‘No Middle Name’ by Lee Child

The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Stories

Published by Delacorte Press,
16 May 2017.
ISBN 978-0-3995-9357-4 (HB)

From the publisher:  Lee Child’s iconic anti-hero Jack Reacher is the stuff made of legend – a larger-than-life man who is “loved by women, feared by men, and respected by all”.  Now, following twelve consecutive #1 New York Times bestsellers, Child offers the ultimate Reacher reading experience . . . which includes an exciting, all-new Reacher novella, as well as Child’s eleven previously published short stories featuring Reacher. This pulse-pounding collection marks the first time that all of Lee Child’s short fiction starring Reacher has been available in the same place at the same time.  No Middle Name begins with Too Much Time, a new work of short fiction that finds Reacher in a hollowed-out town in Maine, where he witnesses a random bag-snatching but sees much more than a simple crime.  In his trademark tight and propulsive prose, Child sets Reacher and his “lizard brain” off for a case where there is more than meets the eye – and Reacher, as always, won’t rest until a wrong is righted.

The longest of these tales runs 68 pages, with most falling between 36 and 53 pages in length, the shortest running 4, 6, 10 and 11, but no matter the brevity or length, these are all tales of Jack Reacher, and that’s pretty much all it takes to make it a must read.  The very first, referred to in the previous quoted paragraph, was written contemporaneously, in 2017; the others between 1999 and 2016.  Reacher’s brother, Joe, makes an appearance more than once, which I found very interesting (Joe has been in previous books).  As readers know, Reacher is a military cop, at present 35 years old, a major with twelve years in, with rare attributes:  He is brilliant, with admirable reserves of intelligence and strengths (both mental and physical, at 6’ 5” and 250 pounds.   In one of the tales, which takes place in Paris, Reacher is 13 years old; in another, he is 16, and in another he is approaching 17.  One story is in Georgia, in 1989.  A few of the stories take place in New York City, primarily in sites in or around area bars in Greenwich Village.  (In another, Shea Stadium is referenced, with, unfortunately, the Mets losing to the Cubs by two to one.  (Full disclosure: I am a die-hard Mets fan.)  But Yankee Stadium gets a mention as well, although without a game in progress.)  And two of the tales take place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, interestingly.

So obviously there is a wide range of geography and time found here, but the most (only?) crucial thing can be summed up in two words: “Child” and “Reacher.”  And what could be better than
that? Highly recommended.

------

Reviewer: Gloria Feit

Lee Child (real name James D Grant) is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in New York. It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. His books consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world, and are published in over one hundred territories. He is the recipient of many prizes, most recently the CWA’s Diamond Dagger for a writer of an outstanding body of crime fiction.
Jack Reacher, the first Jack Reacher movie starring Tom Cruise, was based on the novel One Shot, and the second is Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.

http://www.leechild.com

Ted and Gloria Feit live in Long Beach, NY, a few miles outside New York City.  For 26 years, Gloria was the manager of a medium-sized litigation firm in lower Manhattan. Her husband, Ted, is an attorney and former stock analyst, publicist and writer/editor for, over the years, several daily, weekly and monthly publications.  Having always been avid mystery readers, and since they're now retired, they're able to indulge that passion.  Their reviews appear online as well as in three print publications in the UK and US.  On a more personal note: both having been widowed, Gloria and Ted have five children and nine grandchildren between them.