The latest Jack Reacher novel is written by Lee Child and a co-writer for the first time. Andrew Child is Lee Child’s younger brother, and he’s an author in his own right, writing nine thrillers under the name Andrew Grant. Lee Child was a teenager when Andrew was born, so there’s a bit of an age gap, but Lee thinks this is a great benefit to the books, with it giving the series more ‘contemporary energy.’
In this story, our hero, Jack Reacher arrives in a small town outside Nashville, Tennessee, whose systems have been shut down by a cyberattack. All the townfolk blame Rusty Rutherford, who was formerly in charge of the town’s IT. Reacher is looking for some must-needed coffee, when he sees Rusty about to be abducted by some dubious-looking characters, so of course, he steps in to rescue him. So that is the beginning of a chase all over town, as Reacher tries to get to the bottom of why someone would want to harm Rusty. Well it turns out there are some cold war secrets rearing their ugly heads, and nothing is what it seems.
The Sentinel is a classic Reacher thriller updated with some subtle tweaks. For the first time, the technologically- averse Reacher acquires a cell phone. And Reacher is also a bit more chatty than usual, telling the readers how he maps out the hand-to-hand combat in advance with thugs who outnumber him. It’s a thrilling read that ticks all the boxes.
Reviewer: Karen McMillan
Penguin Random House