Gone Tomorrow
Written by Lee Child & Reviewed by the Green Vegetable
What’s the rhyme or reason in the Jack Reacher universe when it comes to POV? This book utilizes 1P POV. Just like Killing Floor, among others. But the POV shifts from book to book are nothing if not inconsistent.
The greatest thing you can say about this story is that it’s a typical Reacher novel. And of course, the worst thing you can say about this story is that it’s a typical Reacher novel. The story was engaging, the characters were painfully interchangeable with previous books, the antagonist was ripped straight from the Bond villain template, law and order is negotiable when it comes to Reacher’s corpse count, and the obligatory addition of one female to Reacher’s body count. Besides a few bouts that lacked feasibility, this was another home run of a Reacher story and ideal source material for Amazon.
There was some gratuitous police chases sprinkled in to ease the boredom of transitioning from Act II to Act III, but otherwise the story ran at a breakneck pace and secured a well earned recommendation. If you love Jack Reacher, then this novel is definitely for you.
And for those that just want the wiki-debrief, here you go…
Reacher is on an NYC subway scanning for suicide bombers and thinks he found one, a female.
Reacher approaches her as a cop then pretends to be a colleague trying to tell her to postpone her terror because it’s 2 in the morning, so minimal casualties. Instead of a bomb she pulls a gun out of her bag and soon after kills herself. Reacher gives a statement to police when they arrive and is taken to the precinct by Detective Theresa Lee for further questioning. Her partner Docherty begins questioning with a more accusatory approach. Reacher doesn’t appreciate it and mentions a witness on the train to corroborate his version. That witness is nowhere to be found.
Cops hold him until more suits show up. They disappear after stock Qs then Reacher is approached by four men as soon as he leaves the precinct. They seem brutish and mention the names Lila Hoth and John Samson. Reacher dismisses all four before the family member of the victim he saw in the precinct chases him down and exclaims the woman didn’t commit suicide.
The brother of the victim Susan Mark, Jacob, sits with Reacher at a diner still in denial. He IDs Samson as a political candidate from NC. Susan was from VA and Jacob was unaware she was here. They speculate on her motives for suicide and ID the gun she used as her dad’s. Jacob also mentions her son at USC, who has gone missing.
Jack is approached by the suit bullies again and confirm Susan had intel they need. They make veiled threats before Reacher leaves them. Someone snaps his photo. Reacher buys a decoy usb stick for strategy then goes to a bookstore to read up on Samson who comes off too modest in his biography.
Reacher runs into Theresa Lee who tells him the case is already closed. He heads to DC. He leaves a note at the office of Sansom. Reacher finds out about a Greensboro fundraiser and heads there and cons his way to Mrs Sansom’s hotel door. They finally chat and Sansom admits to secret missions during his service, (but nothing illegal) and he knows nothing about Susan Marks. Reacher also mentions Lila Hoth and thinks he might be lying about not knowing her.
Reacher heads back to NYC. He notices someone watching for him and discreetly takes him out at the subway station. Checks the guy’s phone and finds his own pic from earlier. Traces the lone number to Four Seasons then heads back to the precinct for Theresa.
Jack and Theresa meet Lila Hoth and her mother. She’s a young widowed Ukrainian and brought her mother to NYC from London to locate some man Army John. Susan was her resource. She also hired Leonid the man Reacher previously injured though she makes it all sound innocuous.
Reacher thinks John Sansom is Lila Hoth’s real father, hence mother Svetlana wanting to locate him so desperately.
Reacher approaches the Sansoms at a NYC hotel they were conveniently at and inquires about 1983 Berlin. He’s cagey but denies everything before having his bodyguard escort Reacher away with a warning not to dig further. Lila then calls Reacher and says she’s being followed and she’s scared. Reacher meets her and her mom at the hotel.
Lila tells the story of Svetlana’s brother and husband, both Russian snipers. They were captured by covert American forces who turned them over to Afghanistan criminals because all USA wanted was the weapons for intel. Lila believes the man that did this is John Sansom. Reacher doesn’t believe her for now. He goes back to DC and briefs Sansom, who admits to the mission but denies the cruelty of turning over Russians to be tortured. He merely set them free. Reacher thinks they are not mother and daughter but Lila is secretly Ukraine media. Reacher also recognizes someone ominous in the photos on Sansom’s wall.
Reacher returns to the precinct and Theresa still won’t reopen the case. Reacher says guy in photos was on the Susan Marks train. Won’t reopen. Neighboring precinct calls about a murder of four men that match the guys who confronted Reacher earlier. Still won’t reopen. He returns to the hotel but Lila is gone, with no trace and no records at front desk. Seven men appear in lobby to apprehend Reacher.
They tranq him. Interrogate and make it sound like Lila is a supervillain they’re pursuing while trying to contain “the leak.” Reacher doesn’t really cooperate and gets tranq’d again. Reacher wakes up and now Theresa Lee and Jacob Marks are in the cells next to him. They’re each taken for questioning. Reacher ambushes the three captors and escapes. He breaks out the other two and debriefs them on his progress. Lee texts her partner Docherty to learn Lila’s story is falling apart and Susan Marks never called London like she told Reacher…
They hole up in a motel and Reacher tells Lee to demand an audience with Sansom as he’s the only one with common interest at the moment. While his two new partners rest, Reacher is going to cruise town as bait to lure out Lila Hoth or her crew. He encounters Leonid and a partner and knocks them both out, writing Lila Call Me on Leo’s forehead before stealing the man’s car. He ditches it for authorities to find and hopefully something incriminating. Lila calls his phone and they chat. She confesses to USC Peter’s disappearance and death and taunts Reacher.
Reacher meets back with Theresa and Jacob and proposes Svetlana is actually Afghanistan tribeswomen that fought in 84 but is now likely Al Qaeda. Jacob only wants to go to NYPD because he wants to find Peter and Theresa turns herself in because her partner Docherty will likely be arrested for involvement with her cell escape earlier.
Reacher hazards a guess where Lila is holed up and just so happens to run into Springfield, Sansom’s security. Come on dude. He confirms Hoth is Al Qaeda and a dangerous loose end to Sansoms’ military service. Hoth contacts Reacher again and leaves a dvd at the four seasons desk. It’s a taxi driver, then Peter being tortured to death by Lila and Svetlana. Lila tells Reacher he’s next.
Massive plot armor detour incoming. Reacher tells Springfield to give him immunity for like everything plus the same for Jacob and Theresa. Then he wants another chat with Sansom, then he says he magically suddenly knows where the real memory stick is.
Sansom arrives with Springfield to Reacher’s hotel room to talk turkey. Sansom admits his secret mission was cozying up to bin Laden. They debate the optics but sounds like there’s photos too…bad for politicians.
Sounds like the gang is off the hook and NYPD is cool with Reacher but DoD is not for his assaults. Reacher also thinks Al Qaeda wants to bury the photo as bad as Sansom…so what’s so damaging to bin Laden that they sent the Hoths and a 19 person team to retrieve it?
Theresa shows up at Reacher’s room with a bag full of weapons, they bang, she leaves. Reacher miraculously deduces which hotel Lila and her crew is in. Again. She contacts him for a handoff. Reacher loops Theresa in so NYPD can take the crew but someone alerted the feds before the meet. Chase ensues in subway leaving only Reacher and the feds after NYPD collared half of Lila’s crew. Reacher escapes by clinging to the side of the R train.
Reacher tries one hotel then another before locating Lila. They agree to meet at Times Square 10 AM. He starts eliminating her detail within the hotel. Reacher isolates and confronts Lila and Svetlana, who admit they are teacher and pupil, not mom and daughter. Theresa conveniently calls to tell him there’s another player she just found out about, he enters Reacher’s room from the kitchen the moment the call ended! How conveniently contrived.
Reacher kills both ladies because he had his secret knife on him, then wakes up in a hospital bed. All the good guys are in his room now and they think they can locate this elusive USB stick by pinging Susan’s phone (why wasn’t that the first thing they tried? Ridiculous plot hole on the last page) Cops find the stick but it’s allegedly too damaged to read. Everything is miraculously cleaned up and there’s no fallout from like 40 murders all over NYC.
Cue Bill Bixby music as MP Hulk backpacks to the next town.
