The Enemy

By Lee Child. Random House, 412pp. $32.95.

Reviewer: LS Rachel Irving

"I saw a standard motel layout ... The whole place looked dim and damp and miserable.

There was a dead man on the bed ... Any hundred people could have looked at him and all hundred would have said army officer, for sure."

The Enemy is the latest Lee Child novel featuring our favourite cult hero, Jack Reacher.

This time we have stepped back to the start of 1990. The Berlin Wall has collapsed and Jack is a major in the Army, an MP with attitude.

With the death of a two-star general in a dodgy motel opposite a strip joint, and a string of murders and unanswered questions, The Enemy takes us on a whirlwind trip to Paris, Germany and across the US as Jack and his MP sidekick, Lt Summer, try to piece together the puzzle.

Lee Child’s distinct use of the first person allows the reader to infiltrate the book and become part of the story.

The Enemy is a cracker – Jack Reacher fans will certainly not be disappointed.