Jack Reacher is back and better than ever! When the former military cop decides to visit the new chief of staff, Major Susan Turner, he discovers a hostile environment at his old office. After he arrives in Virginia, he is attacked by two military types who threaten him and “suggest” that he leave town. Needless to say, Reacher does the opposite--and the non-stop action of Never Go Back begins.

Reacher comes to Washington from remote South Dakota to visit the 110th MP Special Unit Headquarters. “It was the closest thing to a home base Reacher had ever had.” (p. 10) He is intrigued by the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner. Even though he has only spoken to her on the phone, he wants to meet her. When he finally reaches her office, he finds a new commander named Morgan. Reacher is shocked to discover that Turner was arrested for an alleged conspiracy, and the accusations are only beginning. Morgan accuses him of beating a drug dealer to death sixteen years ago and claims that Reacher had an affair in Korea which resulted in a child. Reinstated into the Army to await justice, Reacher finds out from his military lawyers that he is looking at a lengthy prison term in Leavenworth.

Reacher knows he must clear his name because is innocent of the homicide. However, he wants to find out more about the child he supposedly fathered. Major Turner has been locked up for a crime she did not commit, so Reacher frees her. The new team travels across country to find the truth and prove that they are innocent—running not only from the military but also the Washington police and the FBI. Reacher eventually meets the teenager who is supposedly his daughter and gets wrapped up in a complicated web of intrigue involving powerful members of the Washington elite. His search eventually leads him to a mansion in the very heart of Washington.

Lee Child’s enigmatic hero, Jack Reacher, is at his best in this novel. The hero who usually avoids all personal commitments falls in love and finds out that he may be a father. He must also clear his name as well as that of Major Susan Turner, who now has his job. At first, the evidence against the pair seems insurmountable, but gradually Reacher’s dogged investigation techniques reveal a complex conspiracy at the highest levels of the Washington power structure. Readers will be fascinated by the non-stop action as well as the skillfully crafted plot, wonderful chase scenes and amazing fight sequences. Just when you think you have figured out who is behind the plot against Reacher and Turner, there is another twist in the action. This is definitely a page-turner worth reading.

Lee Child has written eighteen bestselling Jack Reacher novels. Recently Tom Cruise starred as the intrepid investigator in the movie Jack Reacher based on the novel One Shot. Child was born in England where he worked as director in the British television industry until 1995, when he was fired because of corporate restructuring. At the age of 40, Child had to start a new career so he wrote his first Jack Reacher novel, Killing Floor. Readers who know and love Child’s enigmatic hero will be fascinated by Never Go Back as a new chapter in Jack Reacher’s story. Readers who have never met Jack will want to go back and start reading Child’s other novels.