“I’ve been in trouble before. I survived. And right now I have bigger fish to fry.” — Jack Reacher in "The Sentinel"
In early 2020, author Lee Child (née James Grant) announced that his brother (author Andrew Grant) was going to take over writing duties for the Jack Reacher series.
I recall having mixed emotions at the time. I talked about the change in my review of Child’s 24th Reacher novel “Blue Moon.” Child mentioned that he and his brother would collaborate on the next few books together — before Andrew took charge of the series. Due to the fact that I was pretty underwhelmed by “Blue Moon,” I was worried that perhaps the pair was already collaborating.
I just finished reading the first novel in this new arrangement, titled “The Sentinel.” Andrew Grant — an established author in his own right — is now credited on the cover under pen name “Andrew Child.”
I’ve previously reviewed eight Reacher novels on this blog (as well as the short story collection “No Middle Name”). For some reason, I put off starting “The Sentinel” for more than a year after its initial publication.
I think I was worried about the transition to a new writer (even if that writer came from the same gene pool as Lee Child). I know there have been various series over the years that have seen writer transitions such as this (some more successful than others), but there is such a distinctive personality to a Jack Reacher novel — in terms of characterization, story structure, and writing style — that I was worried I’d be disappointed.
Let me say first off that “The Sentinel” is a far stronger entry in the Reacher lexicon than 2019’s “Blue Moon.” It has a vibe that feels authentic in the Reacher universe.
This time out, Reacher finds himself in the small town of Pleasantville, Tennessee, after successfully guiding an insurance negotiator (who was driving around lost in Nashville) to an I-40 onramp.
At first, I thought naming a sleepy little Tennessee burg “Pleasantville” was an uninspired choice (considering the fact that it is the same name as a 1998 movie starring Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon), but it turns out there is actually an unincorporated community in Tennessee called Pleasantville.
(While I thought naming a pair of fictional towns “Hope” and “Despair” in the novel “Nothing to Lose” was a tad bit hokey, at least it felt more original than “Pleasantville.” But I digress... )
The unassuming Reacher soon finds himself embroiled in a mystery shortly after his arrival at a Pleasantville coffee shop (a situation that is de rigueur for the former military police officer).
Reacher stumbles upon a man departing the coffee shop named Rusty Rutherford — a local IT specialist.
Reacher pays the man no mind, but soon “a signal from some ancient warning system in the back of his brain” causes his interest to ratchet up.
His keen intellect detects a coordinated attack unfolding to snatch Rutherford (involving two men and a woman). Reacher’s MO is to help the unwary stranger.
In mere moments, Reacher finds himself running afoul of those attempting to ambush Rutherford as well as the local constabulary. All parties seem anxious to shoo Reacher out of town.
But our hero is persistent.
Reacher learns that Pleasantville has been hit by a ransomware attack, and Rutherford (the town’s recently terminated IT manager) is being blamed.
Despite Rutherford’s urging, government officials failed to invest in a more robust IT infrastructure, making the town a “soft target” for hackers and bad actors. Instead of using Rutherford to help solve the attack, the town has turned him into a local pariah — despite his intricate knowledge about such security breaches.
All of this sets into motion a mystery wrapped in a conspiracy that has its tentacles winding beyond the boundaries of Pleasantville.
In the middle of the storm is our luddite knight errant, Jack Reacher.
In a two-part interview with The Crew Reviews about “The Sentinel” (watch Part 1 and Part 2), Lee Child hinted that he was handing writing duties over to his younger brother because he wasn’t equipped to keep Reacher fresh for a younger audience.
You can definitely see attempts to try and infuse more of today’s technology into “The Sentinel” — we even see Reacher nudged into using a cell phone. I don’t know for sure if Lee and Andrew intentionally went with a more “tech-heavy” focus to appeal a more “tech-savvy” audience or not, but it made me wonder.
For the most part, the tech-based plot worked. There were some instances (such as a few too many successful attempts at cracking 4-digit security codes) that pushed the boundaries of “willful suspension of disbelief.”
It is a trait that is fairly common with modern thrillers, so it is a minor quibble.
To be honest, I prefer my Reacher novels to be less tech heavy. That’s the joy of this series. And I’m speaking as someone who has spent a significant portion of his adult life building websites and crafting promotional efforts online.
I feel that technology has become something of a crutch when it comes to storytelling these days (and in many entertainment properties, computers have turned into “deus ex machina” plot devices that make detective work far too easy).
One interesting note: In the earliest passages of “The Sentinel,” we find Reacher aiding a Nashville-based band that has been cheated after a gig by bar owner named Derek Lockhart.
It almost seemed as if that was going to be the circumstance Andrew Child used to set the story in motion (I could have seen a scenario where Reacher unearthed some sort of conspiracy involving an organized crime ring helmed by Lockhart... or something of that nature). It ultimately turned out to be unrelated to the rest of the novel...
I had a good time reading “The Sentinel.” While it might not rank among my favorite Reacher novels, it was a fun read that felt at home with the rest of the series. I’ll be interested to see how Reacher evolves as Andrew Grant’s influence is reflected in upcoming stories.
Overall, I am happy the series is continuing and I think things are in capable hands.
In other Jack Reacher news...
The new Amazon Prime Video series “Reacher” is set to drop on the streaming service Feb. 4, 2022. The first season runs eight episodes and is based on Child’s first novel “The Killing Floor.”
I’m looking forward to the show and think actor Alan Ritchson embodies the Reacher look. It will be interesting to see if the overall execution of the show itself is as solid as Amazon’s other book-based detective series “Bosch” (read my 2018 post “You Should Be Watching Amazon’s ‘Bosch’”).
Here is the teaser trailer for “Reacher”:
Additional blog posts on author Lee Child:
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