"The Enemy" by Lee Child

Above: "The Enemy." Lee Child. 558 pages.

Reacher, has been abruptly reassigned from Panama to a North Carolina army post, where his first assignment is to investigate the death of a two star tank general whose body has been found in a seedy motel room.

I completed reading this book today.

I had earlier promised myself that I was finished reading Lee Child Jack Reacher novels. Though I liked the Reacher character, the novels themselves seemed formulaic. I wasn't sure that I was getting enjoyment seemingly "re-reading" the next, new Reacher novel.

Browsing in a Dublin book store a couple of weeks ago I found this novel, published in 2004, that, on scanning, seemed a lot different than the other Reacher novels I had read.

Most Reacher novels I have read contained adventures post Reacher's service as a highly regarded MP in the US Army. The setting for "The Enemy" was during Reacher's Army years.

The US is coming out of the cold war. Military brass signal an evolution in US Army purpose. No longer can we expect the big tank battles of the past. For crying out loud, it would take six months to deploy a squadron of Abrams tanks. You can't even get an Abrams on a plane transport. They are so big they can only be moved overland by train, or by ship.

Yet, the tank guys in the Army remain at the top of the military pecking order. Politically... career-wise... they stand to lose should the military evolve to a more easily and rapidly deployable tactical force in which the big tanks have no role.

So.... the senior tank guys start to scheme...but, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry... as they do here.

Reacher, has been abruptly reassigned from Panama to a North Carolina army post, where his first assignment is to investigate the death of a two star tank general whose body has been found in a seedy motel room.

Reacher is drawn into heavy duty army politics that reaches the chief of staff of the Army. There are some bad army people he has to deal with.... and, sometimes following protocol won't lead to justice. But, justice is done.

Ancillary sub plot: Reacher accompanies his brother Joe to Paris to stand vigil over the decline in health of his French mother, who he finds out was a venerated resistance fighter during WWII.

I enjoyed the book as it provided background to help understand the cool character we read about in the post military novels, as well as deep insight into military politics.