MAKE ME is the twentieth Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child. It probably plays better as a continuation of the series rather than as a stand alone book. For those of us who come to the series at this late date it appears a lot of information about Mr. Reacher has already been disclosed and the reader is supposed to know it. With this limitation a new reader will find this book thin on characterization but heavy on plot.
Most of the action in the story takes place in a small town titled "Mother's Rest". Reacher saw this name on a map and his interest was piqued. It is the one and only reason he got off the train at this stop. He had been headed to Chicago but since he was in no rush to get there he decided to take a look at "Mother's Rest" and try to determine the origin of the name.
When Reacher steps down from the train he is greeted by a woman who has mistaken him for someone else. Ex-FBI Agent Michelle Chang was looking for her partner, a man named Keever. Together they run a Private Investigation office. Keever had been in Mother's Rest on a case and he had sent for Chang to come help him out. Now Keever has disappeared and Chang has little to no information concerning the details of the case.
The fun of the book comes in learning how Reacher and Chang take almost no information about an event and slowly piece together why it occurred and what it involved. This is done in such a way that the reader understands it all. This is not easy to do especially when there are no wild assumptions and hunches they use. It is just slow and steady detective work.
Reacher is ex-Army and has some real strong physical skills. He also has a comprehensive knowledge of weapons. He wanders the country getting involved in situations that attract his interest. The disappearance of Keever grabs his interest, as does PI Michelle Chang. With nothing pressing him he decides to help her out with her investigation, even though doing so will eventually put his life in danger.
The story is a little tedious but has enough action sequences to brighten up the dull spots. New readers will come away from the book with only a little knowledge about Reacher and even less about Chang. You must accept who they are at face value.
Jack Reacher has to be a fascinating character since he has had twenty books written about him. So if you want to gain the full impact of who he is you need to start with book one KILLING FLOOR. The rest of us will just have to hope that in future books Mr. Child will give more information.
MAKE ME is published by Delacourte Press. It contains 402 pages and sells for $28.99.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com