Night School by Lee Child

In March-April I read Night School, published 2016 purchased at local Library book sale and my favorite author character.  Soon I will have read everyone of these mystery, suspense, action novels that all center on Jack Reacher./  From time to time I pause from reading these and try something different but for pur entertainment I always prefer these.  I am excited to learn that Amazon is  underway with a contract to make the Reacher novels into Amazon movies   and with an actor who more physically resembles the character Reacher than Tom Cruise who was in the only other  movie made some time ago.  This one is  369 pages.  And as with allthe others I have read another 5 *****.  

There are some great descriptions throughout this book.  Typical of the good writing.   For example, page 242,.." ..Wolfgang Schlump on a stool at the bar. Not an impressive specimen.  Dark hair, dark eyes, lean dark face, built like a shivering dog.  But useful.  About to be more useful."

In Night School Reacher is still in the Army which differs from the previous where he was out and on his own.  Several old Army rules are pointed out that become ingrained in Reacher and will show up in other novels,  "eat when you can."  Reacher recruits the best soldier he knows to help him in his task to find the American who has been leaking and now demanding  a hundred million dollars from Jihadists in Germany.  The soldier is Sgt. Frances Neagley, perhaps she will be in other novels.  Page 30, " She was in woodland pattern battledress uniform, the sleeves neatly rolled, her forearms on the table.  She had dark hair, cut short and dark eyes and a tan.  Her skin looked soft but he was sure it wasn't.  He had seen her in action.  She was fast and exceptionally strong.  She would feel hard and solid underneath.  But he didn't know.  He had never touched her.  Never even shaken her hand..".  

Reacher gets chewed out by his boss for this mission, Sinclair who knows she needs his skills and tolerates him but tries to set him straight.  "So you broke the law but only because you thought you had a good reason.  You and everyone else.  There are lots of good reasons.  Too many good reasons.  Which is why we have a special structure to decide between them. when they compare one against the other.  That structure is called the National Security Council.  We weigh things up and we judge priorities.  You just blew a year's hard work, major.  You should resign.  Before the after action report comes out.  You'll get a better deal that way........." 

 

 Reacher will have his own hunches and tactics and cause grief for Sinclain and others but  through the twists he is victorious.