We meet up with our intrepid Reacher as he’s eating at an Italian restaurant he likes in New York. He sees two thugs trying to shake down the manager. As we know Jack Reacher, this will not stand. He decides that he’s going to take care of the problem before it becomes a problem. He asks the manager when the guys will be back for money, and then he intercepts them outside. Unfortunately, he’s being watched by two FBI agents while he smacks them around to keep them away from the restaurant he likes. They follow him ALL THE WAY TO HIS HOUSE, which is nearly an hour drive, and then arrest him. They think (they say) he’s part of a criminal shakedown enterprise. THEN they drop the bombshell that they also think he’s a murderer.
As you can guess, hilarity ensues (just kidding). Reacher calls Jodie and she eventually gets him out of jail. The FBI agents go back to his house and ask for his help to solve a murder they think a current or former soldier is perpetrating. The victims have had connections to Reacher so far, and the details are weird. They can’t figure out how the women actually died, and the crime scenes show no signs of forced entry or mess.
Reacher does not want to help them. I didn’t entirely get his reasoning other than he legitimately just didn’t want to do it. They basically blackmail him into helping them by threatening Jodie though, which is really shitty.
Throughout the book Reacher is contemplating his next steps. He’s tied down to a house that he just can’t fathom owning, but he loves Jodie and doesn’t want to leave her. He’s happiest on the road and not knowing what comes next though.
I can’t remember who he’s talking to, but her advice is, “You know what you really want. Everybody always does, instinctively. Any doubt you’re feeling is just noise, trying to bury the truth because you don’t want to face it.”
As someone who occasionally has a hard time making big decisions, this really resonated with me! I would recommend this book and gave it four stars.