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No Plan B: A Jack Reacher Novel

Review

No Plan B: A Jack Reacher Novel

The Jack Reacher series has brought Lee Child bestseller status for decades, but I believe that NO PLAN B just might be the most highly anticipated entry yet.

The Amazon Prime series “Reacher,” which premiered earlier this year, has created a whole new set of Reacher aficionados who cannot get enough of the 6’5” loner who is a walking paragon of rough justice. This latest installment follows the same formula as previous books and is once again co-authored by Lee’s brother, Andrew Child, who has written mysteries under the pseudonym “Andrew Grant.”

"NO PLAN B has everything readers of a Jack Reacher novel could ever want --- chases, thrills, and a line of bodies in the wake of Reacher and his nearly unstoppable ability to tattoo his own brand of justice upon anyone who stands in the way of his focused goal."

This time out, Reacher’s travels have brought him to Gerrardsville, Colorado. Here, he witnesses a woman seemingly throw herself into the front wheels of a fast-moving bus. She is killed instantly. Reacher then notices the CALL POLICE message that the bus driver posts on his electronic board, and our man moves into action.

Reacher first chases after a suspicious-looking character in a gray hoodie who has the victim’s purse, which brings him to a nearby alleyway. The emergence of a black BMW on the scene distracts Reacher, causing a fire escape railing to fall on him and briefly knock him out. This allows both the guy and the vehicle to get away.

After coming to, Reacher decides to learn more about the dead woman --- Angela St. Vrain, a young mother from Mississippi --- but her purse also disappeared while he was unconscious. It turns out that her supposed lover, Sam, passed away a few days earlier, a curious development that gets his radar fired up.

Reacher meets Sam’s ex-wife, Hannah, who had a friendly relationship with him and is willing to team up with Reacher to find out who killed him. They become quite the formidable duo, which makes for some of the novel’s best passages. However, their investigation, which takes them across several states, will involve an entire league of nameless bad guys who are pursuing them.

Everything apparently ties back to a series of ultra-modern prisons that may be a front for a cabal of villains engaged in some very nefarious activities. Thrown into the mix is a subplot featuring a runaway teen who is determined to get to the same prison for a completely different reason. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise when Reacher and the young man’s paths cross, and their mission becomes one in a highly unexpected way.

NO PLAN B has everything readers of a Jack Reacher novel could ever want --- chases, thrills, and a line of bodies in the wake of Reacher and his nearly unstoppable ability to tattoo his own brand of justice upon anyone who stands in the way of his focused goal. I cannot wait for the next adventure, as well as season two of “Reacher,” which should continue to drive even more people to this terrific series.

Reviewed by Ray Palen on October 28, 2022

No Plan B: A Jack Reacher Novel
by Lee Child and Andrew Child

  • Publication Date: April 25, 2023
  • Genres: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam
  • ISBN-10: 1984818562
  • ISBN-13: 9781984818560