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The Enemy: A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher #8)

by Lee Child

4.04 · rating details · 6,594 ratings · 424 reviews

Jack Reacher. Hero. Loner. Soldier. Soldier’s son. An elite military cop, he was one of the army’s brightest stars. But in every cop’s life there is one case that changes everything. For Jack Reacher, this is that case.

New Year’s Day, 1990. In a North Carolina motel, a two-star general is found dead. His briefcase is missing. Nobody knows what was in it. Within minutes Re...more

Mass Market Paperback, 496 pages

Published May 19th 2009 by Dell (first published 2004)

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Sep 26, 2010

Trudy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: lee-child

This is one of my favorite Lee Child books - and that says a lot as I would say he IS my favorite author! This book is a bit of a departure as it follows Jack Reacher while he is still in the military instead of Reacher, the ex military hobo.

He is removed from his post in Panama and stationed in North Carolina on New Year's Eve. A strategic relocation by someone that still has yet to be identified... While "celebrating" the new year in the MP office he is called to a r...more

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Dec 01, 2008

Terence rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, mystery-intrigue

We purchased this audio book in Rockford, Illinois over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend for our return home to Lincoln. And it made the eight-hour car ride evaporate--well at least in comparison to our trip out there with only music and our witty banter to keep us company. This is the second in the Reacher series that I've read, Bad Luck and Trouble being the first. Having come fresh off the heals of that title, it was interesting to see Jack in the army, and it only whets my appetite to go bac...more

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Feb 09, 2012

Joy rated it

· review of another edition

Jack Reacher. Hero. Loner. Soldier. Soldier's son. An elite military cop, he was one of the army's brightest stars. But in every cop's life there is a turning point. One case. One messy, tangled case that can shatter a career. Turn a lawman into a renegade. And make him question words like honor, valor, and duty. For Jack Reacher, this is that case.
New Year's Day, 1990. The Berlin Wall is coming down. The world is changing. And in a North Carolina "hot-sheets" motel, a two-star ...more

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Dec 29, 2011

Robyn rated it

· review of another edition

The writing was satisfactory, although I found myself skipping through sections that didn't seem to add anything to the story - too much detail about moving through an airport, for instance.

There were a lot of characters in this book and Child handled them by assigning interesting character notes but not getting too in-depth. For example, protagonist Jack Reacher refers to his sergeant as 'my sergeant' or 'the sergeant with the baby son.' We never learn her name. Reacher's opposite num...moreThe writing was satisfactory, although I found myself skipping through sections that didn't seem to add anything to the story - too much detail about moving through an airport, for instance.

There were a lot of characters in this book and Child handled them by assigning interesting character notes but not getting too in-depth. For example, protagonist Jack Reacher refers to his sergeant as 'my sergeant' or 'the sergeant with the baby son.' We never learn her name. Reacher's opposite numbers at other bases get pretty much the same treatment. Although they are given definite character notes, their attitudes and conversation are pretty much interchangeable.

Jack Reacher himself is something of a sketchy person who seems to like to avoid thinking about himself or the future and is not really aware of the existence or depth of his own feelings. For a detective, he's very passive, letting conditions and whomever he's with dictate actions that are not directly related to his goals. For example, in Paris, he goes along with his lieutenant's desire to shop all day and doesn't tell her when they are in his mother's neighborhood because she would 'make' him go visit his mother.

Throughout the story Reacher doesn't allow himself to get attached to anyone, but treats human interaction like he's putting his hand into a stream of water: it runs over his skin and then runs off without real effect. There are only two points in the novel where he realizes any depth of emotion, and both are related to his mother. This makes his last two decisions at the end of the book very puzzling. Even so, I found Reacher to be rather likable because, within the parameters he has set for his life, he seems worth knowing.

I figured out the killer and the method used fairly early (and had me thinking Reacher was either very distracted or a little obtuse), but didn't foresee some of the twists that are brought to light during Reacher's explanation near the end of the book. One of them I should have seen - it was foreshadowed enough - but the others really weren't. Without adequate foreshadowing, those twists seemed like authorial convenience rather than truly arising out of the conflict.

Despite my cavils, I read the book quickly and found it entertaining. It was a page-turner despite the scatter shot investigation of the murders and the doom continually threatening Reacher from two directions. It's definitely a good candidate for a weekend or plane trip read.(less)

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Dec 29, 2011

Jane Stewart rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense

Weak 3 stars. It wasn’t as fun or engaging as other Reacher stories. A long drawn out mystery with a tell-all at the end.

STORY BRIEF:
A general was meeting someone for sex in a motel and dies of a heart attack. His briefcase with confidential documents is missing. Someone kills his wife the same day. Someone kills a Delta force soldier in the woods a day or so later. Reacher’s boss is transferred out and replaced by Willard who tells Reacher not to investigate these deaths...more

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Aug 03, 2011

James Korsmo rated it

· review of another edition

Jack Reacher is a maverick. He is an elite Military Police officer in the Army. And on New Year's Eve, he finds himself suddenly reassigned to Fort Bird, with no explanation. The next day, he gets a call that a general, who was passing through the area on his way to a meeting at Fort Irwin, was found dead in a hotel room, apparently of a heart attack while sleeping with a prostitute. While this doesn't start off as too mysterious, hours later the General's wife is found murdered during an appare...moreJack Reacher is a maverick. He is an elite Military Police officer in the Army. And on New Year's Eve, he finds himself suddenly reassigned to Fort Bird, with no explanation. The next day, he gets a call that a general, who was passing through the area on his way to a meeting at Fort Irwin, was found dead in a hotel room, apparently of a heart attack while sleeping with a prostitute. While this doesn't start off as too mysterious, hours later the General's wife is found murdered during an apparently burglary attempt at their home in Georgia. And Reacher notices that the General's briefcase is missing. His investigation starts to turn up some strange patters, like that Military Police officers all over the Army were mysteriously reassigned at the same time as Reacher. Something must be afoot. Two days later, a Delta officer, Carbone, is found dead on the base, and another Delta officer is found murdered and dumped a couple hundred miles away. Something must be going on. And seems to all stem from the briefcase.

Reacher, under some suspicion himself from the Delta troops and meeting fierce resistance from his newly appointed commanding officer, wings around the globe trying to track down this odd conspiracy, which seems to all stem from the briefcase's contents, whatever they are. The only thing that seems to be missing is the agenda for the meeting at Fort Irwin, but the General's two subordinates insist there was no agenda (which Reacher sees as a near impossibility for the Army). Reacher and his partner, Summer, are forced to sneak throughout the East Coast and even hop over to Germany on stolen travel vouchers (and officially AWOL thanks to their commanding officer) trying to bring the truth to light. It comes out the the sordid plot was part of a power play on the part of some officers from Armored Division to take out strategic elements in other branches of the Army to set themselves up as a more powerful faction in the changing landscape of the army in the new post-Cold War world (the book, written in 2004, takes place in 1990). General Kramer was involved in a homosexual affair with Carbone, and when he died of a heart attack, Carbone apparently discovered the agenda for the Irwin meeting, which involved the plot to kill Delta soldiers among others. Carbone took the agenda, and called his commanding officer (thus, they were the two Delta soldiers killed by Kramer's subordinates, try to cover up the meeting's agenda). Kramer's wife was also collateral damage, as they were searching his house for his briefcase when it wasn't found with the body.

Child's book is a relatively good read, and the mystery certainly proved to be a complicated and sordid plot that I wouldn't have guessed at the outset, even if it proves to be quite far-fetched. The biggest flaw in my opinion has to do with the main character, Reacher. He makes an interesting protagonist, with his maverick ways and his desire to get to the bottom of things at all costs. But he proves to be unscrupulous and vindictive to a fault. He flouts authority, and, most damningly, coldly executes his superior officer at the end of the book, believing him to have been part of the plot. Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan makes such a great main character because of his honor, his "boy scout" character, that means doing the right thing even when it means trouble for himself, always believing right would win out, even when it seemed improbable. Reacher is quite a contrast, doing whatever it takes to get the outcomes he wants.(less)

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Jul 30, 2011

David rated it

· review of another edition

Lee Child's Jack Reacher series continues. This is a series of thrillers about an action hero -- Reacher. When Child is good, the books are, well, thrilling, and the hero, Jack Reacher, engages in a lot of action. This is usually the case.

Unfortunately, in some books, such as "Echo Burning" (My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/161...)Lee Child departs from this successful formula, deciding instead to write a "borer" with a "do nothing hero"...moreLee Child's Jack Reacher series continues. This is a series of thrillers about an action hero -- Reacher. When Child is good, the books are, well, thrilling, and the hero, Jack Reacher, engages in a lot of action. This is usually the case.

Unfortunately, in some books, such as "Echo Burning" (My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/161...)Lee Child departs from this successful formula, deciding instead to write a "borer" with a "do nothing hero". "The Enemy" is a little of both. To be fair, the book gets off to a really great start. The reader soon figures out that Reacher, who we have known to be an ex-military drifter is in the army. This book is a "prequel". That is interesting enough. But the plot is good as well.

Reacher starts out investigating a murder that appears to have taken place in conjunction with another murder that must be related. As Reacher begins to investigate, even more bodies start to hit the floor, some to get up, some for good. Not only that, Reacher manages to get some elite Delta troops angry with him. How will Reacher solve the murders and get the Delta guys off of his back? The first 50 pages are great.

The last 50 pages or so are great as well. The book ends with a mano a mano showdown between Reacher and a soldier who is as much of a badass as he is. Unfortunately, this setup reminds me a lot of the showdown between Reacher and a female hit-woman in, I think, "Echo Burning". But still, it is a better scenario than "Echo" and a lot of fun.

The problem with the book is the 300 pages in between. Reacher picks an African-American woman for a partner named Summer. Unfortunately she is a cliche and not a very good one. Child tells us that she had a deprived upbringing in the ghetto...blah, blah, blah. Then she and Reacher end up in bed. After that, Summer becomes a paper doll who exists mainly to ask Reacher, "how do you know that, Jack?" and "What happened after that, Jack?". She is not really much of a character.

The solving of the murders starts off at a fairly interesting clip, but soon gives way to a convoluted series of changes in location. Reacher is here, Reacher is there. He travels to Paris twice. By the second trip, I had gotten so lost, I wasn't sure why he was back. Oh yeah, Reacher's mother is dying and there is a plot diversion having to do with the French Resistance in World War II. It's interesting background info on Reacher, but I got further lost in the plot.

Much of the book could have been left out. There are descriptions of Army paperwork, Army clothing requisitions, travel vouchers and other Army procedures. A little gives the book authenticity. A lot gets the reader bored and lost. Reacher travels a lot and Child seems to want to spend pages describing the plane or the waiting room. There is an ongoing tabulation of how much money Reacher has and how he strategically orders food so he doesn't spend too much. Just like James Bond. And, like in "Echo Burning", Reacher goes clothes shopping! woohoo! I love it when my action hero shops for a beret to wear!

On the whole, there are too many characters who play a small part in the plot. I got lost, but I also think that Child relies way too much on Reacher being able to figure out the absolute accurate truth just by guessing. If the book were 200 pages smaller, it would have better. Also, the motivation for the murders turns out to be a disappointing cliche as well.

For the next action-hero thriller, Lee Child, how about a hero who engages in a lot of action that thrills the reader?? This one had potential, but the plot diversions, plunges into irrelevant detail and flat characters end up disappointing.(less)

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Jun 15, 2011

Michale rated it

· review of another edition

A nice trip back in time to Jack Reacher as an MP. Get to meet his family. Although I figured out one clue right away, Child still managed to throw in surprises at the end.
Amazing scene with Reacher and his brother taking leave of their dying mother in Paris:

Then she revisited another old family ritual. She did something she had done ten thousand times before, all through our lives, since we were first old enough to have individuality of our own. She stuggled up out of her chair...more

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Nov 07, 2010

Dlora rated it

Shelves: adventure-action

Here I was thinking that the Jack Reacher novels were all action and fast-paced movement with lots of interesting settings in the macho worlds of military/police/criminals. I was amazed to find that The Enemy kept me pondering and thinking long after I was done reading it. I got thinking about all the "enemies" in the story that drove the plot. I assumed that the enemy referred to in the title was the murderer that Reacher was tracking down. But then the story is set in the political u...moreHere I was thinking that the Jack Reacher novels were all action and fast-paced movement with lots of interesting settings in the macho worlds of military/police/criminals. I was amazed to find that The Enemy kept me pondering and thinking long after I was done reading it. I got thinking about all the "enemies" in the story that drove the plot. I assumed that the enemy referred to in the title was the murderer that Reacher was tracking down. But then the story is set in the political upheaval in the military world following the fall of the Berlin wall and the loss of the communists as an enemy. Reacher realizes that now the United State's "enemy" has dissolved, he'd better be thinking about what might happen to his job as an MP if/when the military is heavily reduced. Besides those two enemies, Reacher's personal "enemies" as he tries to do his job are not only the bad guys but his immediate superior who just wants to cover things up and the Delta force soldiers who think Reacher was the one who murdered their buddy. But then there is also another story line and enemy identified--Reacher's mother is dying of cancer. It's a subplot that adds a lot of depth and reason for Reacher's actions. Death is every man's final enemy.

Reacher's mom kept the fact that she had cancer a secret until it was too late to do anything about it. Reacher tells his brother, who was upset that they she hadn't told them earlier, that the reason she hadn't told them was because they would have argued with her about treatment. "It was a decision that belonged to her." I kept thinking about my own mother and her decision not to have chemo or radiation at the end of her life. Yes, we wanted to argue with her, but yes, it really was her decision. Another insight about death: "Life, what a completely weird thing it is. A person lives sixty years, does all kinds of things, knows all kinds of things, feels all kinds of things, and then it's over. Like it never happened at all." "We'll always remember her." "No, we'll remember parts of her. The parts she chose to share. The tip of the iceberg. The rest only she knew about. Therefore the rest already doesn't exist. As of now." That statement struck me as being so true. Since Mom died, I have realized there are so many things I don't know about her and that I'd like to ask her now, but I can't. But that statement is actually only half true: I console myself with the thought that unlike Reacher's brother, I know Mom still lives and I will see her again and can ask her to tell me the things I've been wondering about. Death doesn't have to be the Enemy; just as a doorway. (less)

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Aug 30, 2010

Tony rated it

· review of another edition

Lee Child- The Enemy (Dell 2007) 4.5 stars

Jack Reacher is one of the best. You want a military crime solved, you come to him. On New Year’s Day a two-star general is found dead in a hotel room and his briefcase is nowhere to be found. It is 1990 and with a troop reduction looming, Reacher must prove his worth by controlling this delicate situation. Hours later the general’s wife is found dead miles away. Told to back off of the case, Recaher is unable to follow those orders, for he i...more

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Jul 06, 2010

Jerry rated it

· review of another edition

Flashback to Reacher as Army Major / MP -- fine tale!

We've been hooked by Child's Jack Reacher series since reading "Killing Floor". Unlike the other seven, which feature our leading man as basically a vagrant vigilante, wandering around incognito solving difficult problems and snapping necks here and there (!), in "Enemy" we have almost a Clancy-style military thriller from when Jack was still in the Army. After being transferred rather suddenly just before New Y...more

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Jun 28, 2009

Elizabeth rated it

· review of another edition

Lee Child is a mystery writer I've heard about from more than one friend, so I grabbed this one on a whim at the supermarket. I had a feeling it wasn't the first in his Jack Reacher series, and I normally like to begin at the beginning, but I figured if the writer was any good then I should still be able to enjoy it, right?

I had a lot of fun reading this. From a writing standpoint, I was pretty appalled by the opening paragraph--the first sentence of the book is a fragment, a metap...more

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Feb 21, 2011

Mike Zinn rated it

· review of another edition

Continuing my Jack Reacher reading, I picked this one up from the library. Well circulated - just about falling apart - but great as usual. In this one Jack is still in the Army. I haven't read any of the books previous to this one, although some of the characters from Bad Luck and Trouble show up. As I work my way through the Reacher novels I'm sure I'll learn more about his association with these folks. I really like these books. Although they are just plain old pulse pounding quick reads, the...more

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Jul 17, 2011

Max Fallon rated it

· review of another edition

One of Lee Child's best. He takes the reader back to Reacher's Army days.
It's New Year's Eve, 1989, and Reacher ends up responding to a call about a dead two-star General who is discovered in a motel off post.
Reacher is tough as ever, as he juggles arrogant superior officers, special forces soldiers and beautiful women.
The Enemy gave an interesting insight into Reacher's past. I loved seeing how Reacher, who is so rootless and spontaneous as a civillian, acts in military life.
...more

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Apr 13, 2009

Tripp rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Thriller readers only

Lee Child's Jack Reacher books tend to elicit extreme responses. (Boy, that website is something, note how the smoke moving across the page flows from the cigarette of Child on to the nearly shirtless Reacher actor. Steamy!) Anyway, people either love the hard-boiled prose, the violence and the twisty mysteries, or they view the prose as overly staccato, Reacher as an unrealistic superhuman and the violence as disturbing. I count myself in the former group, but I can see how it isn't everyone's ...moreLee Child's Jack Reacher books tend to elicit extreme responses. (Boy, that website is something, note how the smoke moving across the page flows from the cigarette of Child on to the nearly shirtless Reacher actor. Steamy!) Anyway, people either love the hard-boiled prose, the violence and the twisty mysteries, or they view the prose as overly staccato, Reacher as an unrealistic superhuman and the violence as disturbing. I count myself in the former group, but I can see how it isn't everyone's cup of Double Bergamot Earl Grey.

I've just read the Enemy, which is a sort of Reacher Origins story, to take a comic book concept. The year is 1990 and Reacher is still an MP. On New Year's Eve, he is called in to investigate the death of an Army general found naked and dead in a no-tell motel. As soon as Reacher tries to investigate he finds himself stymied and in danger, grave danger. The story shows a little of Reacher's family history as well as the starting point for his departure from the Army.

We learn that Reacher's military unit is a special police unit that is set outside the normal military chain of command, so that it can better investigate anyone up and down the military hierarchy. This helps explain how the lone wolf Reacher of the books set later in his career could stand to work for an organization like the Army.

Child is particularly good at misdirecting the reader, an essential trait in a mystery. While I had a sense of where things were going, he managed a couple of nice surprises. I also quite liked the Army setting. We get a nice does of intra-Army politics and infighting as well as life on the base.

I didn't love the ending I have to admit. I liked the very end, as the darker Reacher finally emerges, but the climatic revelations went on a bit long. The ride beforehand is great though. This book could even be a reasonable entry point to the series as it is more reflective of the style of other books in the series than the ghoulish Killing Floor, the first book in the series.(less)

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May 27, 2010

Sandra rated it

· review of another edition

New Year’s Day 1990---the Berlin Wall is crumbling and the U.S. Army is facing massive changes as the Cold War wraps up. The book flashes back to Jack Reacher’s life as an elite, highly-decorated military cop. When a two-star general is found dead in a seedy North Carolina motel and his briefcase---with an important meeting agenda---is missing, Reacher smells trouble. Then the general’s wife is murdered. And Reacher begins to feel he is being set up.

This is the first Jack Reacher mys...more

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Jul 22, 2009

Gill rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, month-07

For me this is the best Reacher book so far. In a departure from the post-Army drifter that we've come to know, Reacher is shown here back in early 1990 when he was still a major in the military police.

The Berlin Wall is down and the Iron Curtain is lifting - and the US military is facing the sudden loss of its greatest foe. Reacher is unexpectedly recalled from Panama to a base in Carolina, and just days later attends a motel where a general has died from natural causes. But there'...more

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Sep 19, 2011

Kseniya Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Sin Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: friends-recommended, crime-fiction

Jack Reacher is an elite military police officer in the Army, who on New Year's eve suddenly gets reassigned to Fort Bird with no explanation, doing boring desk job. The next day, he gets a call that General Kramer who was on his way to a meeting in Fort Irwin was found dead in a hotel room. The cause of death is nothing suspicious, just a heart attack. Reacher and his beautiful partner Summer are on their way to break the sad news to General's wife, only to find she's been murdered in her...more
Jack Reacher is an elite military police officer in the Army, who on New Year's eve suddenly gets reassigned to Fort Bird with no explanation, doing boring desk job. The next day, he gets a call that General Kramer who was on his way to a meeting in Fort Irwin was found dead in a hotel room. The cause of death is nothing suspicious, just a heart attack. Reacher and his beautiful partner Summer are on their way to break the sad news to General's wife, only to find she's been murdered in her own house. And this is only the beginning of an incredible mysterious journey Reacher is about to find himself on.

Before I say anything else, I probably should point out that I am a hopeless romance reader and this was not my kind of book. It was given to me by a friend who wanted to know what I thought of it. I thought it would take me forever to read it given there was no romance involved. But I was wrong! This book gripped my attention from the very first pages. I don't know if it was an incredibly mysterious storyline or simply Lee Child's fascinating writing style, but the book was brilliant!

I found myself falling for Jack Reacher big time. Ok, he's 32, over 6 ft tall, an elite Army guy. Who wouldn't like that! My romantic reader imagination painted quite a picture in my mind and I was hooked! He was my kind of guy: clever, strong and tough, taking no crap from anyone, he knew something was seriously off with all the murders and he wanted to prove it no matter what! The way the book is written gives you a brilliant insight in Reacher's thought process and logic which I found fascinating.

I was really hoping that he and Summer would hit it off and I nearly screamed in outrage when they went into separate rooms at the hotel in Paris after just spending the whole evening together, holding hands. And as I was just about to get disappointed Reacher picked up the phone and called Summer's room and my romantic side was fully satisfied:
"You awake?" I said.
"Yes", she said.
"Want company?"
"Yes", she said.

Although I doubt I will read more of Lee Child's books at my own initiative, I would happily read another if my friends ask me or an opportunity presents itself, because I really enjoyed this one!
(less)

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May 11, 2010

Tim rated it

· review of another edition

If you've seen my reviews on the Jack Reacher series (I've reviewed "Without Fail" and "Persuader" for Goodreads, read all eight so far, couple more in the queue), you'll know I REALLY like this guy. This book is an interesting flashback to the days when Reacher was an MP in early 1990, when the Berlin Wall was coming down and it was very ambiguous what would happen to the various branches of the Military with no big enemy to fight and therefore justify all those Defense expe...more

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Jun 14, 2007

Shane rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone

This story goes back in time to when Jack Reacher was still active in his military career. It is a nice departure from the first seven stories in that it gives you a little more insight into the Jack Reacher larger-than-life character and makes him more believable.

Anyone who thought John Rambo and Dirty Harry were bad-asses hasn't read about Jack Reacher yet.

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Oct 31, 2011

Michael Parker rated it

· review of another edition

Good for Reacher fans. I've read quite a few Lee Child novels, but find now that my interest in Jack Reacher is beginning to wane. Far too much details in this novel for me. It simply shouted out that Lee Child was showing how clever he was. It all seemed to obscure the trail that Reacher and his sidekick, Summer were pursuing. Not quite believable; all the licence extended to Major Reacher. As an ex-serviceman myself, I did wonder just how far Reacher could go before being hauled back by Army r...more

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Aug 03, 2007

Mark rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

I know Lee Child is incredibly popular, but Reacher's laconic, I'm a military cop who can do just about anything and handle any kind of violence or murky conspiracy just didn't grab me. Way too much testosterone here, and I wasn't tempted to seek out any others in the series. This will have absolutely no effect on his sales, I'm sure.

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Sep 16, 2011

Elyse rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, general-mystery

Several likeable features in this retro-story that takes us back to 1990 when Reacher was still an elite MP, inexplicably reassigned from Panama to Fort Bird (NC).

+ A two-star general is found dead. His wife is murdered within hours, in a different location. As the investigation unfolds, new victims are found ... but so are new enemies.
+ Classic Jack Reacher heroic confrontations, but also he relies heavily on several supporting characters.
+ Several strong women, not just f...more

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Jul 27, 2011

Jo rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: series, thrillers, read-in-2000-2007

This was another great book in a brilliant series. Lee Child needs to start writing faster as I'm running out of them!
I enjoyed the chance to know more about Reacher's past, and hope that now that he's pushing 50 in real time, so getting a bit old for all the adventure, Lee will take us back to different stories from Jack's past. I'd particularly like to find out more about the ""Special Investigators"" we encountered in Bad Luck & Trouble - some made their appearance in...more

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

Child continues to knock out his action sequences with flair, but in The Enemy, he takes time to depict the piecemeal construction of a criminal investigation. He also spends energy on the hero's relationship with his mother and brother, an effort that further fills in Reacher's background and will surely please long-time fans of the character. It's true, Child throws in some clich_�d elements to this otherwise first-rate story. But most reviewers easily looked past that flaw. "After reading

...more

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Jun 20, 2011

John Corwin rated it

· review of another edition

I've read most of the Reacher books and must admit that I'm worried the latest one will be a disappointment. Let's face it: By the time you hit the 8th in a series where each book is only marginally connected to the last, it's gotta be tough to keep up the pace.

I don't give 4 stars for just any old book, though. Lee Child has yet again put out a book that I really enjoyed. I especially like the "prequel" feel to it, stepping back into Reacher's early days.

Th...more

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Mar 21, 2010

Marc rated it

· review of another edition

This is an addictive story, part police procedural, part thriller, that takes place during the first 10 days of 1990, mostly on US Army posts (in North Carolina, California, and Germany).

What makes this book so compelling is its engaging narrator, Jack Reacher, a high-ranking army MP (military policeman). Reacher is a smart, dedicated, highly disciplined loner with an obsessive sense of right and wrong. He’s also big and tough and fearless.

He tells the story in a no-non...more

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Jan 23, 2009

Brandon Collinsworth rated it

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Recommends it for: Reacher fan's

Okay this is a prequel to the reacher series set when he was still an mp in the army. If a prequel is even possible in a series of loosely connected books.

Calling the book a prequel is the only complaint you are going to hear from me with this book. As a book this is by far the best book in the entire series to this point. You can really start to see Lee Child getting a lot of control over his plot in this book. He lets you in on enough information throughout to keep you curious and...more

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Jun 25, 2011

Mapman rated it

· review of another edition

This is the best of the Reacher novels that I've read so far. Part of the appeal for me is the fact that this is set before Jack Reacher begins his (seemingly) aimless travels around the United States. He's still in the military and that lends itself to his rather cold manner of dealing with mysteries. I have to admit that I enjoyed the globe trotting nature of this book too. Georgia, D.C., Germany, France, and California. . .lots of driving. . .lots of flying and lots of bodies and mysteries. T...more

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Aug 03, 2011

John rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: crime-thriller, 5-star-books, thrillers

The Enemy by Lee Child

The books of Lee Child are more of the books my wife Maureen chose for me to read the first one being “Gone Tomorrow” and the second one was “Killing Floor” so once again a series I have started out of order but I do not think it really matters as Lee Child is a great story teller and will always write a darn good yarn, but I have put my list in order and asked that if I can’t get out to the library Maureen gets these books in order if possible.

Anyway to...moreThe Enemy by Lee Child

The books of Lee Child are more of the books my wife Maureen chose for me to read the first one being “Gone Tomorrow” and the second one was “Killing Floor” so once again a series I have started out of order but I do not think it really matters as Lee Child is a great story teller and will always write a darn good yarn, but I have put my list in order and asked that if I can’t get out to the library Maureen gets these books in order if possible.

Anyway to the book “The Enemy” which I think is really a prequel to the whole series of the Jack Reacher stories, I just have to say I will get around to putting down on paper my thoughts about the first 2 books at sometime.
The tough and resourceful Jack Reacher is in North Carolina on New Year's Day, 1990. Elsewhere, world-shaking events are underway, such as the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. But Jack's job as a Military Police Duty Officer has him concerned with what initially seem to be less significant happenings: a soldier has been found dead in a sleazy motel and when Jack goes to the house of the soldier (a two-star general) to inform his wife, he finds her also dead. Needless to say, events in another part of the globe are having fatal repercussions in the US, and Reacher is soon up to his neck, with the body count rising.

Lee Child’s fast paced and exciting thriller turns back time and we encounter a younger Jack Reacher, in the army, as far as you can get from the rolling stone of the other stories. A Jack Reacher who enforces his own version of army discipline, as a glance into Jack’s early life we find out why Jack is such an unfathomable man, and we realise that Jack Reacher is a man of many parts.

Lee Child is a careful author who when telling us his stories sticks to a meticulous sequential method of story-weaving and these stories tend to move along at a awe-inspiring velocity.
This story-weaver creates twists and turns unlike any other and at times I was on the edge of my seat and trying to get to the next section so quickly that I had to go back a few pages to re-orient myself.

I heartily recommend this book and indeed fully recommend Lee Child as a fantastic author of the ultimate crime thriller!(less)

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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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Bad Luck And Trouble (Jack Reacher, #11)

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Quotes from The Enemy

“This was like July 13th, 1943, the pivotal day of the Battle of the Kursk. We were like Alexander Vasilevsky, the Soviet general. If we attacked now, this minute, we had to keep on and on attacking until the enemy was run off his feet and the war was won. If we bogged down or paused for breath even for a second, we would be overrun again.” — 4 people liked it

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The Enemy: A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher #8)

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