No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories

Bestseller Child’s captivating collection includes 12 stories, some of novella length, which cover a lot of Jack Reacher’s life, before, during, and after his military career. In “Too Much Time,” the one tale not previously published, Reacher witnesses a robbery and deftly halts the thief in small-town Maine. The authorities want a statement, but soon Reacher’s charged with “felonious involvement”—a classic Child mash-up of deduction and action. In “Second Son,” set in 1974 in Guam, where the Reacher family has just been posted, 13-year-old Jack already knows how to deal with bullies and demonstrates his nascent investigative gifts. In “High Heat,” set on the night of the 1977 New York City blackout, teenage Reacher has a date, helps the FBI make a case against a mob boss/drug lord, and provides clues to the identity of serial killer Son of Sam. Though Child (Night School) is at his best in the longer entries, this volume demonstrates what his fans already know: he’s a born storyteller and an astute observer. [em]Agent: Darley Anderson, Darley Anderson Literary. (June) [/em]