sun Tzu


With the Berlin Wall coming down in 1990, The Cold War is ending. There will be a downsizing in the military and some commanders want to be sure that their commands are not lessened.
Jack Reacher has suddenly been transferred to a new post and is the duty officer with the Military Police on New Year's Eve. He's notified that a two-star general has been found dead in a motel used for romantic lesions. When Reacher gets to the general"s home to notify the general's wife, he finds she has been murdered.
Reacher is a heroic character with a strong moral sense of duty. He finds that the general was on his way to a meeting and that his briefcase, containing the meeting's agenda, is missing. As he continues to investigate, he is ordered to refrain because it would bring disgrace to the military.
Reacher and a young officer who is assisting him, Lt. Summer, feel that it would be disloyal to the general and the general's wife's memory if they stop the investigation without finding who was guilty. At the risk of their careers, they continue their investigation.
There is conflict with a Delta Force unit when one of their men reported that Reacher, in an unprovoked manner, beat two civilians and hospitalized one of them. The report states that Reacher's actions were unprovoked. Later, when the Delta Force sergeant is murdered, the men in his unit give Reacher seven days to find the killer or they will be coming after him.
This is a page turner in the highest sense of the phrase. Reacher is one of the best characters in literature and his bravery and dedication are shown here as never before. Many readers wanted to know why Reacher left the military and this story tells the events that led to his resignation from active duty.
The story itself has excellent action scenes and Reacher's motives and his investigatory actions are properly explained and logical. It only took the first few pages before this reader was grabbed by the story's events.

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