Rating: 
Summary: We have met the enemy and they are us.
Review: Lee Child's "The Enemy," which is set in 1990, is an engrossing prequel to his popular Jack Reacher series. At the time, the Berlin Wall was coming down and Communism was weakening. The Cold War was almost over, the political climate was changing, and the generals in the army were coming to the realization that they, too, would have to change.Those of us who have followed Jack Reacher's escapades know him as a footloose civilian with few ties to anyone. In "The Enemy," Child goes back to Reacher's days as an investigator for the 110th Special Unit in the United States Army. Major Reacher is puzzled when a series of unexplained transfers has many commanders being moved around like pieces on a chessboard. Reacher himself has been abruptly transferred, without explanation, from Panama to Ford Bird, North Carolina. One night, Reacher is informed that a two-star general named Kramer has been found dead of an apparent heart attack in a seedy motel. Reacher is called in to keep the matter from becoming an embarrassment to the army. What Reacher doesn't know is that Kramer's death is about to set off a deadly chain reaction. "The Enemy" is an exciting and intricate novel about the many ways that people bend the rules to get what they want in life. The large cast of characters includes a beautiful and brilliant lieutenant named Summer, who helps Reacher investigate a series of homicides even after he has been ordered to call off his inquiries. Reacher and Summer risk their careers and their lives to follow the clues wherever they may lead. Child is an accomplished action-adventure writer, and he maintains suspense nicely as the book's plot becomes more and more complex. The novel's sole weakness is its implausibility. Some of the events and the motivations in the book strain credulity. However, if you are willing to suspend disbelief, you will enjoy rooting for Reacher. He is a strong-willed and tough individual who is shrewd, loyal, and honest to a fault. When he finds out that his values are not shared by many of his fellow soldiers, Reacher begins to lose faith in the army. "The Enemy" reveals the genesis of the Jack Reacher we know today--a cynical loner, who is slow to trust and reluctant to form long-term relationships. Writing a prequel was a smart move for Lee Child, and it has paid off.
Rating: 
Summary: Reacher military career crisis
Review: Lee Child's latest excellent Jack Reacher offering is a prequel chronicling an emotional and conflicted segment of Reacher's military career. Reacher, a major in the military police and Army executive officer in Panama during the U.S. mission to overthrow Noreiaga is abruptly transfered days before New Years Day 1990 to Ft. Bird, North Carolina. He soon learns that other top notch executive officer MP's have inexplicably been transfered to new posts. Reacher's commanding officer, the venerable Colonel Garber has also been curiously restationed. It is a time of major change in the world. The Berlin Wall is about to topple and Communism is disintegrating creating a difficult transition for the cold war based U.S. Army. Within days of Reacher's new posting in Ft. Bird, a two star general Kramer based in an armored division in Germany is found dead in a seedy hotel close to the base. He was in transit to a conference in California with his staff. Sensitive documents within his possesion appear to be missing. Reacher is summoned to investigate and led to a strip club bar across the way. His theory is that the general sustained a heart attack during an affair with a prostitute. In the bar filled with off duty soldiers, he questions a special forces sergeant Carbone. Normally a married general expiring during an illicit tryst would probably be covered up to protect the reputation of the senior officer. However within days, General Kramer's wife and Sgt. Carbone are both found brutally bludgeoned to death. Reacher now has a major problem on his hands. Without the backing of his trusted C.O., he joins forces with a capable young female African American lieutenant Summers to help him decipher the murders. If he doesn't have enough on his mind, Reacher learns from his brother Joe that their mother, living in Paris, is dying of cancer. Reacher finds the time together with his brother to visit his mom. While there they learn a shocking secret part of their mother's wartime experiences in her native France. This serves to bring the sons even closer emotionally to her, making her imminent demise more painful. Child skillfully conjures up some previously unexplored facets of Reacher's psyche in "The Enemy", while immersing him within a professional dilemma which has the potential to alter his future.
Rating:
Summary: Jack Reacher is terrific
Review: Superman lives!!! Trying to ignore the glaring mistakes of our military in all Lee Child's adventure stories, I have read every one of them and enjoyed them all. Being British, Lee prefers writing about U.S. military but that's OK and I can forgive the booboo's because the story is quick moving and he paints Reacher as quite a hunk! He's invincible and heals quickly! :D This prequel explains a lot about Reacher's motives and background. His family situation is so sad! And Joe is somewhere deep in the Killing Floor. If you take this book as gospel, you will be disappointed. Just be glad you can recognize the miliary errors and just enjoy it as a good exciting read.
Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Change of Gears
Review: This is Child's eighth Jack Reacher novel. In the first seven, Reacher is the strongest, toughest, smartest action hero. The books were fun and exciting, but did not require much thought to get through the plots.
In The Enemy, Child has changed gears. The book is set when Reacher was a young major in the military police (age 29) in 1989-90. This is a pure police procedure mystery set in the military which is a setting obviously well-known to Child. In this book, Reacher solves the mystery with brains and legwork. There is only one true action scene and that is minimal to the book.
I enjoyed this book more than Child's others. It had more substance and thought. Reacher was treated as a developing personality rather than the automaton he seems to approach in the other books in the series.
This military police mystery is highly recommended both to Reacher fans and fans of mysteries in general. As a sidenote, you do not have to have read the other books in the Reacher series, since this one predates the others in the character's life. Enjoy a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Jack Reacher, The Early Years
Review: This is the eighth installment in the Jack Reacher series. What makes this book unique in the series is that it is a prequel. It is New Year's Day 1990 when Jack Reacher, an Army MP stationed in Fort Bird, NC, gets a call about a two-star general found in a sleazy hotel dead of a heart attack in a potentially comprising position. Missing from the scene is the briefcase that contained an outline of a meeting with the army's elite. Reacher, assisted an ambitious lieutenant MP drive four hours to break the news to the general's widow, only to find her murdered. The bodies really start piling up when a gay Delta Force soldier is found dead. Reacher's investigation is hindered when his commanding officer is mysteriously reposted and is replaced by an officer with an agenda. That agenda is to make sure Reacher does not solve the crimes. Not only is this an intricate and compelling military mystery, but we finally get more insight into Reacher's personal story. His brother and mother have some pivotal scenes that were very touching. The good part is that if you never read any of the Reacher books, this is not a bad one with which to start. If I had a complaint about the book is that it started to drag a bit in the middle of the book. There are such a number of different characters that I started to feel bogged down in trying to remember them all.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm Sure His Other Books Are Better
Review: This is the only book by this author that I have read. The first half of the book was okay. Then the author rambled here and there to fill up the pages for the second half of the book. The main character is interesting. Too bad the book isn't.
Rating:
Summary: Sizzles with suspense and action!
Review: Told in the first person, Lee Child's "The Enemy" is the prequel in his electrifying Jack Reacher series. The pace of this intricate tale crackles from page one and accelerates from there. It is New Year's Eve, 1990 and the Berlin Wall is crumbling and Reacher is still a rising star in the Military Police. Reacher gets the call to "control the situation" of the death of a two star general found in a fleabag motel. Soon the general's wife is found murdered, his briefcase (containing the agenda to a high level meeting) missing, and a Delta Force soldier murdered,. The convoluted clues point to Reacher! A deceitful CO, a Psy-Ops officer and meddling civilians complicate Reacher's progress. Laconic loner Reacher is joined by the ambitious, resourceful, aggressive Lt. Summer in the quest for the truth. "The Enemy" is the least violent Reacher novel...relying on mystery and astute police procedural techniques to move the plot with speed and strength. This is the career crunching case that infuses cynicism into Reacher's psyche and transforms him into a dangerous man. The cover-ups and political conspiracies compel him to perform a surreptitious investigation with no patience for rules. The investigation ends in a staggering, unexpected showdown. While the bad guys get their comeuppance, the degenerates who actually are in charge still rule the roost. It is no wonder Reacher eventually leaves the military for his lone wolf existence. "The Enemy" is an intelligent, thoughtful, suspenseful, hard charging narrative that will enthrall you from page one. Perhaps Lee Child's finest effort.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: Waiting for a new Jack Reacher book is like waiting for Christmas. And like most good holidays, Lee Child usually delivers a super read. This is no exception. For pure thriller and mystery entertainment, this is great fun.
Rating:
Summary: Pitch Perfect
Review: What is more gratifying and stimulating than observing the work of an absolute master? In what has become an unparalleled series Lee Child offers us a prequel, with fascinating personal elements, plus all the usual--brilliant plotting, skilled characterization, an attractive protagonist, and a wonderful sense of place, the latter all the more impressive considering that Child is an Englishman who characteristically depicts rural as well as urban America. Only one quibble--this time his Englishness peeks through on a couple occasions. Very few Americans would use the word 'greengrocer' and in the U.S. Army we would speak of Armor officers and Armor branch, not Armored. Having said that, the Reacher books remain the standard against which all mystery/thriller writing should be measured. I had a fresh delivery of new books that included THE ENEMY, all books by such masters as Parker, Block, Connelly, Kellerman, and a fugitive title by Charles Willeford. I opened the Amazon box and ripped out THE ENEMY. Dessert first.
| 
