Review: The Enemy

The Enemy by Lee Child
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Again I started with a frown...

I was happy to begin #8 with a fresh start, having been a little put-off by Reacher #7 being written in first person. As I mentioned in my review, I had troulbe getting into “Reacher mode” due to the perspective change. So page 1 paragraph 1 of The Enemy, i’m “Damn it, first person again!?” Easier to pallete this time since it was less of a shock, now lets just hope returning to 3rd person doesn’t throw me out of whack again!

This is a throwback Reacher, back to active service days as a Major with the notorious 110th MP division. The story sticks to the ongoing Reacher theme, a new mystery/conspiracy, a new sexy partner and a few new faces to kick in. Military times are changing, circa 1990’s and the transition from heavy artillery to more mobile means of global ass kicking. A combination of “who done it” and investigative action gives us multiple (albeit predictable) plot twists with just a tang of “legal thriller.” An enjoyable story with nothing of note to push me beyond the baseline 3 star review. I did enjoy it being fully told during his time as an MP, compared to a few short flash backs. Also, there is a hefty dose of intriguing Reacher history revealed. On the downside, the last 1/4 of the book where the mystery unfolds and questions are answered, I got a bit lost with who,what and why. Also, the main motivation behind the antagonists actions seemed overkill to me. As per the usual, if you’re a fan of Reacher I would certainly recommend reading, if nothing else for the Reacher history lesson, but don’t expect to be blown away. Now please Lee Child, can we get back to 3rd person!?

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