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The Affair (Jack Reacher #16)

4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 · rating details · 17,441 ratings · 1,748 reviews

Everything starts somewhere. . . .For elite military cop Jack Reacher, that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A cover up. A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington. Reacher is ordered undercover—to find out e...more

Hardcover, 432 pages

Published September 29th 2011 by Bantam Press (first published January 1st 2011)

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Jan 19, 2012 Jane Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense

Mostly solving a mystery. It’s fun because it’s Reacher.

STORY BRIEF:
Books 1 to 15 in the Jack Reacher series flow in chronological order. All of them are set after Reacher left the army in March 1997 except for Book 8 (The Enemy) and this one. This book 16 goes back in time and is set in March 1997. It describes Reacher’s last investigation as an MP before he left the army.

A woman is murdered in a small town in Mississippi. The Kellum army base is nearby. They army is hoping that the murderer is...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Terri rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Let me say first that I will always choose to listen to a Jack Reacher novel instead of reading it simply because I am so impressed with the talent of Dick Hill in bringing the series to life.

The Reacher series is a favorite of mine, and I'm not sure exactly why, since I am not a fan of vigilante justice. I suppose, though, that the lone, mysterious stranger who rights wrongs and stands up for those who cannot stand up for themselves is something of an archetype. Unlike many characters of this t...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Tough guy hero fans, thriller/mystery readers

Shelves: favorite-or-autobuy-author, scary-sexy-cool-dangerous-hero, tough-as-nails-heroes, thriller-suspense, mystery, small-town-slice-of-life, soldier-or-military, hero-to-die-for, antihero, avenging-angel-vigilante, tough-as-nails-heroine, sheriff-marshal-lawman, not-romance-but-has-love-story, yearly-reading-challenge, dangerous-hero-2012-general-reading, set-in-mississippi, southern-setting, very-tall-hero, action-adventure-aficionados-2012-c, 2012-sky-s-the-limit-club

As my second book in the Jack Reacher series (although #16 in publication and a prequel in sequence), The Affair wasn't a shabby audio read at all. The narrator Dick Hill has a terse, noirish delivery that adds to the story. He sounds a bit older than I would associate with Reacher, but he definitely has Reacher's 'you ain't the boss of me' attitude and conveys his ruthless, efficient approach to solving injustices. I think he is a good choice to narrate for the Jack Reacher books. I do have to...more As my second book in the Jack Reacher series (although #16 in publication and a prequel in sequence), The Affair wasn't a shabby audio read at all. The narrator Dick Hill has a terse, noirish delivery that adds to the story. He sounds a bit older than I would associate with Reacher, but he definitely has Reacher's 'you ain't the boss of me' attitude and conveys his ruthless, efficient approach to solving injustices. I think he is a good choice to narrate for the Jack Reacher books. I do have to admit that I was giggling like a schoolgirl on the love scenes. I can't help it. Audiobook love scenes always strike me that way, and especially with an older male narrator who sort of gave them a 'dirty old man' vibe!

It's interesting. This seems like a simplistic storyline, but when everything came together, it wasn't. The Affair is the story of small town secrets tied in with the bigger and murkier waters of powerful people who feel the impunity to do whatever they want. Child kept me guessing. I went back and forth about what was going on and who was behind it. He really had me going and thinking that the killer was someone I really didn't want it to be. In the end, I was like, "So that's not the killer?" That was well done.

Child has an interesting way of being very brisk about describing some aspects of his narrative, but descriptive in a vivid, emotive way about others. I felt immersed in this small town with its racial divisions, brutal poverty and a seething sense of injustice that comes from the eternal 'haves versus the have nots'. As it does to Reacher, injustice sits heavy on my stomach, so even though Reacher can be highly ruthless, in a way it's a rewarding thing to know that there is an avenging angel out there at least in the fictional world to fight for those who have been disenfranchised and denied of their rights and their voices. I suppose that's why Reacher is around. When you have these kinds of situations with so much brutality and casual discarding of lives, it makes you want a meaty fist of vengeance like Reacher who is there to clean up the mess. His descriptions of Army/military life also grabbed my interest. I don't know if he got all that right, but it sounded plausible to me. At least some of the governmental parts struck a familiar note.

Reacher is an interesting character. He's really kind of a basic sort. His view of life is so simple and without the extra qualifiers that most characters seem to have. He understands authority, but he also has a habit of doing what he thinks is right even if that's against the dictates of authority.

Sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux was an intriguing character. Ex-marine and sheriff of Carter's Crossing, the daughter of the long-term sheriff. She's a bit of a study in contrasts. The romance between Reacher and Deveraux was fairly basic, although Child effectively conveys the attraction and mutual respect between them. Neither is a good bet for a long-term relationship, but I still wished that things might work out in that direction (view spoiler).

The Affair was a good book, but I felt an emptiness when it ended. I don't know if it was just the stripped down nature of the overall plot or that I felt unsatisfied with the overall nature of things that went down. It bothered me to see those people die like that and how it was handled. And while Reacher did what he could to make things right, it doesn't bring those people back, or prevent it from happening again. And Reacher pays a heavy price in the end to do what he did, or maybe for being the kind of man he is. Was that a deliberate thing on Child's part? Maybe. Overall, a pretty good book that I'd recommend to fans of thriller/suspense and kickbutt heroes.(less)

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Oct 31, 2011 S.L. Pierce rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I pre-ordered this book and am dying to start but I promised myself I would get all my work done first. Don't worry, I'm sure I will be reviewing by this weekend!
Warning - I love all his books and can't imagine this one being any different!

Update: Well, I finished reading this book and had to think hard about what to write for a review. I love Jack Reacher and I love all of Lee Child's Books but is this the beginning of the end? Is Child tired? Yes, Reacher was Reacher in this book but it all f...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Melody rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series, mystery-thrillers

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 27, 2012 Michele rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved it. But then I love all Jack Reacher novels. Kept me hooked. Onto the next

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Nov 01, 2012 Maddy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, tops

PROTAGONIST: Jack Reacher
SERIES: #16
SETTING: Mississippi
RATING: 4.5

THE AFFAIR is the sixteenth book in the extremely successful Jack Reacher series. Most of those books deal with Reacher’s life after leaving the military. He is basically a drifter who travels around the US, encounters trouble and deals with it. Back in 2004, Lee Child wrote a prequel (THE ENEMY) which was set during the time that Reacher was still in the military. THE AFFAIR is also a prequel book, which follows him during the t...more PROTAGONIST: Jack Reacher
SERIES: #16
SETTING: Mississippi
RATING: 4.5

THE AFFAIR is the sixteenth book in the extremely successful Jack Reacher series. Most of those books deal with Reacher’s life after leaving the military. He is basically a drifter who travels around the US, encounters trouble and deals with it. Back in 2004, Lee Child wrote a prequel (THE ENEMY) which was set during the time that Reacher was still in the military. THE AFFAIR is also a prequel book, which follows him during the time immediately prior to his leaving the Army.

It’s 1997. There is a secret Ranger training school in Carter Crossing, Mississippi. When a local woman is savagely murdered, Major Duncan Munro is the military policeman who is assigned to go to the base and conduct an investigation to determine if the killer is in the service. Jack Reacher is sent undercover to make sure Munro and the local authorities are doing the right thing. Of course, the military is hoping that one of the locals is to blame. Shortly after his arrival, Reacher is made by the local sheriff, a former Marine named Elizabeth Deveraux. Wary at first, she begins to trust Reacher and they work together on the investigation.

They soon find that there is a pattern of killing involving at least four women. The evidence points at the fort’s commander, Reed Riley, who also happens to be a Senator’s son. Of course, Reacher isn’t afraid to rattle things around in the military establishment, which causes him career damage. Child keeps things quite suspenseful, and the question of who-dun-it is a moving target. Even Deveraux falls under suspicion.

One thing that I thought that Child did extremely well was to set up the framework of the post-military Jack Reacher persona. We see where the beginnings of some of his trademark activities, such as traveling with just a folding toothbrush and no clothing, or the phrase “he said nothing” originated. Child has also sketched out the beginnings of the situation which is the main plot point for the first Reacher book, THE KILLING FLOOR.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE AFFAIR. Elizabeth Deveraux was a great character. It was fun to see Child incorporate elements and people that appear in the other books, such as Francis Neagley and Leon Garber. I found the book to be one of the best in the series.
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Nov 02, 2012 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Mike by: aggie_mike2003@yahoo.com

Shelves: great-thriller-reads, fiction, charity-2012

I should give The Affair zero stars just on principle. Lee Child apparently agrees with the casting of that little dickhead Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. Really? YGBSM!! There is no freaking way that Cruise can remotely approach the kick-ass power of Reacher in a fight with a group of bad guys. Here is one fight in the book that would be epic fail if little Tommy C tries to fill the part:

(view spoiler)...more I should give The Affair zero stars just on principle. Lee Child apparently agrees with the casting of that little dickhead Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. Really? YGBSM!! There is no freaking way that Cruise can remotely approach the kick-ass power of Reacher in a fight with a group of bad guys. Here is one fight in the book that would be epic fail if little Tommy C tries to fill the part:

(view spoiler)[Basic rule of thumb with six guys: you have to be quick. You can’t spend more than the bare minimum of time on any one individual. Which means you have to hit each of them one time only. But that’s the minimum. You can’t hit a guy less than once.

I rehearsed my moves. I figured I would start in the middle. One two three, bang bang bang. The third hit would be the hardest. The third guy would be moving. The first two wouldn’t. They would be rooted to the spot. Shock and surprise. They would go down easy. But the third guy would be reacting by the time I got to him. And unpredictably. He might have a coherent plan in mind, but it wouldn’t be in motion yet. He would still be jerking around with uncontrolled reflex panic.

So I was prepared to miss out on the third guy. Maybe jump straight to the fourth. The third guy might run. Certainly at least one of them would. I have never seen a pack that stayed together after the first few heads hit the pavement.

I said, “Guys, please, I just took a shower.”

There was no answer, which was what I had privately predicted. They all stepped forward again, which is what I expected them to do. So I met them halfway, which seemed polite. I took two long strides, the second of them powering off the edge of the curbstone, two hundred and fifty pounds of moving mass, and I hit the third guy from the left with a straight right that would have taken his teeth out if he’d had any to start with. As it was it snapped his head back and turned his spine and shoulders to jelly and he was gone, from the fight and from my vision, because by then I was already jerking left and scything my right elbow into the second guy, horizontal across the bridge of his nose, a colossal blow full of torque from my waist and full of force from the fact that I was basically falling into him. I saw blood in the air and stamped down hard and reversed my momentum and used the same elbow backward on a guy I sensed behind me. I could tell by the impact he was flinching away and I had caught him on the ear, so I made an instantaneous mental note he might need more attention later, and then I jerked forward again and changed the angle of attack by kicking the fourth guy full-on in the groin, a satisfying bone-and-flesh crunch that simultaneously folded him in half and lifted him off his feet.

Three seconds, three down, one taking an eight count.

Nobody ran.

Another mental note: Mississippi hooligans are made of sterner stuff than most. Or else they’re just plain dumber.

The fifth guy got as far as scrabbling at my shoulder. Some kind of an attempt at a punch, or maybe he was going for a choke hold. Maybe he planned to keep me still while the sixth guy landed some blows. I couldn’t tell. But whatever, he was sorely disappointed in his ambitions. I exploded backward at him, my whole body moving, my torso twisting, my elbow whipping back, and I caught him in the cheek, and then I used the bounce to jam forward once more, in search of the lone survivor. The sixth guy. He caught his heel on the curb and his arms came up like a scarecrow, which I took as an invitation to pop him in the chest, right in the solar plexus, which was like plugging him into an electrical outlet. He hopped and danced and went down in a heap.

The guy I had hit on the ear was pawing at it like it was coming off. His eyes were closed, which made it not much of a fair fight, but those are always my favorite kind. I lined up and smacked a left hook into his chin.

He went down like a dropped marionette.

I breathed out.

Six for six. (hide spoiler)]

Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher? There is no way I can go to the upcoming film with him in the lead role and anyone seeing the movie before reading a Reacher book will be totally confused if they go read any book in the series. If Lee Child is going with current casting for turning his books into movies, he needs to rewrite the character. And if he did, no one would be interested.

Now that I ranted enough, I’ll get back to our regular programming and give the book 4.5 to 5 Stars. This book gives needed background on how Jack Reacher came to be. Child goes back and tells the story of the assignment where Reacher uncovered corruption that subsequently led to his leaving the Army early. Some brutal killings have taken place near an army post in Mississippi, home to a special group of soldiers carrying out clandestine missions. Reacher is sent to help determine if the army has any “exposure” to the murders. The local female sheriff is a great counterpart to Reacher and there are some great scenes between the two. The ultimate conspiracy is a bit stretched but the ending ties it up nicely.

Great characters here and excellent pacing right to the end. I did not think I would enjoy the story set back in the mid-90’s but I did…a lot. If you haven’t read a Jack Reacher novel yet, you could start here and go on to the rest of the series. If you are a big fan of this series, this is a great story, not a must-read, but still very good. I have to say that Lee Child, born and raised in the UK, has an amazing talent for American regional nuances and US military culture. He sounds authentic, like someone born and raised in the US and a career military guy. One heck of a talent.
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Lynn I have decided to boycott any more movies filmed with totally inappropriate casting when the "star"/lead role is also the "producer." I guess authors...more
Jan 05, 2013 05:24am

Mike Lynn wrote: "I have decided to boycott any more movies filmed with totally inappropriate casting when the "star"/lead role is also the "producer.".......more
updated Apr 07, 2013 04:31pm

Oct 25, 2012 Chamberlon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For Jack Reacher fans, and fans of thrillers alike, this one is a must read. The story is engaging, and the characters are vivid. In this one, we get the story right before Reacher leaves the military and begins the second part of his life as a man who is constantly just passing through. He teams up with a lady cop of a town and as par for the course, gets into deep conflicts that I will not reveal; the kind of trouble that only he can fix.

Do yourselves a big favor and add "The Affair" to your m...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Tijanailich rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been a Jack Reacher fan for years and usually enjoy Child's novels, always finding some basic humanity in the themes of the lone MP against great odds and a corrupt system.

While this novel is well-crafted and has a complex plot narrated in Child's terse style, I did not care for Jack Reacher in this story. Too much unwarranted killing and too little compassion make the main character seem as malevolent as the bad guys he is after.

This version is an audio book narrated by Dick Hill, another...more

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Oct 04, 2011 April rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lee Child is back in this book. We can all finally leave Despair for Hope. Reacher was everything he is supposed to be as was the plot.
But Child took another step. He included sex scenes which he never did before. Is this Hollywood? I understand all his books have been optioned. Also, I have heard - but I cannot understand - that Tom Cruise will play Reacher. All 6 and a half feet, 250 or however many pounds. How is that possible? And isn't Tom Cruise too familiar to become Reacher? Mission Imp...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Al added it · review of another edition

With Reacher, #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child has created “a series that stands in the front rank of modern thrillers” (The Washington Post). Everything starts somewhere. . . .For elite military cop Jack Reacher, that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A coverup.A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington. Reacher is or

...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Susan Johnson rated it 3 of 5 stars

LEE Child Sells Out

I love Jack Reacher so much and I feel like Lee Child has just sold him out for money. It is so offensive that Child sold the screen rights to Tom Cruise so he could play Reacher. It didn't seem to matter that Reacher is a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier just to name two obvious reasons he's so obviously miscast. And now it seems like Child is writing the book to support Cruise's portrayal. He usually mentions Reacher size frequently but in this book it's just so casu...more

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May 13, 2013 Tara Gabor rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am a huge Jack Reacher/Lee Child fan, and will keep reading Jack Reacher novels. #16, the Affair, has a lot of good qualities, classic Reacher, classic Child. Jack Reacher is in the service and sent on a mission, undercover, though that doesn't last long. As usual, there is more to the mission and JR is in it up to his eyeballs. As a thorough and inspiring investigator, he uncovers facts while fighting off the locals. One of the bits I enjoyed the most in this book was Reacher pitted against a...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Jill rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fans of Lee Child may have wondered why Jack Reacher, Child’s popular protagonist, left the army. (Even in the first book in the series, Reacher was already an ex-Army M.P.) Child answers that question in The Affair, by going back in time to 1997 for the termination of Reacher’s military career, when Reacher was 36.

Most of the action takes place near Fort Kelham, a fictional army ranger base in Northern Mississippi, where Reacher has been sent to make sure the army is not implicated in the murde...more Fans of Lee Child may have wondered why Jack Reacher, Child’s popular protagonist, left the army. (Even in the first book in the series, Reacher was already an ex-Army M.P.) Child answers that question in The Affair, by going back in time to 1997 for the termination of Reacher’s military career, when Reacher was 36.

Most of the action takes place near Fort Kelham, a fictional army ranger base in Northern Mississippi, where Reacher has been sent to make sure the army is not implicated in the murder of a beautiful young townie. The young lady in question, who happened to be Caucasion, was the victim of a grizzly throat slashing, just the sort of killing a well-trained army ranger might be able to accomplish. It then transpires that two other local beautiful women were recently killed in an identical modus operandi, but being black, their murders caused hardly a ripple.

While in Mississippi, Reacher encounters some tough [but not nearly as tough as Reacher] Good Ol’ Boys, a beautiful ex-marine sheriff named Elizabeth Deveraux, and a sinister plot that extends high into the Pentagon. As one who has read Lee Child novels can expect, Reacher goes on to beat up the Good Ol’ Boys (six of them at one time), make passionate love to the ex-marine, and foil the sinister plot. In the process, the reader learns the extent of damage that (1) a freight train can do to a car; (2) a hunting knife can do to a throat; and (3) a well-timed head-butt can do to an unexpecting combatant.

Child is an expert at describing macho wise-cracking, verbal intimidation, and hand-to-hand combat. He is awful at describing sex. Unlike most of his books, this one contains several sex scenes, none of which is erotic, all of which could have been truncated. During the first and most explicit sex scene, I kept wondering and asking myself, “When is he going to finish?!” That scene was probably more painful because I was listening to an audio book and could not easily skip to the dénouement.

The reader of the audio version, Dick Hill, does a decent job of changing voices for the male characters; but when he indicates that a female is speaking, it is just painful. I’d have trouble being attracted to any woman who sounded like him even if she were gorgeous and intelligent.

Nevertheless, when he sticks to his knitting, Child can be very good, and this book is no exception. Child knows how to withhold just enough information from the reader to keep one off balance without being too gimmicky. The plot is nicely complicated, and the action outside the bedroom is fast-paced and handled with aplomb. Child uses repetition of verbal themes very effectively. For example, when Reacher says, “I said nothing,” you can almost hear ominous theme music playing in the background.

Evaluation: This isn’t the best Jack Reacher novel I’ve read, but it is not bad. Recommended for airport reading.

Note: This is the 16th book in the Jack Reacher series. I listened to the unabridged audio version on 11 compact discs.

Rating: 2.5/5

Audio version published by Random House Audio, 2011. The reader, Dick Hill, is a three-time winner of the Audie Award. (less)

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Mar 28, 2013 Mike Owens rated it 4 of 5 stars

Some serial characters don't hold up well after repeated exposure. They become a bit stale, too predictable, but Jack Reacher? Never! Lee Child is way too good at this game. He sets the hook then leaves little bits here and there, some obvious, some not so, but all keep the reader saying "OK, just a few more pages," then a few more, and a few more. The narrative is first person Reacher, and strictly linear. There are subplots galore, but the straightforward style makes them easy to follow.
At the...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Brandon Collinsworth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: awesome-action

Great Reacher book, but I have loved them all, well except for Tripwire anyway. This is a prequel, and the events seem to take place right before Reacher leaves the army and we first meet up with him in Georgia for The Killing Floor. I actually was not a fan of that part, it is the only time in the series I can remember Child trying to make one of his books fit the mythos we all know for Reacher. But it was fun to read a military Reacher again, the Army has done so much to shape who his characte...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Mathew rated it 2 of 5 stars

The first thing that begs to be considered when discussing any Jack Reacher novel right now is... Tom Cruise?? WTF?! Logistically alone, what a nightmare. Jack Reacher is 6'5" and Tom Cruise is approximately a foot shorter than that. Obviously a good actor can take on any challenge, but Reacher's size is not incidental. He's a big, strong, strapping, heavy fighter and this as much as anything forms the basis for his minimal character. So, wtf? I didn't see the movie, but to keep the correct prop...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Cameling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller

Although it's the 16th in the series, The Affair takes us back to the beginning when Jack Reacher enters into a voluntary separation from the army, and becomes the vagabond vigilante that we are familiar with.

A woman in Mississippi has had her throat viciously slashed and despite the lack of evidence, it is believed that this could have been a crime committed by someone at the Kelham military base. Reacher is sent undercover to try and glean information from the local population while his peer i...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Ellen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Always on a Mission, February 3, 2013
By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)
This review is from: The Affair (Jack Reacher #16) (Mass Market Paperback)
I listened to this phenomenal book on CD performed by Dick Hill who did a spectacular job of capturing the mood and character of
Jack Reacher.

This book finds our loner,Jack Reacher, in an affair with a beautiful and equally intelligent Sheriff. Elizabeth Deveraux and Jack actually work as a team in uncovering a killer...but is that killer a soldier?

This Ja...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Kathy Davie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense

Sixteenth in the Jack Reacher suspense series and taking place in Fort Kelham in Mississippi.

This is a flashback to 1997 and Reacher is 36, and it sets us up for the events that will follow with the first full-length story in this series, Killing Floor .

My Take
Not what I was expecting. After 61 Hours and Worth Dying For , I could have sworn that Jack was heading for Virginia and Susan. Wow. I was so wrong. Not least, because this takes place back in the past just before Reacher quits the army.

T...more

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Dec 18, 2012 George rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit two things: I don't think the Jack Reacher books are particularly well-written. I also have to admit that I've read them all, over 2 weeks. So read into that what you will.

That said, they are indeed very formulaic - Reacher falls ass-backwards into trouble and after his sensibilities get offended somehow, he decides to stay and finish the fight. And that typically means that everybody gets dead, mostly through the application of force through his hands to somebody's neck. In the...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Linda rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime, no-thanks-i-ll-pass

Readers of Lee Child's lengthy Jack Reacher series know that he left the military under a black cloud, but until now, the reason was never made clear. Now Reacher's backstory is presented, as the thirty-fivish Major Reacher is sent to a Mississippi military training center for damage control, when it appears that one of the army's own may be responsible for the murders of three local women. It soon becomes apparent to him that he's being kept in the dark by his commanders, and he sets out to exp...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I always love the Jack Reacher novels and this was no exception. Dick Hill captures his voice perfectly, a great match for the series. Here, we reach back to 1997, when Jack Reacher was still in the army. The Affair tells the story of the event that began Reacher's wandering life. Reacher was a major in the army and an MP. When he is sent to small town in Mississippi, where there is an army base, his task is unusual. He is to be undercover, located in the town, rather than on the base, and to fi...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: military-thriller

Military thriller or crime fiction? While Reacher has a military background he has become involved in non-military matters.

The Affair is a prequel (Jack Reacher #16)to the Reacher series. Everything starts somewhere and for Jack Reacher that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A coverup.

Elizabeth Deveraux is the sheriff of Carter County. Her father had been a very popular sheriff of the county before he died, and voters may not ha...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Oliver rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 07, 2012 Richard Starks rated it 1 of 5 stars

This is the third Reacher book I've read, and I'm pretty sure it will be my last. Lee Child is still a good writer, but Reacher has evolved into something akin to a brutal psychopath - not someone you'd like, ever want to meet, or aspire to emulate. Stock characters are introduced solely to allow Reacher to beat them into submission; and he keeps killing people in the presence of, or with the connivance of, law-enforcement officers who are made by the author to think that Reacher's concept of ju...more

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Aug 19, 2012 VaultOfBooks rated it 4 of 5 stars

By Lee Child. Jack Reacher #16. Grade: A
All the Reacher novels are in chronological order, but The Affair is a prequel of sorts. It tells us why Reacher left the army, and fills in that particular gap in his resume.
March 1997. A woman has her throat cut behind a bar in Carter Crossing, Mississippi. Just down the road is a big army base. Is the murderer a local guy – or is he a soldier? Jack Reacher, still a major in the military police, is sent in undercover.
The county sheriff is a former U.S. M...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Alain Burrese rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the newest Jack Reacher novel, "The Affair" by Lee Child. It's a good addition to this tough guy, former military cop, action series. However, this book goes back to right before Jack Reacher gets out of the Army, and you get to see why he left, and the book hints at the things to come in Child's first book, "Killing Floor." While he is a bit younger, and still in uniform (well sort of, he does go under cover), this is the same Jack Reacher I've enjoyed throughout this series. I...more I really enjoyed the newest Jack Reacher novel, "The Affair" by Lee Child. It's a good addition to this tough guy, former military cop, action series. However, this book goes back to right before Jack Reacher gets out of the Army, and you get to see why he left, and the book hints at the things to come in Child's first book, "Killing Floor." While he is a bit younger, and still in uniform (well sort of, he does go under cover), this is the same Jack Reacher I've enjoyed throughout this series. I admit, there are a few I still have to go back and read)

The story is similar to many Jack Reacher tales, it takes place in a small town that Reacher drifts into, finds adventure, mystery to solve, and of course, racks up a body count. thought not as large as some books The major difference in this novel is that instead of just drifting in, he is still under orders of the U.S. Army. The love interest in this story is a bit stronger than some of the other book, with an interesting female character in Sheriff Deveraux, a former Marine, and a good pairing with Reacher. Seems the love scenes were a bit more explicit that some of the other books, but I didn't feel they were overly done. It fit with the story and the times. People attracted to each other in a stressful situation might just act the way these two did.

The book has plenty of action, and Child tells this in first person, so we are living what Reacher is living as we read the tale, and Child introduces the story with a scene, then goes back a few days to catch up up, and then continues from that introductory scene. The technique works well for this story. The tension and suspense continue throughout, and there is enough action and twists to keep the reader wanting to turn pages. And this book had one of my favorite lines from a novel in a long time, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." Yes, Jack Reacher is a character I really like, and this book was a very enjoyable read. And that is what this kind of novel is for. It's an action packed, suspenseful, fun, escapism yarn that allows you some relaxation while reading about a tough guy hero, in a tight situation, with a beautiful woman, and a direct tough guy way to solve problems.
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Jul 27, 2012 Vicki rated it 5 of 5 stars

I finally found out why Jack Reacher left the Military. This sixteenth addition to the Reacher Series takes us back to 1997. Jack’s still a military cop when he’s sent to Mississippi to investigate the murder of a beautiful young white woman. The Military wants to find someone to blame in order to exonerate the local base full of Army Rangers.

Powerful forces are at work in the small Mississippi town and Jack must decide between what’s right and saving his career. He runs into the local sheriff-...more

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Should Reacher retire?	10	44	May 14, 2013 11:48am
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About Lee Child

Lee Child was born in 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an eighteen-year career as a presentation...more

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Quotes from The Affair

“He had fallen out of the ugly tree, and hit every branch.” — 11 people liked it

“I said nothing. I’m good at saying nothing. I don’t like talking. I could go the rest of my life without saying another word, if I had to.” — 11 people liked it

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The Affair (Jack Reacher #16)

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