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Summary: A tale of murder, investigation, duplicity and integrity.
Review: This is a mystery with so many historical and social undercurrents that you must be very knowledgeable about the atmosphere of the times to understand them all. The setting is New Year's Day in 1990 and they are giddy times in Europe. The German people are smashing the hated symbol of the communist conquest of Eastern Europe, the Berlin Wall, to pieces. For all practical purposes, the Cold War is over and the Western democracies are victorious. However, military people who are paid to think ahead are not altogether happy.
The political changes in Europe means that the massive armored divisions the American military keeps in Western Europe are no longer needed. Therefore, the American military needs to drastically rethink and retool in order to be able to respond to the new conditions. As is always the case when there are drastic changes, there are those who are opposed and those who see the opportunity for personal and professional advancement. This climate leads to ruthless actions, and in this case, the trail leads to senior MP Jack Reacher.
A general dies of a heart attack in a seedy motel, apparently in the midst of a dalliance with a prostitute. Reacher is called in to investigate the case, and there are many unusual features. The general went well out of his way for the dalliance and his briefcase is missing. Since the general was involved in strategic planning, the briefcase most likely contained very sensitive materials. The plot quickly thickens when the general's wife and a gay soldier are both brutally murdered. Shortly after that, the commander of the elite Delta force is also found murdered in what presents the appearance of a drug deal gone wrong.
There are many twists and turns to the plot, and the solution is an interesting one in that the culprits are the obvious ones, but the path to the conclusion is not obvious. It involves the army looking after its' own and attempting to avoid scandal, the presence of gays in the military and the politics of military downsizing. It turns out that the motivation for the murders involved all three themes.
As a subplot, Reacher's mother dies in the story. After her death, an old French disabled veteran hands him a box containing material showing a side of his mother that he never knew. She was involved in the French resistance in World War II as a child, posing as the relative of downed Allied airmen so that they could be smuggled out of France and rejoin their units.
This is a gripping tale. I thought I knew who the culprits were early in the book. I was right but wrong about the reasons and the circumstances. Reacher is the ultimate tough guy, able to easily take on veteran barroom bouncers and Delta force members. However, he is also smart and possesses a great deal of integrity. At the end, he sacrifices his rank to protect the memory of a man who sold him out rather than lie.
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Summary: CSI-Style Crime Solving with a Military Background
Review: "The Enemy" is the eighth book in the Jack Reacher series, but being a prequel, it's still a fine place to begin to cut your teeth on this fascinating albeit terminally unlucky protagonist. It happened to be the first Reacher book that I read and it's been a great primer for the older books in the series.
The book will be of obvious interest to anyone who's into the whole CSI-wherever mania. The backdrop of the U.S. military at the functional crossroads of the fall of the Berlin Wall is an interesting one that I haven't seen explored before in this sort of thriller.
Reacher's experiences in this book also go a long way toward explaining and justifying his cynical worldview and tenacious pursuit of right over wrong that otherwise might seem to be a bit of overkill when considering only the other books in the series. The author made a great choice in providing this prequel as a framework for the rest of his protagonist's life.
Best of all, the book is just plain well-written. The subtle mark of good writing is that its flow makes it virtually transparent to the reader. I find that I have to force my way through so many other lesser authors' stilted verbiage and clumsy narrative; this is not the case with "The Enemy". I've read many other people complain about the rat-a-tat-tat style of brief stream-of-conscious phrases that Child employs. While there probably is too much of this convention in earlier Reacher books, it's not so here. The incomplete thoughts and unfinished observations here only serve to give credibility to the first-person voice he employs.
The story is a true page-turner a la Harlan Coben when he's on his game. While it does lag a bit past the halfway point, the story wraps with a conclusion that is exciting without being over-the-top, interesting without being implausible. It's more than you get from the vast majority of thrillers out there right now.
"The Enemy" is a highly-recommendable piece of suspense/detective fiction and an excellent starting point in the series of Jack Reacher novels.
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Summary: Military Noir...
Review: ...is what I'd label this work--if you are expecting a "WHOO-RAH" type of mystery, at ease, soldier--but if you want a mystery novel that delves into the dark side of the military society--ATTENTION! I liked the mystery (although I solved part of it by the 1st 100 pages), it was well-constructed with a minimum of red herrings--I also liked the Reacher family backstory, Reacher finally shows some emotion without weakening his character but I would've liked to know more about his father--the brief comments and conversations on the collaspe of the Berlin Wall and its effect on the military's future were succient and informative and mostly revelant to the plot--I really liked the plot device that not only put Reacher's life in dire jeopardy but also gave his solving of the mystery a set time frame to complete before... I'm still finding Child's female characters overblown as they all have to be just as "macho" as Reacher and they all seems to be a parody of Angelina Jolie! This is probably done to draw in female readers and is just one negative on the overall novel's eval--this book should be the one to bring the Reacher series out of its cult following and into the limelight...
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Summary: THIS NOVEL LIFTS THE SERIES TO A NEW HEIGHT!!!!
Review: Here's a quick plug for the PERSUADER. Though I didn't write a review on that particular book, I considered it to be a solid 6-Star novel (a 5-Star rating being the highest that can be given on Amazon.com) and wondered if Lee Child would be able to top it. I now have my answer with THE ENEMY. In the newest "Jack Reacher" novel (think Nelson DeMille's THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER), the author takes our famous ex-MP back to 1990 when Reacher was still a Major in the Army and what led to his dissatisfaction with the Military. Suddenly transferred without any warning from the hot action of Panama to the quiet life of Fort Bird Army Base in North Carolina (I'm from N.C. and I've never heard of Fort Bird, which makes me think that it's actually supposed to be Fort Bragg-the home of U.S. Army Special Forces and Delta Force), Reacher finds himself immediately caught up the unexpected death of a visiting U.S. General from Germany. Though deemed "death by natural causes," the late General's briefcase turns up missing, which sets up a series of future murders that may, or may not, be connected. There's a military agenda in the General's missing briefcase, dealing with a huge transformation that the military is about to go through with the downfall of Soviet Russia. Everybody seems to be secretly trying to get their hands on the agenda, while at the same time blocking Reacher's investigation. When the deaths of two Delta Force soldiers occur and the rumor starts flowing around that Reacher killed them, our hero finds himself combating not only a hidden enemy within the higher Army's echelon, but also being placed at the top of Delta Force's hit list. The only person who believes in him is a black, female officer in the MPs named Summer, and she's more than willing to tangle with whomever gets in her way. Reacher only has a short amount of time to find the answers before the members of Delta Force decide to take matters into their own hands to get revenge for their dead comrades. THE ENEMY had me staying up way past my bedtime, trying to figure out what was really happening, asking myself who the villains actually were, and questioning whether or not Reacher was tough enough to take on the members of Delta Force (yes, he is!). As usual, Lee Child is at the top of his form in writing and plot development and creating enough suspense to keep the reader hanging on for dear life. You're with Reacher every step of the way as he plows ahead with clear intelligence and brute force, defying direct orders from superior officers and death threats from the country's most highly trained killers. The author makes you cheer out loud for Reacher and his code of honor, realizing that this is the type of man you would want covering your back in a fox hole. Read THE ENEMY and you'll become an instant fan of Jack Reacher. No brag, just fact!!!
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Summary: Engrossing!
Review: I have read all the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child and was somewhat dubious about what I call a prequel to the current Reacher. Well, I'm no longer dubious. This book works, and is an engrossing insight into what makes Reacher tick. What a great read!
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Summary: Reacher Rocks
Review: I have read all the Reachers series and one thing I always wanted was a "Take us back to when he was in the army" well that's exactly what we got with The Enemy, clever the twists and turns through-out the book had me reading this book in one sitting. Great book Reacher Rocks!!
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Summary: Tightly Plotted Right Until The End.
Review: I loved this book. This was the first time I'd entered Jack Reacher's world and I can't wait to go back. Based on some other people's reviews, this book is a flash back to the start of Reachers career which makes sense once I got to the end.
A general is found dead near an Army base. Everything is seemingly routine, appearing he's died of natural causes, until they find his wife murdered at their home. The action plays out as fast as the rapid fire dialogue, with a do-good protagonist who has a sense of humor as well as iron fists, and a feisty female lieutenant who risks her career getting involved.My only question at the end of the book is: Why isn't this author a bigger sensation?
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Summary: An Excellent, Gripping Read
Review: I picked up Lee Child's The Enemy based on a number of recommendations, but not really knowing what the novel would be all about. The Enemy is an excellent thriller/mystery and I can see why Child's Jack Reacher series has so many followers (but don't understand why there aren't more). This is an excellent, well-written novel, with enough plot twists to keep you interested, some out of left field, some you may figure out on your own, but none that will disappoint. The novel opens on New Years' Eve 1989. Jack Reacher is an MP who has just been reassigned to an army base in North Carolina, and investigates the death of a general in a motel nearby. It looks like a heart attack, but things aren't adding up. Other, seemingly unrelated deaths and Reacher's got to figure it all out. The ending is both satisfying and plausible. Very well done. Enjoy.
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Summary: Lee Child Has done it again
Review: Lee Child has become one of my favorite authors and I have read all his books. I really enjoyed this book because it gave some background into Jack Reacher, Lee Childs main character. Like all his other novels I found "The Enemy" well written, suspenseful and hard to put down. I look forward to his next Jack Reacher novel.
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Summary: A master work from a master craftsman
Review: Lee Child writes books the way Miles Davis played music. Every composition contains recognizable elements, and yet every composition is completely different.In a Lee Child composition, some of the recognizable elements are: clean, elegant prose; a tight plot; abundant twists and turns; and more than one heart stopping surprise. An added element in "The Enemy" is that this book not only stops the heart, but tugs at the heartstrings. The eighth Jack Reacher novel, "The Enemy" takes place in 1990, as the Berlin Wall is coming down and the world is drastically changing. In the Army, Jack Reacher's life-long home, change is not good. It's an enemy to be defeated by any means necessary. Reacher is a man who has dedicated his life to doing the right thing, to protecting the Army. Now he's faced with an awful task: he must protect the Army from itself. In seven previous Jack Reacher novels, we've come to know him as a loner, a man who cannot and will not end his chosen life of wandering isolation. In "The Enemy" we meet a younger Reacher, not yet hardened by the choices this case will force upon him. This Reacher is just a bit warmer, just a bit more accessible, with an easier sense of humor. When he's inexplicably transferred from Panama to Fort Bird, North Carolina, Reacher doesn't think much of it - hey, it's the Army - but he soon discovers that this is no ordinary assignment. A heart attack victim at the local no-tell motel is a two-star general. The general's wife is found murdered. Reacher's commanding officer is replaced, suspiciously, by a vicious idiot who wants nothing more than to make Reacher the fall guy for the entire mess. And in Paris, Reacher's mother is very, very ill. Partnering with a young, female lieutenant, Reacher sets out to solve the mystery in spite of the roadblocks in his path. And, typically, he refuses to let anything or anyone stop him. Just as typically, Reacher is determined to do the right thing, no matter what the personal cost may be. In this case, the personal cost will be high - maybe more than Reacher can afford. The question at the heart of the book is, who or what really is the enemy that Reacher has to fight? And does he have any hope at all of winning the battle? Lee Child has written another gripping novel, one with heart and soul, suspense and passion - a masterwork from a master craftsman.
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