The Enemy: A Jack Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher Novels) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

December 29th, 1990, elite military cop Jack Reacher all of a sudden is transferred from Panama to Fort Briggs, North Carolina/USA. And on the first day of 1990 his skills as a Military Police investigator are already needed. A General dies of a heart attack in a cheap motel near by. First problem: why did the General make a several hundred mile detour on his way only to spend his night in the hotel? Second problem is that he wears a condom. So who was with him and why is his suitcase missing? Third big problem is that his wife is killed only two hours later and more than hundred miles away. All only a strange coincidence? Unfortunately for Reacher this is only the beginning. More people are transferred all of a sudden, the body count starts to rise and Reacher finds himself being framed for the whole mess. But why? Is it all a big cover up? If it is - what for? Reacher realizes that the clock is ticking and without a real clue he has only little time left to find out what the hell is going on...

This time Lee Child steps back in time to introduce a younger Jack Reacher - one that is still in the army. Therefore the hero is not the loner or drifter already but right where he belongs and where he originally learned and used his skills. As in the previous novel "Persuader" the author uses the I-narrator style which limits the reader's view but reveals a lot of Reacher's thoughts etc. The interesting effect is that the reader knows only as much as the main character.
Since this story takes place in 1990 one also learns about Reacher's brother and his mother. Those parts are interesting to get to know the Reacher character but do not really contribute anything to the story. It could have been shortened or left out.

To get closer to the truth Reacher has to do real cop work - several steps leading to dead ends as in real life - and he even uses some real CSI tricks.
While reading the book Reacher and the reader always keep asking themselves the same question: WHY! Why do they want to cover it up and why do they want Reacher as the scapegoat? And what the hell is going on?!
Throughout this question the tension in the book is constantly rising which stopped me from putting the book aside. As much as Reacher you just need to find out who is behind it all, how did he or they managed to do it and again WHY?!

Unfortunately there is one issue that needs to be addressed (again): In "Killing Floor" Reacher shot people in the back. Was that bad? Not really because they were armed, dangerous and would have done the same to him. BUT as in "Persuader" Reacher again commits first degree murder in the end. He shoots a man who is not physically dangerous, is not even armed and is no threat to anybody at all at that stage. It's not even a man who "deserved to be killed".
What's wrong with Lee Child? Not even "Dirty Harry" would have done that and therefore Reacher becomes less and less the "knight in shining amour" like he used to be. There sure would have been a lot of more elegant ways to deal with that particular person than just plain killing him. Looks as if the author ran out of ideas in the end and just used the simplest solution. I sure did not like it because it was really poor!

Bottom line:
This is not a book you cannot afford to miss but also not one that will bore you. The book can be read very fluently. There is no real reason to stop. It finishes naturally and quickly. There is even some humor in Reacher's dialogues which makes the book enjoyable and lifts a bit of the rising tension.
The solution is not a real surprise in the end but still a pretty interesting view on the (military) changes that started in 1990.
On the other hand there are better books to choose from if you have not read any Lee Child book so far. "Without Fail", "The Visitor" or especially Child's first book "Killing Floor" can be recommended.

Wie immer erfüllte Lee Child meine Erwartungen. Der Superman Jack Reacher gegen die bösen Jungs dieser Welt ... Muss man da mehr sagen?

The Enemy moves out of chronological order to provide a Jack Reacher adventure while he was still an MP. That's easier to do with an action hero.

If you haven't read any other books in the series, you may actually like the series better if you start with this book rather than Killing Floor which was the first Jack Reacher novel written. If you decide to do that, then go back and read Killing Floor next and follow the chronological order of publication thereafter.

The most unusual characteristic about Jack Reacher is that he is so unconnected to people and places. The Enemy does a fine job of translating that quality into a military setting.

Mr. Child has decided to focus on an unusual period in recent military history: The moment when the Berlin Wall was falling. The story does a good job of developing how a military organization adjusts to its victories.

For those who want to know more about Jack Reacher, the book is also interesting for what it reveals about his family life.

The action in the story builds around the circumstances that follow the unexpected death of a general in a place where he wasn't expected to be found. Reacher is brought in to cover up the details to protect the Army and the family. But he's soon on the trail of crimes . . . and an officialdom that seems committed to covering up those crimes as well.

As usual, Reacher takes it on himself to find out the answers . . . regardless of orders and the personal consequences.

Anyone who has been in the military will delight in his many carefree challenges to authority.

The story itself is more than a little far-fetched, sort of along Tom Clancy lines. But the action redeems the lack of credibility in the story.

Have fun with this one.