Jack Reacher #23 by Lee Child

From Goodreads:

Jack Reacher plans to follow the autumn sun on an epic road trip across America, from Maine to California. He doesn’t get far. On a country road deep in the New England woods, he sees a sign to a place he has never been – the town where his father was born. He thinks, what’s one extra day? He takes the detour.

At the very same moment, close by, a car breaks down. Two young Canadians are trying to get to New York City to sell a treasure. They are stranded at a lonely motel in the middle of nowhere. It’s a strange place … but it’s all there is.

The next morning in the city clerk’s office, Reacher asks about the old family home. He’s told no one named Reacher ever lived in that town. He knows his father never went back. Now he wonders, was he ever there in the first place?

So begins another nail-biting, adrenaline-fuelled adventure for Reacher. The present can be tense, but the past can be worse. That’s for damn sure.

My Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

This is the latest in a long line of books on the same character. All the books are much the same. Reacher wanders into a small town, something is wrong, he gets involved, it all kicks off, violence ensues, Reacher comes out on top against the odds and then wanders away again. As usual there’s a strong female police officer character to contend with.

This time the story delves a little bit into his past which explains a bit more about his character adding a bit more meat to the basic story.

Many people would class these as pulp fiction with the same old story trotted out in a similar location but I enjoy them. Reacher is a no-nonsense character, very black and white. While violence comes naturally to him he has a clear sense of right and wrong and usually ends on the side of good. He’s like a cowboy character set in modern life, a modern day Clint Eastwood style character.

The stories and characters have just enough depth to keep you interested, the writing is nippy and trots along at a fast pace, enough to make you want to keep reading but not so fast you get lost in the details.

If you haven’t read any then start at the beginning. I interspersed them with other books so not to get bored with his style but I definitely recommend them.