ridel reviewed Night School by Lee Child (Jack Reacher, #21)
The First Prequel I Liked
4 stars
Night School is the first Reacher prequel novel that I actually like, where he's in his prime as an MP but events aren't written overtly to bridge the gap to The Killing Floor and the events in Margrave. I've found previous prequels to be hamfisted in those attempts, and the central mystery to be boring compared to modern-day Reacher settings.
Lee Child also delivers everything in the highly refined Reacher formula: the mystery is excellent, the action is rare, but brutally violent when it occurs, and the details are critical and carefully thought through. Reacher has an excellent foil in Neagley, who is the only ex-Special Investigator with a personality that I can recall and isn't the standard Lee Child female character. The weaknesses are also the same... for me, that's the standard cringeworthy Reacher-gets-the-girl plotline, which is completely unnecessary but probably services a certain subset of readers, as well …
Night School is the first Reacher prequel novel that I actually like, where he's in his prime as an MP but events aren't written overtly to bridge the gap to The Killing Floor and the events in Margrave. I've found previous prequels to be hamfisted in those attempts, and the central mystery to be boring compared to modern-day Reacher settings.
Lee Child also delivers everything in the highly refined Reacher formula: the mystery is excellent, the action is rare, but brutally violent when it occurs, and the details are critical and carefully thought through. Reacher has an excellent foil in Neagley, who is the only ex-Special Investigator with a personality that I can recall and isn't the standard Lee Child female character. The weaknesses are also the same... for me, that's the standard cringeworthy Reacher-gets-the-girl plotline, which is completely unnecessary but probably services a certain subset of readers, as well as a conclusion that is far too abrupt for the number of characters introduced in the novel.
What lifts this above the standard Reacher-fare is an antagonist that isn't cartoonishly evil. There's a number of plots-within-plots and all the antagonists feel realistic. Sadly though, I still prefer Reacher when he's avenging small problems, and this is pretty much the opposite. His antics don't feel as unique when he needs to save the world.
Night School is not in the top tier, but is an above-average Reacher novel. Given how many there are, that's saying something.
Recommended.
