Jack Reacher is back in Lee Child's 23rd book in the series and it's a strange one.

This time around, Reacher is vagabonding across the country again. He's decided to hitchhike diagonally from New England to Southern California for the winter. He doesn't make it very far. The first guy that picks Reacher up gets an emergency phone call and needs to head back home. So he lets Reacher out in the middle of nowhere next to a sign coincidentally pointing toward the small New Hampshire town where Reacher's dad was born. Why not pay a visit to the ancestral home?

Chapter two starts with Shorty and Patty, a pair of Canadians seeking a new life in the U.S. They have a heavy suitcase full of something valuable they plan to sell in New York and use the profits to set themselves up with a windsurfing business in Florida. Unfortunately, they're having car trouble and need to stop at a secluded motel run by a quartet of overly accommodating, creepy young men who seem to have something sinister planned. Remote control locks, hidden cameras, and metal bars embedded in the walls don't seem like standard motel features.

Here's where things get weird. These two stories basically never intersect. Chapters alternate between Reacher doing genealogical research at the town library and the Canadian couple discovering hints that their lives are in danger. Until the final pages, the stories are completely separate, literally and thematically. Reacher gets into few of his trademark brawls, making enemies with local apple farmers and the Boston mob, but for most of his story, he's scouring over census reports, birth records, and the minutes of a teenage bird watching club. When he finally crosses paths with Shorty and Patty to (((spoiler alert))) save them from the villainous motel-keepers, they're already well on the way to saving themselves. They share just a few sentences and then they're separated again. It's a shockingly experimental story structure for such a mainstream book series.

I don't want to give the impression I didn't like the book. Like all the Reacher books, it is very enjoyable to read. I had a hard time putting it down and read the whole thing in two or three sessions. If you're a Reacher fan, I'm sure you'll like this one, too. If you're new to the series, I recommend going back to an earlier volume.

I haven’t read all the Jack Reacher books yet but I can say I really enjoyed this one, despite not having read all of them in order. Big developments about Reacher’s past in this one.

It’s a slow simmer throughout the book with Reacher’s visit to Laconia New Hampshire, trying to find his father’s childhood home.  Naturally there are problems.  It’s as if Stan Reacher didn’t exist….<em>at first</em>.  There is a bit of genealogy involved when Reacher checks government offices for census info.  He’s trying to find his deceased  father’s home and I can say, if you are interested in a trail of family history, the census is the place to start.

Life is going along smoothly until he’s awakened at 3:01 a.m. and gets into an altercation.  Hey, it’s to save a lady from a thug so of course someone gets beat up.  He has to get into a few fights.  The first one starts up another spoke of the story about retaliation.  We revisit this a few times.

The other story line is about a young Canadian couple stranded near Laconia after their beat up Honda gave out. Patty Sundstrom and Shorty Fleck are broke.  They have a heavy fat suitcase with some treasure inside which they intend to sell when they reach NYC.  Then the plan is to head to Florida and open a windsurfing combo t-shirt business and live near the beach.

When they see a Motel sign they know they can coast the car in and spend the night, hoping to get a mechanic to look at their car then be on their way. Then the creepiness starts and this nice Canadian couple are in bad situation.  You like this couple so you do care what happens to them.  I really wanted to know what was in that heavy suitcase and it was revealed at the end.  Made me smile.

The separate stories eventually converge and then the fireworks begin. So much action all at once for the last quarter of the book.  I couldn’t put it down by this point.

There were a few loose ends, in my opinion, that I wish had been addressed.  If you haven’t read it then this may not make sense but it’s <strong>not</strong> a spoiler either. Why did the ornithologist want to speak to Reacher so badly?  What happened to the rough and tumble fruit pickers who wanted to continue a vendetta? The minor character Burke – he clearly had a mysterious past and I think it may have had some bearing on the story.

Much thanks to <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/">NetGalley</a> for allowing me access to this book prior to publication.  I really enjoyed it and gobbled it down over a weekend.  I was not compensated for my review and all opinions, positive and negative, are my own.

Another great Jack Reacher story. Full of action and bad guys. Jack does seem to find the problems where ever he goes and rights the wrong. this one was a bit different as it explored his Father's past. I could not put this one down (as usual). Love all the action an the surprises. Can't wait for the next reacher adventure

Past Tense by Lee Child is the latest Jack Reacher adventure but with a twist.
While Jack is a major player in the story and the plot, the main plot and characters are totally separate and could almost be book worth reading unto themselves.

The story, like many, starts with Jack hitchhiking. His intention was to go cross country diagonally north to south, east to west. Right off the bat he found himself looking a choice of direction. One was Laconia, New Hampshire. Knowing that this was where his father has supposedly lived and left from to join the Marine Corps, Jack decided to a little genealogical sightseeing was in order.
Simultaneously, Canadians Shorty Fleck and Patty Sundstrom were traveling through the area and developed car troubles. The were barely able to coast into a virtually hidden motel only noticeable by the motel sign out by the road.
As they try to get the car fixed, things start not to add up and their hosts start acting differently.
Meanwhile Jack is in town just looking up old records and ends up “aggravating” one of the power brokers in town. The local police it might be best if Jack just left but Jack being Jack won’t until he finishes what he came to do.
You might think you could write the rest of the tale from here but ....
Enjoy

I like that Reacher wasn't really the main character in the story. And that he actually struggled a bit in a fight. The whole crazy family tree can definitely be explored more. And he didn't sleep with anyone!

Engaging read with interesting characters. Inventive plotting. Suspenseful. Child uses a familiar setting and adds dark corners to it.

Another great Jack Reacher novel. Well-written and suspenseful. Lee Child does not disappoint. Will be in high demand for sure. Libraries must purchase multiple copies in anticipation of this.

I guess I am getting burned out on Jack Reacher. I did not find this book as good as previous ones except for the fact he was trying to learn more about his father. The plot was one I’ve read before but one of the characters you will end up rooting for throughout. That was this books saving grace.

All you Reacher fans out there will be happy to know that Lee Child has delivered again. In fact, I would say this year's offering is one of his best. The twist in Past Tense is that while following Reacher as he meets and overcomes obstacles, we are also presented a second story involving a young couple from Canada caught up in a situation they can't handle. Each story takes place in and around Laconia, NH where Reacher has stopped to explore his father's hometown and the couple from Canada have car trouble.
There are plenty of unanswered questions about Reacher's father who has left no traces in town records. Balance that with the mystery of what is in store for the other two travelers, and there is never a dull moment. I found it especially satisfying that the young woman is the savvy one in that couple. It was fun to have someone besides Reacher to root for. The action scenes are taut with danger and suspense, and Child kept the talky scenes that drag the story down to a minimum.
As with any good Reacher book, when I finished Past Tense, I was already eager to see where he is headed next.

Lee Child has seldom disappointed me over the course of the 23 books in the Jack Reacher series. Reacher is an iconic character. Six feet and five inches tall, two hundred and fifty pounds of bruising muscle. Beholden to neither person nor place. He travels the states with only the clothes on his back and a folding toothbrush. He doesn’t necessarily go looking for adventure and mayhem, but it always manages to find him. I’ve heard his popularity ascribed to the fact that women readers want him romantically, and male readers simply want to be him. That description holds all kinds of assumptions about gender and quite frankly doesn’t approach what makes him such an anchor point for populist fiction. Reacher is physically strong, astute. But most of all he is a conduit for what most of us aspire toward: principled, authentic, and dogged in his efforts to make sure right remains right, and wrong is ultimately righted. Walter Mosley once said of his Easy Rawlings character that Easy was meant to be “a black superhero.” Lee Child has created one of his own in Jack Reacher. The plot of PAST TENSE matters little when you consider the real depth of any Reacher story, but here it is in a nutshell: Reacher stops at the town in New Hampshire he’d always been told was his father’s birthplace, but the pieces don’t come together quite as he expected and before long he is fighting for his life and that of a young couple from Canada. This one starts slowly and then cascades in a million wild directions. You can’t go wrong with Lee Child or Jack Reacher. Highly recommended!

As a big fan of Lee Child, I was very interested in his latest novel. This one takes the Reacher character into new territory, where he is searching for his ancestors in a small New England town. It also takes the evil characters that are his foils into newer and darker territories. I would highly recommend the book, even for readers who aren't yet familiar with Child's work.

Jack Reacher fascinates me: his physical dominance, his emotional reticence, his unthinking defense of weaker, innocent creatures in peril, his Zen detachment. Oh, and I'm a fan of Lee Child as well.

I've read each of the previous 22 installments of Reacher's story and enjoyed some more than others. This was my favorite. Reacher is both more impulsive and more reflective than he has been in the past. As rootless as he seems, who would've expected him to be so dogged in pursuit of elusive clues to his family's history, after he finds himself in his father's hometown?

As always, Child has skillfully braided together the storylines -- in this case, delaying gratification a bit longer than usual. We fans know that he will deliver the hapless Canadian tourist couple we meet early on. The fact that it took so long for their paths to cross (Reacher was after all busy with his genealogy project, and the fallout from an earlier savage rescue) only increased the tension for me.

Sometimes Reacher gets the girl, briefly. Not here -- the only romance is one that he sparked between two other characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

Every time I pick up a Lee Child novel, and I have read them all, I make sure I have some extra free time because I know I will want to finish the book without putting it down. Past Tense is no exception. In fact, this is one of the better Jack Reacher stories. Besides the usual mystery and suspense, Past Tense also has a touch of the Twilight Zone. (You can hear the musical intro, can’t you?). This story willl also be very satisfying for Jack Reacher fans as it fleshes out some of the character,s forebears. The different threads and the very compelling characters will keep even new fans riveted to this novel. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of the book. I loved it! #PastTense #LeeChild

THANK YOU for providing me with an ARC of the newest installment in the Jack Reacher series! I have been addicted to this man and his exploits for years now, and this newest addition to the series did not disappoint.

We've got the back and forth storylines of Jack Reacher and two Canadians, Shorty and Patty, coming to the US looking to start fresh with a new adventure. They all three end up in Laconia, New Hampshire, where things can be a little...odd. Reacher is looking for information on his father and grandparents. Shorty and Patty have car trouble and are trying to make sense of the four men who own the motel where they get stranded. How will these stories intersect?

This book is absolutely fantastic! I was still trying to figure out what was going on almost to the last page. I've been a Jack Reacher fan for years and this is one of the better installments in recent memory. It was fast paced, exciting and definitely kept me on my toes.

I loved this book! Lee Child you are one of the best suspense writers. It was an intense read and I couldn’t put it down. I liked everything about it.

I thought this was an excellent addition to the series. I am a bit biased as Lee Childs books got my son to finally read. He would never read, saw the Reacher movies and asked for the books. I know he will enjoy this book as much as I do.

Past Tense is another exciting Jack Reacher book by Lee Child. This story involved a personal search by Reacher that led to solving a crime. It was hard to put down because it was woven with mystery and a mesmerising story line.

Reacher looks into his own history in New Hampshire and also gets involved in a mysterious enterprise deep in the woods. I’m amazed at Reacher’s ability to find trouble- but I guess I’d want him on my side.

You’ve definitely discovered the secret to a successful book, Mr. Child/Grant. Once again, I loved Jack Reacher. He is the epitome of heroes, strong, analytical, easy on the eyes, fair, and judge and jury.

There are two main story lines that switch back and forth throughout along with several interesting tidbits about other characters. The main characters are well developed and interesting.

As usual, Reacher starts out on a long journey but is side-tracked, and that becomes the story. The anticipation builds as Jack looks for his father’s home in NH and a mysterious ‘kidnapping’ is happening at a local hotel. This was a comfortable, fast read for me and a definite page turner.

I especially enjoy that this book (and all the Reacher books) uses no F-bombs, and, yet, no emotions are left unfelt.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I am a Lee Child fan from forever, so this was a real pleasure.

Deceit,mystery and murders all wrapped up in two stories on the same course. Got this on my birthday and I couldn’t have been happier. Lee Child has written the Jack Reacher series and has done a phenomenal job. Each one just makes you want more. This starts out on a simple path where Reacher is traveling the country on the way to San Diego. Usually not sentimental, he finds himself going through his father ‘s childhood town but curiosity lures him into just “stopping for one day.” Also traveling but on their way to Florida are a Canadian couple Shorty and Pam who happen to have car trouble that forces them to stay at an isolated motel. Love their interaction and how they adjust and relegate the roles in their relationship. The couple also are transporting a mysterious “treasure” that holds the key to their future.
Past Tense is loaded with characters that will challenge and engage your reading sensibilities The book speaks of family; the biological along with the communal that forms and sometimes isolate the individual. We learn more about Reacher’s family, but I will leave that for you to discover. Recommend it to mystery and suspense lovers craving the next high octane adventure.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give feedback on this novel