"The Affair" by Lee Child

Title: The Affair

Author: Lee Child
Publisher: Bantam

Book Zero of the Jack Recher saga

Blurb:

March 1997. A woman has her throat cut behind a bar in 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. Marine - and a stunningly beautiful woman. Her investigation is going nowhere. Is the Pentagon stonewalling her? Or doesn't she really want to find the killer?

Set just six months before the opening of Killing Floor, The Affair marks a turning point in Reacher's career. If he does what the army wants, will he be able to live with himself? And if he doesn't, will the army be able to live with him?

Synopsis:

This is the 16th book involving Jack Reacher. The clock is turned back to 1997 where Jack Reacher is a Major in the American Military Police. The book begins with Reacher's arrival at the Pentagon in his Army major's uniform, unshaven and in need of a haircut.

Reacher is sent on a mission to investigate a murder in the small town of Carter Crossing at the edge of an isolated Army Ranger base in Mississippi. What follows is a great Reacher book: a murder investigation mixed with politics and a rising body count.

We find Reacher involved with the town's attractive female sheriff and the freight train that roars through tiny Carter Crossing at 60 mph every day at midnight. This plays a leading role in the action, delivering death and destruction as well as the background for Reacher's adult activities....

Verdict:

I really enjoyed this book and at 544 pages it took me about 12 hours to finish. The writing flows easy, giving great description and really sets the scene. The adult content is kept clean with enough to let you know what is happening, but keeping the graphics to a minimum (Tom Cruise might like this one if the leading lady is right). The action kicks when you expect it to, but lets the story lead you into the investigation where the real drama is.

Rating: 5/5