Night School (Jack Reacher #21)

Night School by Lee Child is the 21st book in his Jack Reacher series - a retired Army MP who wanders the US stumbling onto situations that need to be resolved. This novel is a jump back to his time in the Army.

In 1996, Jack Reacher is a major in the US Army military police. He is an investigator who sees things that others often miss.

Coming off of a successful mission, Reacher is given a medal and told he is going back to school. The vague title of the class sounds like improving agency cooperation with other US alphabet groups. But really it is a black hole - an assignment so boring that no one will look for him while he works with two agents (FBI and CIA).

The CIA has an asset in Germany who is part of a new group out of the Middle East. The asset overheard a messenger say that the American wants one hundred million. Of course, this set the NSA in motion. They don't know what is going on, but it must be big.

With so little information the team, supplemented by helper of their choice, can try to figure out what would be worth that much, or try to find the messenger for the next part of the negotiation - without burning the asset. Reacher calls his favorite sergeant, Francis Neagley. One of my favorite supporting characters in any series, I was thrilled to get another book with Neagley!

Child's series is filled with great reads. Fans of mystery, suspense, and characters with their own, unbending sense of right and wrong, will love this series.

Child, Lee. (2016). Night School. New York: Delacourte Press.