His mission is to uncover the truth. The question will Reacher bring the bad guys to justice the official way . . . or his way? The woman took hold of Bridgeman’s arm and felt for his pulse. It was fast and weak. She said, ‘Come on now. Calm down. Think of your family. We don’t want to hurt them. Or you. We just need you to understand how serious this situation is. We only have two questions, but they’re important. The sooner you answer, the sooner we’re out of here. Ready?’ Maybe there is another name.’ Bridgeman closed his eyes. ‘Maybe someone knows what it is. One of the others might. But not me. I don’t think one exists.’ The transition of Andrew taking the lead, some things have remained the same while other things have changed. Andrew was definitely not Lee and his changes were weren’t always subtle to the millions of Reacher fans. In my personal opinion, it’s taken Andrew several books to develop his own rhythm with the character and his behaviors. The result is that Andrew’s version Reacher is not necessarily Lee’s Reacher. As a reader, you can choose to like that or not. It’s just the reality of the situation. The woman with the finger clip climbed out of her chair. ‘And I’m her sister. Veronica Sanson. Our father was Morgan Sanson. It’s important you know that.’

The woman leaned in closer. ‘Keith, we know what you did. What you all did. Twenty-threeyears ago. December 1969.’ This was maybe a so-so Reacher as he was not always centre stage in the narrative. It did at least make a change from the standard drifter Reacher template where he stumbles into some dastardly criminal conspiracy and has to rescue various innocents or even entire towns with his vigilante ways and means.Readers are already privy to the fact that Stamoran had something to do with the tragic events that took place in India when thousands of innocent lives were claimed due to the mishandling of chemical weapons. The seven members of that team are now on a hit list kept by Veronica and Roberta, who also insist on learning the name of the notorious eighth individual who was really pulling the strings. The woman said, ‘We have two questions. That’s all. Answer them honestly and you’ll never see us again. I promise.’ Another area of strengthening was the overall plotting. The mystery was multi-layered and the various pieces were revealed throughout the book at different point along the way, providing more tension and surprise along the way. Although I have to say that I figured out the last big reveal at the end, which means a lot of other readers will most likely have done the same. This year, Andrew has delivered his fourth Reacher novel, “The Secret”, which continues much of the same approach, style, and plotting as his last novel, “No Plan B”. For me personally, there seems to be some more incremental improvement. Reacher is not talking near as much as he did in Andrew’s first book. In addition, the plotting is continuing to improve, strengthening the overall story. His mission is to uncover the truth. Fast. The question is: will Reacher bring the bad guys to justice the official way . . . or his way?

There is a very short book trailer for The Secret by Random House which you can watch on YouTube here. I recently came upon a quote which definitely pertains to my relationship with Reacher stories — I read a Reacher book in a day and then wait a year for the sequel. I suppose I could try drawing out the reading experience but Reacher adventures demand to be inhaled at top speed. The woman said, ‘Have you ever seen a child’s coffin, Keith? Because if you haven’t I don’t think anything can really prepare you for how tiny it will seem. Especially when it’s next to the full-size one your daughter will be in.’ Veronica and Roberta Sanson are trying to determine who is responsible for a quasi-military incident in India in 1969. A secret project went sideways with devastating results. These two women leave bodies in their wake, trying to find everyone responsible for the project. They have a list of seven names, all scientists, but they think one name is missing, and that's the ultimate person they hope to find. Bridgeman’s mouth was dry. He did his best to moisten his lips then took a deep breath. But not to answer questions. To call for help the old-fashioned way.His mission is to uncover the truth. The question is: will Reacher bring the bad guys to justice the official way . . . or his way? Reacher may be an exceptional soldier, but sweeping other people's secrets under the carpet isn't part of his skill set. As he races to find the killer, he must navigate around the ulterior motives of his new 'partners'. And all while moving into the sight line of some of the most dangerous people he has ever encountered. It’s 1992 and Reacher is a Captain in the MPs, having just been busted down from Major. Now, he’s assigned to a task force formed by the Secretary of Defense to solve the whys and wherefores of a string of murders of scientists scattered across the country. Reacher and his fellow agents from the CIA, the FBI, and the Treasury must race against time to stop the perpetrators from killing again, if they can.