First of all, let's take care of the business of saying that I received this for free from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review - but I sure would have paid for it. Lee Child strikes again with Jack Reacher. I read a lot of thrillers, but if all I could read was Lee Child and Craig Johnson, I think I would be perfectly happy.
As usual, Jack Reacher stumbles into a bit of a mystery, and loads of interesting characters totally by accident - but that's expected. What was not so expected is that central to the story is one of the main issues of our time - the widespread use of drugs in this country - and the market for illegal drugs. I feel like I know a lot more about why that market exists and a bit of understanding of what might be done to fix it a bit. I'm not going to say much about the story, because we certainly don't want to let any spoilers sneak through on a Reacher book, but I'll just say that this is more timely than most of the Reacher series, and really one of the very best in the whole series. The only downside is now that I've read it, I have to wait a whole year for the next one. Damn!

Jack Reacher is back in Lee Child’s new novel, The Midnight Line. In this book, Reacher is out to locate a woman who pawned her West Point class ring. What starts as a chance find in a Wisconsin pawn shop, ends in tracking down a crew of fentanyl dealers.

If you have not read any Jack Reacher novels this is a stand-alone story. Author, Lee Child sprinkles in enough details about Reacher’s past to make sure a new reader understands the character.

Reacher is a lone wolf, wandering the US after retiring from the Army. Being a former Military Police officer, Reacher can’t help but help people he encounters in his travels. While he might travel alone he typically teams up with local police or federal agents to accomplish missions.

In this story, Reacher finds himself alone in a Milwaukee WI hotel bed. With nothing else to do, he jumps the first bus out of town. During a rest stop in some no-name small Wisconsin town, Reacher looks in the window of a pawn shop. There he sees a West Point class ring.

Being a West Point graduate he knows few people would willingly pawn their class ring. Seeing the ring as a new challenge he buys it and sets out to find the owner.

To find the owner he will travel across the Dakotas and into Wyoming. Along the way, he meets a police detective, a private investigator and a cadre of drug dealers. The private investigator is a former FBI agent who is seeking a missing woman. Given there are some parallels to Reacher’s mission and the missing woman the investigator looking for, they team up.

Like many of the Jack Reacher books, this one has an excellent pace. The point of view flips between Jack Reacher and some of the other main characters. Particularly many of the villains have parts of the narrative from their POV. As a reader, I enjoy reading the descriptions of a trap being laid and then finding out how Reacher will avoid it, or sometimes fall for it.

One thing I liked was how flushed out the villains were. These were not one-dimensional bad guys out for pure evil. They had some smarts and backstory. There were reasons for why they did what they did and nuance to their next steps. For instance, one character spends his free time reading business magazines. He might be a drug dealer but he is looking for ways to improve his return on investment.

The ending is satisfying even if the outcomes of a few subplots are left a little ambiguous. Then again, given Reacher’s nomadic lifestyle he can’t always know what happens to everyone he meets. So as readers maybe we can’t expect to get all the answers also.

The Midnight Line will release on November 7, 2017. You can pre-order it here

Before I get any fans upset about my review, a three star from me denotes a good book. So that stated I will say I know this series has millions of fans who would probably read a grocery list written by Mr. Child. My husband is a fan and we thought we’d have a little buddy read. He has read all of the Jack Reacher books so he filled me in on the background of the character as I didn’t think there would be much in this book describing Jack since it’s the 22nd book (that’s just crazy) in the series. I went into this just looking for a fun entertaining read.

As you all know from the blurb Jack finds a female sized West Point ring in a pawn shop window and is interested. He is a graduate and knows what anyone has to go through to be able to wear that ring. What could make this woman so desperate that she would pawn her ring? How and from whom does the owner of this pawn shop get his goods? He finally gives Reacher a name, Jimmy the Rat and he starts his new quest.

The first third of the book was so slow moving I nearly gave up reading it, but I was becoming interested to find out who the owner of the ring was. There is so much dialogue devoted to an altercation with bikers in a small midwestern town that it actually made me laugh. I counted fifteen pages as he knocked all seven of them out, one by one, example “He waited until they were five feet away and then he launched hard and smashed through the line with a horizontal elbow in his first target’s face and then he turned immediately and launched again, no delay at all, stamping his foot to kill the old momentum and get some new, scything his elbow at the guy to the right of the sudden new gap, who turned straight into it, facing front with all kinds of urgency, meeting the blow like a head-on wreck on the highway. Two down.” I won’t go through the rest of the five.

Once Jack finds what he thinks is the beginning of the supply line for the pawn shop we are introduced to Gloria Nakamura, a detective in the Rapid City Crimes Against Property unit. She has been on the trail of Arthur Scorpio whom she believes is smuggling stolen narcotics, mainly Oxycodone and Fentanyl patches, pharmaceutical grade and usually hard to get as it is closely monitored. Reacher also finds Gloria and they strike up a friendship with a give and take decision on information found on Mr. Scorpio and the smuggling line of supply.

Jack’s quest will lead him finally to Mule Crossing Wyoming, a barely existent town where lots has been going on and not legally. We find the owner of the ring and her character is very interesting and extremely sad. Five tours of duty in Iraq, honorably discharged with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. From the Purple Heart Jack is quite sure that she was seriously injured in the war. Her story is tragic and it is this part of the book that I found eye opening and pertinent to our times. I know that veterans in this country often don’t get a fair deal, they aren’t truly compensated for what they did and those that are emotionally and physically wounded often are left with little or no support. Many times left to turn to alcohol and drugs in an attempt to heal themselves.

There are some interesting characters in this book. Terrence Bramall a very likable attorney who is very invested in finding his client’s missing twin sister. I would have liked to have known more about him. MacKenzie is Rose Sanderson’s (the owner of the ring) sister and hasn’t heard from Rose in about a year and is very concerned about her welfare. Further into the story she flies into town and joins the others in their search for the narcotics smugglers.

When my Kindle hit 73% the action started happening and I was in a happier place. By then I knew the plot, the characters and the plan. I enjoyed the last quarter of the book. Had the rest of the book been as interesting this could easily have been a 4 or 5 star read. There was just too much time wasted on all of the conversations while hitchhiking and all of the pages of descriptive fighting. I know now why people like the series because every “quest” is different and addresses different issues. Reacher is a kind of adult super hero traveling with just his toothbrush on the lookout for injustice.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley.

will post to Amazon and Barnes and Noble upon publication. Thank you.

See my review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2148485965

Already being a huge fan of both Jack Reacher movies, I was very excited to read the newest installment in the Jack Reacher series. This book did not disappoint to live up to every expectation I had going in. Reacher is the embodiment of (what I feel) is true justice for the hardened criminals who commit heinous crimes, murder people in cold blood and never seem to get the punishment they deserve.

My expectations were completely blown away, as Lee is able to make you believe you know what’s coming, but the final result never ceases to impress me. After finding a West Point ring in a pawn shop, Reacher sets out on a quest to help restore honor and dignity to what he believes is a fallen fellow West Point graduate. Set in the upper Midwest, Reacher gets the answers he wants with his unconventional methods we all secretly wish were the norm. As he travels from Michigan to North Dakota, eventually culminating in an epic conclusion, you’ll be hooked until the end.

Once again Jack Reacher finds a loose end and pulls hard until the conspiracy unravels.

This time it's not clear who all of the bad guys might be: a drug dealer, sure, but maybe the DEA and the U.S. government? In any case he manages to stay one step ahead of the law and work through a morally ambiguous situation to take care of the good guys... and the bad guys too.

I was provided an advance electronic copy of this book from Netgalley.

Other reviewers have provided synopses, and I will not repeat their efforts.

I have read all of the previous Jack Reacher books, and this one did not disappoint. I will readily admit that the plot twists and turns surprised me; I did not expect what Reacher found, and to avoid spoilers, I will not say any more than that.

I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 because, like other reviewers, I found the ending a bit messy and abrupt, and in fact I had to go back and re-read the last few pages to make sure I had not missed something. But other than this one small quibble, it's a great read.

For the millions who love the Jack Reacher persona, this latest in the series is a winner: There's more Jack, there's more thinking through the exact steps to deliver the slam-down to the bad guys, and more comrades-in-arms who get their share of the story line and the ultimate win.

If the previous two releases had negative aspects to them, this 22nd release breaks through without issues, just applause.

This is the Jack Reacher we know and love: straight-forward, ethics and morals high, and all action. You'll want to read this one, soon.

What a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the action, the dialogue, and the characters. I would suggest the ending clarify a couple of things but at that point, I was so happy with the book it really didn't matter. Nothing against Lee Child, but the book was like Robert Parker's books in cadence and style which I also really enjoyed. Jack Reacher would be a great guy to meet although you won't have much time with him!

Thanks for continuing a great character and developing a super storyline.

Jack Reacher, the modern day American Paladin gets off the bus at another small town and into another wild ride. Lee Childs, his creator, has him delving deep into a current day issue in a way and with the landscape and sweep that is his hallmark. I try not to spoil, but will say because it's out there almost from the beginning that Childs and therefore Reachers handling of the illegal sale of Pharmacuitical quality pain meds is illuminating. Reachers search for a missing hero is well, Reacher. As is the way he cleans up the dirtbag at the center of this Midwestern drug trade. The Midnight line has all that you expect and want from a Jack Reacher bus stop.

The Midnight Line by Lee Child continues the on-going journey of Jack Reacher. Jack is retired military police and has high moral standards. Some people might say Jack breaks the rules but Jack has his own set of rules that he lives by. In this book Jack becomes involved in the life and problems of another retired officer and West Point graduate. On the whole I enjoyed the book but at times it felt like the story was moving very slowly. Would I recommend this book? Yes. I received an advance copy of this book from Net Galley.

Another Jack Reacher book (#22), so you know what to expect. No surprises here, but a must read for Child/Reacher fans. The suspense builds, the action is intense, the "good guy" wins, but if you're a fan of the genre, you know what to expect and love it!

I always enjoy reading Lee CHild's books about Jack Reacher. He is a basely good guy who wants to help others and sometimes has to use physical force. The Midnight Line was challenging to read because I was not able t predict the end until I finished the book. Somehow I felt sorry for Reacher who again goes off on his own and is not able to settle down and establish a close relationship with another adult.

Jack Reacher is the best protagonist in the mystery thriller genre! All of Lee Child's books are top notch. Looking forward to the next installment!!

This was a great addition to the series. There were no totally out there plot twists. In this book Reacher teams up with a private investigator and a woman to find a West Point grad who pawned or otherwise lost her class ring. The book kept my attention throughout and brought some attention to soldiers wounded in "non-glamorous" ways (I know none of it is glamorous, but some ways get more positive attention than others).

Another perfect entry in the Jack Reacher series. Lee Child continues to invent new and intriguing circumstances for the ex marine to demonstrate his physical and mental abilities while righting wrongs.

Typical Reacher book, I just wonder if something was left in the laundromat that I missed? I don't want to list a spoiler, but I felt something was undone there. I always love Reacher though so I can overlook it.

I love the Jack Reacher books and devoured this one as usual. However I was disappointed in the lack of action and plotline. Even so, I will take a mediocre Reacher book any day!

Lee Child. "The Midnight Line" is classic Lee Child/Jack Reacher. Gets you hooked right at the start and continues rapid-fire from start to finish. Typical of the"Reacher" series, it is not flowery but quick, straight-to-the-point Joe Friday ("Just the facts, ma'am") action. As always, I hated to see I was at the end and can't wait for the next book!

Another great Jack Reacher story, one the better ones. Only Jack Reacher could spot a West Point class ring in a pawn shop window and turn it into a morality play. Ultimately really well but also quite sad.