Lee Child; The Enemy

Title:	The Enemy
Author:	Lee Child
Category:	Mystery & Thriller
Rating:
Date Reviewed:	May 14, 2023

read The Enemy while on a plane flying home. Normally, the pace in one of these Jack Reacher stories is so fast that I race through the book to the end. But this time, my flight landed when I was about two-thirds of the way through, which meant that I had time to think about what was happening. As I shall explain in the spoiler section, Reacher is slow to pick up on some clues that I felt were obvious, which is why I deducted one star and awarded only a 4 star rating (which means it is still a really good read). The Enemy is early in Reacher's career, so perhaps he hasn't honed his crime solving skills yet. Although The Enemy is the eighth book published, in chronological order, The Enemy is the first book in Reacher's career. Reacher is still in the army, working as a Military Police (MP) officer.

The novel opens on New Year's Day, 1990, not long after the Berlin Wall has been taken down and the Cold War ended. For reasons unknown, Reacher has been recalled from the Panama operation to catch Noriega, and been assigned to Fort Bird in North Carolina. Reacher is on duty when a call comes in just before the clock strikes midnight - two-star General Ken Kramer has been found dead in a sleazy hotel - the sort of disreputable place where men go to spend a brief assignation with a hooker. Why is Kramer even there? He is supposed to be in DC, halfway through a journey from Germany to a conference out in Los Angeles. There are plenty of hookers in the DC area, so what was the reason for Kramer to be in North Carolina, just outside an army base? Reacher goes to the scene of the crime, looking for clues. There is no sign of whom Kramer spent his final minutes with. One alarming discovery - Kramer's briefcase is missing. What might it contain? Did a panicked whore simply runoff with it? Reacher looks around, but there is no sign of the briefcase anywhere near the crime scene.

Reacher is not working on his own - a young, idealistic black woman and fellow MP, Lieutenant Summer, joins him on the case. She offers suggestions, and Reacher bounces idea off of her. It gives Child an excuse to explain what Reacher is thinking regarding the various clues and mysteries surrounding the case.

Reacher questions the young man who was running the motel that night as the manager. It is clear the young man did not see who was with the deceased general - but he did hear what sounded like someone bolting from the motel and driving off in a Humvee in a big hurry. So perhaps General Kramer was meeting a particular partner, someone in the army, someone he might have met while on assignment during his long army career?

The situation escalates when the news comes in that General Kramer's wife, who lives hundreds of miles away in the D.C. area, is found murdered in her home, her head smashed in with a crowbar. This is too much of coincidence, and it elevates Reacher's concern that there was something vitally important in that missing briefcase.

General Kramer was traveling from Germany to the L.A. conference with three other men - Marshall, Croomer and Vassell. They, of course profess total ignorance about why Kramer was in North Carolina. They also state that there was no conference agenda in the missing briefcase - which makes Reacher suspect that they are lying to him.

This being a Jack Reacher novel, there are some scenes of violence, where Reacher uses his 6'5" frame to beat up bad guys, or else displays his prowess with pretty much any type of firearm. Reacher's abilities made me wonder: why doesn't Jack Reacher ever work out to maintain his peak conditioning and fighting skills? If he ever goes to the gym or shooting range, I have not noticed it yet in the books that I have read.

I also wonder how and why Reacher is allowed to escape all the complicated trials and court system once the perpetrators are identified and caught at the end of one of these novels. (And even if the villains perish, there still ought to be inquiries and review boards). The slow turning of the gears of justice means that a case of this magnitude ought to tie up Reacher for years, but of course he is soon off onto the next adventure.

There are 20+ Jack Reacher novels published. Though I doubt I will ever read them all, I am still finding them entertaining and will pick up another - I find that they are ideal for long plane rides.