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The title of Lee Child’s nineteenth Jack Reacher thriller, PERSONAL, has many meanings. It refers to how Reacher, drifting around the country as he always does, responds to an ad in the personal column of a paper. It refers to the way that the international situation he is asked to deal with may be quite personal for him. And it may also refer to the fact that the author has chosen to write this book in the first person, an option he has taken before with the Reacher books but not his most usual choice.
As Reacher narrates the tale, his point of view is quite revealing. In some ways,
seeing the story unfold through his eyes serves to underline all of his oddities. His ability to kill without pity is quite apparent. If someone is trying to murder or maim him, and that person is someone Reacher considers a burden to society - someone who destroys people through selling drugs or loan-sharking or forcing girls into prostitution - then he has no problem in twisting their necks or shooting them in the head.
As the book opens, a sniper has taken a long range shot at the French President as he made an open-air speech. Only the efficacy of the bulletproof glass surrounding him foiled the assassination. A group of Secret Service organizations from various countries tries to find the sniper because they fear that this attempt was only a warm-up and that his real targets will be one or more of the world’s leaders at an upcoming 6-8 conference to be held in London. Because of the distance of the shot and its accuracy, they are able to narrow down the sniper’s identity to one of three individuals from three different countries. Reacher knows the American John Kott very well. He was instrumental in getting Kott locked up for fifteen years. Kott is now out of prison and may be gunning for Reacher as well as the politician he was hired by someone to eliminate.
Reacher is sent to Europe to find Kott. His partner in this search is a young, attractive, but inexperienced agent named Casey Nice. She reminds Reacher of another partner of his who was captured and brutally murdered. He still feels guilty about that, and worries that the same thing will happen to Nice. As they follow mobsters around London, escape from captivity, and eliminate guards, she proves herself a worthy associate.
Throughout the book, a highly placed official named General Tom O’Day monitors Reacher. O’Day wants to know everything that the pair does and has told them he will keep them informed about everything he discovers. Reacher is a loner though, and whenever possible does his own thing his own way. Not keeping O’Day in the loop may be one of his smarter moves.
The ending of the book reveals that the situation is not what it has appeared to be. This is a surprise, but on the whole the plot is less exciting and suspenseful than other Reacher adventures. There is too much of Reacher going back and forth with similar operatives and similar situations. But he does get to throw away his clothes and buy new ones, and he does influence Nice to travel with only a toothbrush. It is always a pleasure to be with Jack Reacher again.
§Anne Corey is a writer, poet, teacher and botanical artist in New York's Hudson Valley.
Reviewed by Anne Corey, August 2014
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