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Jack Reacher #31
Chain Reaction
Win a free print copy of this book!
4 days and 00:49:57
20 copies available
U.S. only
‘She knew that finding Reacher would not be easy. But not impossible either.’
The world’s bestselling hero is back in a brand new, high-octane adventure!
Washington DC. General Susan Turner needs help from the only guy she knows will get the job done right.
Buckle up for a ride like no other . . .
THE BRAND NEW REACHER NOVEL FROM THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
The world’s bestselling hero is back in a brand new, high-octane adventure!
Washington DC. General Susan Turner needs help from the only guy she knows will get the job done right.
Buckle up for a ride like no other . . .
THE BRAND NEW REACHER NOVEL FROM THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 20, 2026
About the author
Lee Child
452 books35.5k followersLee Child was born October 29th, 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an eighteen-year career as a presentation director during British TV's "golden age." During his tenure his company made Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect, and Cracker. But he was fired in 1995 at the age of 40 as a result of corporate restructuring. Always a voracious reader, he decided to see an opportunity where others might have seen a crisis and bought six dollars' worth of paper and pencils and sat down to write a book, Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series.
Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.
Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.
Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.
Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.
Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.
Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 332 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
| ALC REVIEW | ★ 2.75 stars ★
I know this is part of a long-standing and widely loved series, but my first dive into the Reacher world fell short of my expectations.
I enjoyed the mystery/thriller feel, and I liked seeing how Reacher’s military experience had holistically shaped him in ways such as his drive to serve justice, his combat ability, and his stoic “vigilante” personality. The narration was also enjoyable to listen to. But despite this, the plot never really gripped me.
I didn't love the abrupt, punchy writing style, and found a lot of the writing to have been a bit too “he said then she said. He did this, then he did this”. The hyper-masculine vibes also took a while to get used to, but no doubt readers searching for a vigilante-esque thriller featuring an anti-social ex-military nomad and prevalent modern-day themes such as AI data centres and cryptocurrency will absolutely love this book. Essentially, I felt that the entire book was spent climbing up to some sort of climax, just for it to never truly take off.
Despite being left wanting more, I wouldn't allow this to deter me from giving other books in this series a shot. In fact, I'm considering giving Killing Time, the first book (and apparently one of the most popular books) in the series, a shot soon.
Thank you to NetGalley, Lee Child, Andrew Child, and Penguin Random House UK Audio | Transworld Digital for gifting this audiobook in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
I know this is part of a long-standing and widely loved series, but my first dive into the Reacher world fell short of my expectations.
I enjoyed the mystery/thriller feel, and I liked seeing how Reacher’s military experience had holistically shaped him in ways such as his drive to serve justice, his combat ability, and his stoic “vigilante” personality. The narration was also enjoyable to listen to. But despite this, the plot never really gripped me.
I didn't love the abrupt, punchy writing style, and found a lot of the writing to have been a bit too “he said then she said. He did this, then he did this”. The hyper-masculine vibes also took a while to get used to, but no doubt readers searching for a vigilante-esque thriller featuring an anti-social ex-military nomad and prevalent modern-day themes such as AI data centres and cryptocurrency will absolutely love this book. Essentially, I felt that the entire book was spent climbing up to some sort of climax, just for it to never truly take off.
Despite being left wanting more, I wouldn't allow this to deter me from giving other books in this series a shot. In fact, I'm considering giving Killing Time, the first book (and apparently one of the most popular books) in the series, a shot soon.
Thank you to NetGalley, Lee Child, Andrew Child, and Penguin Random House UK Audio | Transworld Digital for gifting this audiobook in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Reacher and added associates are kicking tail stateside in a true-to-life, powerful story about data centers that has Jack Reacher racing against time.
In a story that you could actually believe because of the information being written about data centers today, this one could be tomorrow’s headline.
As usual, this one is packed with suspense and tension as he researches a questionable murder and then tries to protect the wife of the victim.
I love the Reacher stories because he is a very unassuming character who is very comfortable knowing his strengths. He’s not afraid of much, very resourceful, and looks at things in a different way. He’s even a bit sexy and hates to stay in one place more than necessary.
I love the tension buildup and the powerful storytelling in these stories by Child. The entertainment factor is high, and the pacing builds the anxiety level, especially at the end. The characters are unique and resourceful. Chain Reaction will not let you down!
Crazy times!
~~~
* I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
* Full review - https://amidlifewife.com/chain-reacti...
In a story that you could actually believe because of the information being written about data centers today, this one could be tomorrow’s headline.
As usual, this one is packed with suspense and tension as he researches a questionable murder and then tries to protect the wife of the victim.
I love the Reacher stories because he is a very unassuming character who is very comfortable knowing his strengths. He’s not afraid of much, very resourceful, and looks at things in a different way. He’s even a bit sexy and hates to stay in one place more than necessary.
I love the tension buildup and the powerful storytelling in these stories by Child. The entertainment factor is high, and the pacing builds the anxiety level, especially at the end. The characters are unique and resourceful. Chain Reaction will not let you down!
Crazy times!
~~~
* I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
* Full review - https://amidlifewife.com/chain-reacti...
October 24, 2026
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: The heart-pounding new Jack Reacher thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child.
Jack Reacher is hard to find. It's not easy to track him down. And he likes it that way. But General Susan Turner, based deep inside the Pentagon, has the means and the motive. She needs his help. A member of her team has been brutally murdered on covert duty. She can’t trust anyone she works with, not even her deputy. She needs someone from the outside. Someone who solves problems and disappears without a trace.
Reacher heads to Summertown, Colorado. A town as remote and bizarre as it gets. One diner, one motel, five massive data centers, two giant solar farms humming away in the dust. Total population: four people. And one of them is watching him. But Reacher isn’t built to run. He’s built to finish things. General Turner knows that if they come for Reacher, they’ll regret it—all the way to the top of the chain.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: My first Reacher of the 2020s, chosen because Andrew is taking over the series and I wanted to scope it out. This is exactly what I would expect a handover of this long-running series to be. It's not indistinguishable from Lee's earlier work, in a good way.
It's a fine, refining difference that marks Reacher with the smallest bit more need to be human: Susan Turner's back. For series aficionados, catnip.
Bantam Books has $14.99 on the cover of the ebook. It's #Deathtober, the data centers he's destroying should give you the happy they gave me, whatthehell.
The Publisher Says: The heart-pounding new Jack Reacher thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child.
Jack Reacher is hard to find. It's not easy to track him down. And he likes it that way. But General Susan Turner, based deep inside the Pentagon, has the means and the motive. She needs his help. A member of her team has been brutally murdered on covert duty. She can’t trust anyone she works with, not even her deputy. She needs someone from the outside. Someone who solves problems and disappears without a trace.
Reacher heads to Summertown, Colorado. A town as remote and bizarre as it gets. One diner, one motel, five massive data centers, two giant solar farms humming away in the dust. Total population: four people. And one of them is watching him. But Reacher isn’t built to run. He’s built to finish things. General Turner knows that if they come for Reacher, they’ll regret it—all the way to the top of the chain.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: My first Reacher of the 2020s, chosen because Andrew is taking over the series and I wanted to scope it out. This is exactly what I would expect a handover of this long-running series to be. It's not indistinguishable from Lee's earlier work, in a good way.
It's a fine, refining difference that marks Reacher with the smallest bit more need to be human: Susan Turner's back. For series aficionados, catnip.
Bantam Books has $14.99 on the cover of the ebook. It's #Deathtober, the data centers he's destroying should give you the happy they gave me, whatthehell.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
One of the better books to come along in this series for quite some time. Intelligent, entertaining and occasionally humorous. Reacher is contacted by Susan Turner, an old colleague and lover who is now a one-star general in a super-secret law enforcement operation inside the army, like the army's own FBI, called G-99 Section. Her boss is the Chief of Staff of the Army and he's very politically connected.
She is concerned about the death of one of her staff, a CID Special Agent named Bisley working cybercrime, who went into the field to look at curious activity at a group of solar farms and data centers in Colorado and died during a mugging supposedly. She wants Reacher to look into his death, kind of off the books. And just his appearance on the scene sets off a major chain reaction.
Exciting from start to finish. 4.75 stars.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc via NetGalley.
She is concerned about the death of one of her staff, a CID Special Agent named Bisley working cybercrime, who went into the field to look at curious activity at a group of solar farms and data centers in Colorado and died during a mugging supposedly. She wants Reacher to look into his death, kind of off the books. And just his appearance on the scene sets off a major chain reaction.
Exciting from start to finish. 4.75 stars.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc via NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Susan Turner manages to track down Jack Reacher because his ATM card is expiring, which is maybe the most Reacher-specific way anyone has ever located a man. No phone. No address. No social media. Just wait for banking infrastructure to betray him. Two young soldiers corner him with a message from Turner, and somehow within minutes Reacher is on his way to investigate a murdered Army operative because apparently this is what happens when you are six-foot-five, impossible to find, and everybody knows you will absolutely ruin the day of whoever caused the problem.
Turner is back, now a brigadier general running a covert Army unit, and one of her people, John Bisley, has been killed while sniffing around something in Colorado that he was not supposed to be sniffing around. The official story says mugging gone wrong. Turner looks at that explanation and basically says, “Cute.” She thinks there is a leak inside her own unit, possibly even close to her, so naturally she calls the one man who exists completely outside all reasonable systems of accountability. Reacher has no boss, no paperwork, no office, and no emotional attachment to due process when somebody obviously deserves to be punched. Perfect employee, honestly.
Then Reacher arrives in Summertown, Colorado, which barely qualifies as a town and feels more like someone forgot to finish loading the map. One diner. One motel. Five enormous data centers. Two solar farms. Four residents. Nothing suspicious there! Just billions of dollars in technology humming away in the dust while a handful of people pretend this is a normal place to live. Reacher starts asking questions, local men make the classic mistake of assuming he can be intimidated, and I spent the next several pages enjoying the ancient Reacher tradition of watching mediocre men accidentally volunteer for orthopedic care.
The funniest part of Chain Reaction is dropping Reacher into a conspiracy involving AI, cryptocurrency, encrypted systems, hacked networks, and data centers because he responds to modern technology like someone has handed a Labrador a tax return. Turner and Colonel Elwood are explaining cyber threats while Reacher is basically standing there thinking, yes, but which physical human should I hit? And somehow that still works. These tech guys have spent years building elaborate digital systems and Reacher keeps approaching the problem with the revolutionary strategy of observing people, noticing what does not make sense, and occasionally putting somebody through furniture.
And the villains here are such a specific breed of awful. We have tech bros, shady lawyers, hired muscle, and people who have apparently made enough money to convince themselves morality is just another software setting they can disable. Axel Brill and Saxby Cameron have the exact energy of men who would say “disruptive innovation” immediately before explaining something that is either illegal, monstrous, or both. I never had to struggle with complicated feelings about whether Reacher should interfere with their plans. Please interfere. Interfere aggressively. Rearrange a conference room if necessary.
Turner and Reacher together are also just fun because these two have history and neither of them needs the other person explained. She knows what he is. He knows what she is. They can investigate, flirt, fight people, share intelligence, and then calmly return to discussing national security like nobody just got launched into a wall. Their relationship has always had that little built-in expiration date because Turner belongs to structure and Reacher would rather develop a rash than permanently own furniture. Still, watching him reconnect with someone who actually understands him gives him this tiny flicker of softness that feels almost suspicious on his giant wandering face.
And then THEY GIVE REACHER A BABY. Not permanently, obviously, because that would turn this into an entirely different franchise, but there is an eleven-month-old involved and apparently Jack Reacher, who has spent thirty-one books functioning as an ambulatory threat assessment, can hold a baby. He can soothe a baby. He can push a stroller. I was not prepared for this information. Neither, frankly, was Reacher. Seeing this enormous man briefly realize he is capable of tenderness without immediately needing to flee from it lands harder than I expected. He is still going to leave. That is who he is. But for a minute you can see the life he could have chosen if standing still did not make his soul itch.
By the time everything starts connecting, the story has dragged Reacher from Colorado to California to Washington while piling AI schemes, stolen data, corrupt professionals, mercenaries, and increasingly bad decisions into his path. I did occasionally have the same experience Reacher was having where someone began explaining the technical mechanics and my brain quietly clocked out until the next threat appeared. But I never stopped caring about the WHY, because the whole thing keeps narrowing toward something very simple: somebody killed Turner’s man, somebody endangered innocent people, and Reacher has decided the universe will now be billing them for that choice.
Four and a half stars for Chain Reaction. This felt like Reacher doing exactly what I want Reacher to do, wandering into an absurdly complicated modern conspiracy armed with coffee, physical confidence, military instincts, and approximately zero interest in respecting anyone’s tech-bro business model. Susan Turner coming back was a huge win, the high-tech mess gave him something new to bulldoze through, and watching this giant emotionally avoidant nomad briefly become Baby Whisperer was not on my bingo card but I am keeping it.
Whodunity Award: For Building a Billion-Dollar Cyber Conspiracy and Still Somehow Failing to Account for One Extremely Large Man With No Email Address
Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC. I received AI schemes, corrupt lawyers, government leaks, suspicious data centers, multiple preventable injuries, and Jack Reacher holding a baby like someone accidentally activated the secret emotional DLC. Excellent use of taxpayer-adjacent chaos.
Turner is back, now a brigadier general running a covert Army unit, and one of her people, John Bisley, has been killed while sniffing around something in Colorado that he was not supposed to be sniffing around. The official story says mugging gone wrong. Turner looks at that explanation and basically says, “Cute.” She thinks there is a leak inside her own unit, possibly even close to her, so naturally she calls the one man who exists completely outside all reasonable systems of accountability. Reacher has no boss, no paperwork, no office, and no emotional attachment to due process when somebody obviously deserves to be punched. Perfect employee, honestly.
Then Reacher arrives in Summertown, Colorado, which barely qualifies as a town and feels more like someone forgot to finish loading the map. One diner. One motel. Five enormous data centers. Two solar farms. Four residents. Nothing suspicious there! Just billions of dollars in technology humming away in the dust while a handful of people pretend this is a normal place to live. Reacher starts asking questions, local men make the classic mistake of assuming he can be intimidated, and I spent the next several pages enjoying the ancient Reacher tradition of watching mediocre men accidentally volunteer for orthopedic care.
The funniest part of Chain Reaction is dropping Reacher into a conspiracy involving AI, cryptocurrency, encrypted systems, hacked networks, and data centers because he responds to modern technology like someone has handed a Labrador a tax return. Turner and Colonel Elwood are explaining cyber threats while Reacher is basically standing there thinking, yes, but which physical human should I hit? And somehow that still works. These tech guys have spent years building elaborate digital systems and Reacher keeps approaching the problem with the revolutionary strategy of observing people, noticing what does not make sense, and occasionally putting somebody through furniture.
And the villains here are such a specific breed of awful. We have tech bros, shady lawyers, hired muscle, and people who have apparently made enough money to convince themselves morality is just another software setting they can disable. Axel Brill and Saxby Cameron have the exact energy of men who would say “disruptive innovation” immediately before explaining something that is either illegal, monstrous, or both. I never had to struggle with complicated feelings about whether Reacher should interfere with their plans. Please interfere. Interfere aggressively. Rearrange a conference room if necessary.
Turner and Reacher together are also just fun because these two have history and neither of them needs the other person explained. She knows what he is. He knows what she is. They can investigate, flirt, fight people, share intelligence, and then calmly return to discussing national security like nobody just got launched into a wall. Their relationship has always had that little built-in expiration date because Turner belongs to structure and Reacher would rather develop a rash than permanently own furniture. Still, watching him reconnect with someone who actually understands him gives him this tiny flicker of softness that feels almost suspicious on his giant wandering face.
And then THEY GIVE REACHER A BABY. Not permanently, obviously, because that would turn this into an entirely different franchise, but there is an eleven-month-old involved and apparently Jack Reacher, who has spent thirty-one books functioning as an ambulatory threat assessment, can hold a baby. He can soothe a baby. He can push a stroller. I was not prepared for this information. Neither, frankly, was Reacher. Seeing this enormous man briefly realize he is capable of tenderness without immediately needing to flee from it lands harder than I expected. He is still going to leave. That is who he is. But for a minute you can see the life he could have chosen if standing still did not make his soul itch.
By the time everything starts connecting, the story has dragged Reacher from Colorado to California to Washington while piling AI schemes, stolen data, corrupt professionals, mercenaries, and increasingly bad decisions into his path. I did occasionally have the same experience Reacher was having where someone began explaining the technical mechanics and my brain quietly clocked out until the next threat appeared. But I never stopped caring about the WHY, because the whole thing keeps narrowing toward something very simple: somebody killed Turner’s man, somebody endangered innocent people, and Reacher has decided the universe will now be billing them for that choice.
Four and a half stars for Chain Reaction. This felt like Reacher doing exactly what I want Reacher to do, wandering into an absurdly complicated modern conspiracy armed with coffee, physical confidence, military instincts, and approximately zero interest in respecting anyone’s tech-bro business model. Susan Turner coming back was a huge win, the high-tech mess gave him something new to bulldoze through, and watching this giant emotionally avoidant nomad briefly become Baby Whisperer was not on my bingo card but I am keeping it.
Whodunity Award: For Building a Billion-Dollar Cyber Conspiracy and Still Somehow Failing to Account for One Extremely Large Man With No Email Address
Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC. I received AI schemes, corrupt lawyers, government leaks, suspicious data centers, multiple preventable injuries, and Jack Reacher holding a baby like someone accidentally activated the secret emotional DLC. Excellent use of taxpayer-adjacent chaos.
October 24, 2026
Reacher vs AI / The Best Reacher in Years!
A review of the Random House Audio edition (October 20, 2026) narrated by Scott Brick and released simultaneously with the hardcover/eBook.
Susan Turner, an old acquaintance from the Military Police 110th Special Investigations Unit (cf. 61 Hours (Reacher #14 - 2010), Never Go Back (Reacher #18 - 2013), tracks Reacher down. She suspects there is a traitor in the newly expanded unit and they have caused the murder of one of her agents. She needs someone 'off-the-books' to help solve the case. No one is more 'off-the-books' than Reacher, the wandering vagabond with no social media presence and only a passport, an ATM card and a toothbrush as his luggage.
Before you know it, Reacher is in Colorado and settling into the motel where the agent was last seen. Suddenly there are contract killers after him. How are the villains tracking his movements? Is there really a traitor in Turner's unit? Or is there something much more nefarious going on?
Many reviewers, including myself, were starting to despair about the Reacher series. Some even said they were abandoning it. But this is the good 'ole Reacher with the laconic non-responses, the travelling toothbrush, the light banter, the eidetic memory and teamed up with stalwart allies against megalomaniac villains with a crazed motto seeking a multi-billion dollar jackpot and with armed mercenaries at their beck and call. You won't regret a return to Reacher!
I listened to Chain Reaction as part of the 2026 Long Books Challenge (LBC) with several GR friends. Books in the challenge must be 400+ pages in length or their audio equivalent (usually 12+ hours).
Soundtrack
Reacher often stops into bars or clubs with live music, especially if there is blues-rock music being performed. There was no time for relaxing and listening to music in Chain Reaction, so there is no soundtrack this time.
Reacher Statistics
Somewhere along the way in the Reacher saga, I started to note the number of times various things were referenced or phrases were repeated. They became markers to indicate how faithfully the continuation series maintained the status quo.
Reacher's "toothbrush" mentioned 6 times = mostly just as offhand remarks of Reacher moving in or moving out of motel / hotel rooms. There was no line to top my all-time favourite: "Reacher was already packed and ready to go. His toothbrush was in his pocket." (Blue Moon Reacher #24 - 2018).
Drinking or wanting "coffee" mentioned 69 times = exact no. of coffees was slightly more as there were many refills.
"Reacher said nothing." = 5 times, about par for the series.
Other characters who "said nothing", "didn't reply", "no answer" = at least 25-30 times, so many that I lost count.
Trivia and Links
It was revealed in the press publicity around The Secret (Reacher #28 - 2023) that it was the final collaboration between brothers Lee and Andrew Child in the handover of the continuation series and that Andrew Child had a 4-book contract to write the books solo from then on. Chain Reaction is the 3rd of those. For marketing purposes the books are listed under Lee Child's name alongside that of Andrew Child.
Andrew Child is interviewed at the Poisoned Pen Press bookstore on the release of Chain Reaction and you can see the interview on their YouTube channel here.
Listen to the first 5 minutes of the audiobook edition on YouTube here.
A review of the Random House Audio edition (October 20, 2026) narrated by Scott Brick and released simultaneously with the hardcover/eBook.
“Tell them the new guest is poking around. Meanwhile I’ll go get breakfast. Ninety-four minutes should be plenty of time to eat a meal in peace.”
“But one of them is already here.”
“One of them won’t be enough,” Reacher said.
Susan Turner, an old acquaintance from the Military Police 110th Special Investigations Unit (cf. 61 Hours (Reacher #14 - 2010), Never Go Back (Reacher #18 - 2013), tracks Reacher down. She suspects there is a traitor in the newly expanded unit and they have caused the murder of one of her agents. She needs someone 'off-the-books' to help solve the case. No one is more 'off-the-books' than Reacher, the wandering vagabond with no social media presence and only a passport, an ATM card and a toothbrush as his luggage.
Before you know it, Reacher is in Colorado and settling into the motel where the agent was last seen. Suddenly there are contract killers after him. How are the villains tracking his movements? Is there really a traitor in Turner's unit? Or is there something much more nefarious going on?
Many reviewers, including myself, were starting to despair about the Reacher series. Some even said they were abandoning it. But this is the good 'ole Reacher with the laconic non-responses, the travelling toothbrush, the light banter, the eidetic memory and teamed up with stalwart allies against megalomaniac villains with a crazed motto seeking a multi-billion dollar jackpot and with armed mercenaries at their beck and call. You won't regret a return to Reacher!
I listened to Chain Reaction as part of the 2026 Long Books Challenge (LBC) with several GR friends. Books in the challenge must be 400+ pages in length or their audio equivalent (usually 12+ hours).
Soundtrack
Reacher often stops into bars or clubs with live music, especially if there is blues-rock music being performed. There was no time for relaxing and listening to music in Chain Reaction, so there is no soundtrack this time.
Reacher Statistics
Somewhere along the way in the Reacher saga, I started to note the number of times various things were referenced or phrases were repeated. They became markers to indicate how faithfully the continuation series maintained the status quo.
Reacher's "toothbrush" mentioned 6 times = mostly just as offhand remarks of Reacher moving in or moving out of motel / hotel rooms. There was no line to top my all-time favourite: "Reacher was already packed and ready to go. His toothbrush was in his pocket." (Blue Moon Reacher #24 - 2018).
Drinking or wanting "coffee" mentioned 69 times = exact no. of coffees was slightly more as there were many refills.
"Reacher said nothing." = 5 times, about par for the series.
Other characters who "said nothing", "didn't reply", "no answer" = at least 25-30 times, so many that I lost count.
Trivia and Links
It was revealed in the press publicity around The Secret (Reacher #28 - 2023) that it was the final collaboration between brothers Lee and Andrew Child in the handover of the continuation series and that Andrew Child had a 4-book contract to write the books solo from then on. Chain Reaction is the 3rd of those. For marketing purposes the books are listed under Lee Child's name alongside that of Andrew Child.
Andrew Child is interviewed at the Poisoned Pen Press bookstore on the release of Chain Reaction and you can see the interview on their YouTube channel here.
Listen to the first 5 minutes of the audiobook edition on YouTube here.
October 22, 2026
This is the first Reacher book by brother Andrew that l have thoroughly enjoyed. I'm hoping it carries on.
Blast from the past. Former Major Susan Turner of the 110th is now a Brigadier General and in charge of essentially the 110th on steroids. She needs help and searches out Reacher to provide that help.
One of her people is murdered in a small Colorado town where he shouldn't be, and it just doesn't add up for her. Enter Reacher, a wanderer with skills who is not in any way connected to her or her unit. Let the chaos commence.
Blast from the past. Former Major Susan Turner of the 110th is now a Brigadier General and in charge of essentially the 110th on steroids. She needs help and searches out Reacher to provide that help.
One of her people is murdered in a small Colorado town where he shouldn't be, and it just doesn't add up for her. Enter Reacher, a wanderer with skills who is not in any way connected to her or her unit. Let the chaos commence.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
*** 8/29/26 *** Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for the opportunity to read and review this upcoming October 20, 2026 release.
Lee Child has been co-writing the Reacher series with his brother, Andrew Child, since 2000, beginning with Reacher book #25. While I haven't always loved the results of their collaborations, Chain Reaction, #31 of the series, delivered a solid plot very relevant to today's news: data centers/AI and a bit of crypto-currency. I'm sure it is hard to write about those very technical topics even with a fair amount of research, but the Child brothers navigate the plot in a way that the reader can follow and makes sense, even if it may not 100% technically accurate.
This novel centered on an old military contact (a General)/flame of Reacher's contacting him to help her uncover what really happened to her subordinate colleague when he was on a business trip in Colorado visiting a remote and isolated data center. From there the plot spends a fair amount of time in the Silicon Valley high tech corridor of Mountain View, Palo Alto and Menlo Park, with references to El Camino Real and Moffitt Field for those who know the area. I loved that and even though their references didn't sound like locals wrote it, it was still fun. They also go back to Washington DC, where the General has business.
This novel relies heavily on Reacher's inability to lose a fight, his near-perfect instincts on assessing dangerous situations and making a plan, and his ability to form trusting informative relationships with side characters very quickly. It also leans into the romance side of Reacher's life more than normal, which I could have done without, honestly.
All in all, a great, mostly positive, very relevant current-events-wise storyline that is a good addition to the Reacher series. 4.5 stars.
Lee Child has been co-writing the Reacher series with his brother, Andrew Child, since 2000, beginning with Reacher book #25. While I haven't always loved the results of their collaborations, Chain Reaction, #31 of the series, delivered a solid plot very relevant to today's news: data centers/AI and a bit of crypto-currency. I'm sure it is hard to write about those very technical topics even with a fair amount of research, but the Child brothers navigate the plot in a way that the reader can follow and makes sense, even if it may not 100% technically accurate.
This novel centered on an old military contact (a General)/flame of Reacher's contacting him to help her uncover what really happened to her subordinate colleague when he was on a business trip in Colorado visiting a remote and isolated data center. From there the plot spends a fair amount of time in the Silicon Valley high tech corridor of Mountain View, Palo Alto and Menlo Park, with references to El Camino Real and Moffitt Field for those who know the area. I loved that and even though their references didn't sound like locals wrote it, it was still fun. They also go back to Washington DC, where the General has business.
This novel relies heavily on Reacher's inability to lose a fight, his near-perfect instincts on assessing dangerous situations and making a plan, and his ability to form trusting informative relationships with side characters very quickly. It also leans into the romance side of Reacher's life more than normal, which I could have done without, honestly.
All in all, a great, mostly positive, very relevant current-events-wise storyline that is a good addition to the Reacher series. 4.5 stars.
October 23, 2026
Thanks to Random House Publishing House and Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Lee and Andrew Child's latest collaboration in the Jack Reacher series, Chain Reaction, takes on AI technology. The Childs' seem like they were caught up in their subject because their latest reads as if it was created by AI itself.
The elements of a Reacher novel are here:
1) Reacher is tracked down to solve a crime in a small town that's a mere blip on a map.
2) Reacher will have multiple hook-ups with a heroine that he hooked-up with in a previous novel.
3) The victim will be a fellow military man who was murdered because he uncovered a conspiracy that can endanger us all.
4) Reacher will take on the villains' henchmen one by one or two by two then leave them around in clear view to let the bad guys know he's getting closer to them.
5) Reacher will eat a slice of peach pie at various dinners and never gain weight because of all the exercise he gets chasing bad guys.
The Childs' must've broken down these trademarks sent them through a special kind of AI software, and out came their latest Reacher novel. I love the Jack Reacher series because they are the epitome of testosterone fiction. I know what I'm going to get which is fine, but here the writing is so stale and even the action scenes (One of them involves a Stephen King novel that you have to read to believe) are lifeless. Lee Child announced his semi retirement from writing the Jack Reacher series a few years ago. I'm now announcing my own semi retirement from reading the Reacher series in the sense that I'll read the ones that Lee himself wrote and avoid the collaborations with his brother.
Lee and Andrew Child's latest collaboration in the Jack Reacher series, Chain Reaction, takes on AI technology. The Childs' seem like they were caught up in their subject because their latest reads as if it was created by AI itself.
The elements of a Reacher novel are here:
1) Reacher is tracked down to solve a crime in a small town that's a mere blip on a map.
2) Reacher will have multiple hook-ups with a heroine that he hooked-up with in a previous novel.
3) The victim will be a fellow military man who was murdered because he uncovered a conspiracy that can endanger us all.
4) Reacher will take on the villains' henchmen one by one or two by two then leave them around in clear view to let the bad guys know he's getting closer to them.
5) Reacher will eat a slice of peach pie at various dinners and never gain weight because of all the exercise he gets chasing bad guys.
The Childs' must've broken down these trademarks sent them through a special kind of AI software, and out came their latest Reacher novel. I love the Jack Reacher series because they are the epitome of testosterone fiction. I know what I'm going to get which is fine, but here the writing is so stale and even the action scenes (One of them involves a Stephen King novel that you have to read to believe) are lifeless. Lee Child announced his semi retirement from writing the Jack Reacher series a few years ago. I'm now announcing my own semi retirement from reading the Reacher series in the sense that I'll read the ones that Lee himself wrote and avoid the collaborations with his brother.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I have to confess that I have found the Reacher series a bit hit and miss since the collaborative output began. However, I found this to be the best since Lee was writing on his own, and more in line with my expectations for novels involving one of my favourite characters.
General Susan Turner, who has appeared in an earlier novel, reappears. She's the head of a new unit, and needs Reacher's help in an off the books investigation. We're in the very modern world of AI and cryptocurrency, which can be quite complex but the authors keep it understandable to the layman. Whilst it takes the reader a long time to learn the full depth of the crimes at play, the investigation is continually moving and the pace feels fast and desperate.
General Susan Turner, who has appeared in an earlier novel, reappears. She's the head of a new unit, and needs Reacher's help in an off the books investigation. We're in the very modern world of AI and cryptocurrency, which can be quite complex but the authors keep it understandable to the layman. Whilst it takes the reader a long time to learn the full depth of the crimes at play, the investigation is continually moving and the pace feels fast and desperate.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
General Susan Turner works for a special investigative unit inside the Pentagon. A member of her team travels to remote Summertown, CO to look at a data center compound. He is stabbed in what is reported to be a biker bar fight. Only a few members of her team were aware of his travel so she needs outside help, tracking down Jack Reacher. Reacher accepts her off-the-books mission and heads to Summertown, where he finds four residents, a single diner, and a motel. Reacher uncovers a complex web involving wealthy tech entrepreneurs chasing a billion-dollar IPO. A crooked law firm is also involved to "protect" the high-tech business. Turner and another of her investigators (Ellwood) work secretly from Washington to help untangle the mess. Reacher relies on his old-fashioned code of morality to survive the danger, smoke out the bad guys, and punish the guilty. The usual mayhem, of course. My favorite part of the book was Reacher's connection with the deceased investigator's baby.
October 25, 2026
As I picked up CHAIN REACTION, I literally spoke aloud, “Let’s see what Reacher is up to now.” If you are not familiar with the decades of bestselling novels featuring Lee Child’s main man (his brother, Andrew Child, has taken over writing these books), perhaps you have watched the highly addictive series on Prime Video, “Reacher,” which gets better and more violent with each passing season.
For those who still do not know who Reacher is, I will sum up his general attributes to paint you a picture. This former military mountain of muscle chooses to live off the grid as a nomadic figure, moving from town to town and finding trouble at almost every turn. He carries all of his worldly possessions in a plastic bag. He has no credit cards and minimal forms of identification. He is not easy to find, and at the beginning of this story, General Susan Turner becomes well aware of this as she is in desperate need of his help.
The assignment with which Turner tasks Reacher is highly confidential. CID Special Agent John Bisley was brutally murdered while on assignment, and she fears that the killers were operating with inside information. Not only was Bisley one of her best, he was married and had a young daughter. His body was found in Summertown, Colorado, which is known primarily for its many solar farms and huge data centers. As soon as Reacher checks into the only motel in town, he is immediately on the radar of the baddies who iced Bisley courtesy of a coerced phone call from the motel manager.
Reacher gets the jump on the first stooge who is parked in the motel lot and forces him to give up his two cronies who were responsible for Bisley’s death. Using the guy’s phone, he lures them out to the desert with only solar farms around them and takes them down. After getting scant details as to who put the hit out on Bisley, he eliminates them as repayment for the victim's family.
Turner is able to get information about an attorney in California who might be involved in all of this. This is where she sends Reacher next and agrees to meet him there due to the case's high level of secrecy. Lazarus Lorenzo is a law firm that has offices in both Palo Alto and San Francisco. They decide to check out Palo Alto first, as Bisley was assigned to cybercrime, which is in the heart of the Silicon Valley. If he was getting close to a high-tech business owner enough to get himself killed, then this sounds like the ideal place to start the next step in their hunt.
Meanwhile, Turner needs to figure out who she can trust in her D.C. office without letting anyone know where she is. She sends her second-in-command, Colonel Dexter Elwood, out to Summertown to investigate the Bisley case, in addition to two burnt bodies that were found in a vehicle in the middle of some solar farms. While there, she is able to vet him to validate that he was not the mole. At this point, she decides to bring him into their mission to have another helpful hand on deck.
With the three of them working together, things should start moving quickly. However, the further up the chain they get, the closer they are to a megalomaniac with a global domination plot that no one ever could have expected. Reacher will need to use his brains and brawn if he is going to chop off the head of this snake before they are buried alongside Bisley.
CHAIN REACTION is classic Jack Reacher, full of violence and intrigue that is pretty much nonstop. This is still one of the most exciting series on the market. And with each passing novel, Reacher shows me a new way to kill someone!
Reviewed by Ray Palen
For those who still do not know who Reacher is, I will sum up his general attributes to paint you a picture. This former military mountain of muscle chooses to live off the grid as a nomadic figure, moving from town to town and finding trouble at almost every turn. He carries all of his worldly possessions in a plastic bag. He has no credit cards and minimal forms of identification. He is not easy to find, and at the beginning of this story, General Susan Turner becomes well aware of this as she is in desperate need of his help.
The assignment with which Turner tasks Reacher is highly confidential. CID Special Agent John Bisley was brutally murdered while on assignment, and she fears that the killers were operating with inside information. Not only was Bisley one of her best, he was married and had a young daughter. His body was found in Summertown, Colorado, which is known primarily for its many solar farms and huge data centers. As soon as Reacher checks into the only motel in town, he is immediately on the radar of the baddies who iced Bisley courtesy of a coerced phone call from the motel manager.
Reacher gets the jump on the first stooge who is parked in the motel lot and forces him to give up his two cronies who were responsible for Bisley’s death. Using the guy’s phone, he lures them out to the desert with only solar farms around them and takes them down. After getting scant details as to who put the hit out on Bisley, he eliminates them as repayment for the victim's family.
Turner is able to get information about an attorney in California who might be involved in all of this. This is where she sends Reacher next and agrees to meet him there due to the case's high level of secrecy. Lazarus Lorenzo is a law firm that has offices in both Palo Alto and San Francisco. They decide to check out Palo Alto first, as Bisley was assigned to cybercrime, which is in the heart of the Silicon Valley. If he was getting close to a high-tech business owner enough to get himself killed, then this sounds like the ideal place to start the next step in their hunt.
Meanwhile, Turner needs to figure out who she can trust in her D.C. office without letting anyone know where she is. She sends her second-in-command, Colonel Dexter Elwood, out to Summertown to investigate the Bisley case, in addition to two burnt bodies that were found in a vehicle in the middle of some solar farms. While there, she is able to vet him to validate that he was not the mole. At this point, she decides to bring him into their mission to have another helpful hand on deck.
With the three of them working together, things should start moving quickly. However, the further up the chain they get, the closer they are to a megalomaniac with a global domination plot that no one ever could have expected. Reacher will need to use his brains and brawn if he is going to chop off the head of this snake before they are buried alongside Bisley.
CHAIN REACTION is classic Jack Reacher, full of violence and intrigue that is pretty much nonstop. This is still one of the most exciting series on the market. And with each passing novel, Reacher shows me a new way to kill someone!
Reviewed by Ray Palen
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Reading as many for-review books as I do each year – hovering around 100 – it’s always a special treat to dive into one I know I’m going to enjoy. Sometimes, it’s by a tried-and-true author; other times, it’s a character (or characters) I’ve come to know and love. The best times happen when those two come together – as in the Jack Reacher series (I’ve lost count of how many of the 30 others I’ve read over the years, but I know I’ve missed fewer than a handful, if that).
So it was that I started this one with high expectations – and while I won’t say this one has the most interesting or unique storyline (I “get” that data centers are the topic du jour these days and for rightly so, but personally I’ve grown a little weary of reading so many books this year with that as the focus). I did love, though, that usual lone wolf Reacher got back in touch with a special person from previous books – now a General, Susan Turner – who somehow managed to track him down when he stopped at a bank in Arlington, Virginia, to pick up his renewed ATM card.
The good general, it seems, lost one of her best men – killed in a rather remote spot in Colorado when he was sent there on a mission related to possible cybercrime. The murder happened in a rather dingy bar – not the kind of place her guy was known to frequent – so she’s afraid he’d been targeted. And if that’s true, it likely means she’s got a mole on her top-secret team. She needs someone who can separate truth from fiction – hopefully without getting killed in the process – and that means her old pal Reacher. His initial investigation – which early on doesn’t end well for a couple of bad guys – suggests ties to a large law firm based in San Francisco and some mysterious massive data centers he found in that remote location.
Tracking down specifics, though, quickly turns dangerous for everyone involved, but as usual, Reacher puts his considerable physical and analytical skills to get the job done. Details, of course, other readers will have to learn for themselves; but suffice it to say this is another adventure that kept me turning pages as fast as I could. Definitely recommended, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to get in on the considerable action by way of a pre-release copy.
So it was that I started this one with high expectations – and while I won’t say this one has the most interesting or unique storyline (I “get” that data centers are the topic du jour these days and for rightly so, but personally I’ve grown a little weary of reading so many books this year with that as the focus). I did love, though, that usual lone wolf Reacher got back in touch with a special person from previous books – now a General, Susan Turner – who somehow managed to track him down when he stopped at a bank in Arlington, Virginia, to pick up his renewed ATM card.
The good general, it seems, lost one of her best men – killed in a rather remote spot in Colorado when he was sent there on a mission related to possible cybercrime. The murder happened in a rather dingy bar – not the kind of place her guy was known to frequent – so she’s afraid he’d been targeted. And if that’s true, it likely means she’s got a mole on her top-secret team. She needs someone who can separate truth from fiction – hopefully without getting killed in the process – and that means her old pal Reacher. His initial investigation – which early on doesn’t end well for a couple of bad guys – suggests ties to a large law firm based in San Francisco and some mysterious massive data centers he found in that remote location.
Tracking down specifics, though, quickly turns dangerous for everyone involved, but as usual, Reacher puts his considerable physical and analytical skills to get the job done. Details, of course, other readers will have to learn for themselves; but suffice it to say this is another adventure that kept me turning pages as fast as I could. Definitely recommended, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to get in on the considerable action by way of a pre-release copy.
September 16, 2026
Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child is a very highly recommended, high octane and un-put-downable thriller featuring former Army Major Jack Reacher. This is excellent addition to the long-running series. The threat this time involves a nefarious scheme involving cybercrime and AI data centers.
General Susan Turner, who is now leading an investigative group called CSA G-99, which she describes "like the army's own FBI," has tracked down Jack Reacher to ask for his help. She suspects a traitor in the organization and needs a trustworthy outsider to look into the killing of CID Special Agent John Bisley, 32. Bisley flew from DC to the Denver airport and then drove to Summertown, an area full of solar panels and 5 large data centers, where he checked in for 5 nights at the only hotel. He was then found dead, stabbed 8 times, behind a biker bar 40 miles to the west the same night. He left behind a wife and baby daughter. Bisley was investigating a phantom data center copying/stealing information from nearby legitimate data centers. Reacher accepts the challenge.
WOW! As one of the best Reacher novels I've read, this is timely investigation is action-packed, compelling, fast-paced, complex, and well-plotted. It held my complete attention right up to the excellent final denouement. Sure, some disbelief has to be set aside because Reacher is unstoppable, super-human, an eating machine, hyper-aware, and the bad guys always get their comeuppance. He is also intelligent, honorable, dependable, and analytical. In other words, he is a perfect hero for action junkies and this intricate plot provides plenty of action.
Even though this is the 31st novel in the series, there is enough background information provided that you can jump in and read this as a standalone novel. Personally, I skimmed the personal encounters between Turner and Reacher as I was reading for the action, investigation and reactions rather than their personal relationship. However, there are some touching and unexpected encounters between Reacher and a baby.
Chain Reaction is an excellent choice for those who enjoy action-packed thrillers and everyone following the Reacher series. Thanks to Ballantine for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
https://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2026/...
General Susan Turner, who is now leading an investigative group called CSA G-99, which she describes "like the army's own FBI," has tracked down Jack Reacher to ask for his help. She suspects a traitor in the organization and needs a trustworthy outsider to look into the killing of CID Special Agent John Bisley, 32. Bisley flew from DC to the Denver airport and then drove to Summertown, an area full of solar panels and 5 large data centers, where he checked in for 5 nights at the only hotel. He was then found dead, stabbed 8 times, behind a biker bar 40 miles to the west the same night. He left behind a wife and baby daughter. Bisley was investigating a phantom data center copying/stealing information from nearby legitimate data centers. Reacher accepts the challenge.
WOW! As one of the best Reacher novels I've read, this is timely investigation is action-packed, compelling, fast-paced, complex, and well-plotted. It held my complete attention right up to the excellent final denouement. Sure, some disbelief has to be set aside because Reacher is unstoppable, super-human, an eating machine, hyper-aware, and the bad guys always get their comeuppance. He is also intelligent, honorable, dependable, and analytical. In other words, he is a perfect hero for action junkies and this intricate plot provides plenty of action.
Even though this is the 31st novel in the series, there is enough background information provided that you can jump in and read this as a standalone novel. Personally, I skimmed the personal encounters between Turner and Reacher as I was reading for the action, investigation and reactions rather than their personal relationship. However, there are some touching and unexpected encounters between Reacher and a baby.
Chain Reaction is an excellent choice for those who enjoy action-packed thrillers and everyone following the Reacher series. Thanks to Ballantine for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
https://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2026/...
October 22, 2026
Love the dad-Lee died in 2020 and his brother, Andrew has taken the Reacher series into an awesome #3. One star general, G-99, brutal murder, five massive data centers, corruption, lawyers, a little sex and a page turner plot. The writing prose, dialogue and steady beat of “new” information is a MUST read! Enjoy
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A new military division has a major leaking problem
General Susan Turner heads a new Pentagon unit, G-99 Section, staffed by the best of the best from CID, the MP Corps and counterintelligence; it is pretty much the Army's own FBI. One of her cybercrime people was just killed, mugged behind a bar while working on a case, and although the local police figure it was a wrong place, wrong time scenario Turner doesn't buy it. But if it was as she fears a targeted attack then Turner has a bigger problem, because the only people who knew where her guy Bisley was going are others in G-99. In other words, she has a traitor in her ranks. She can't be sure who on her team can be trusted, and decides instead to track down an outsider whom she knows she can trust and who is one of the best and most dogged investigators around...Jack Reacher. The two not only held down the same job (though at different times) once upon a time , they also had a brief relationship (the only kind Reacher does). Once she tracks him down (not easy to do) and puts the situation in front of him, Reacher agrees to look into the matter. It bothers him that the dead man left behind a wife and young daughter. He heads to the scene of the crime, a small Colorado town known for two things....large data centers and sprawling solar farms. No one, not even Turner, knows exactly why Bisley went there nor for what he was looking. It becomes clear that technology is at the root of the investigation....data farms, AI, Silicon Valley start-ups, cybercrime and the billions of dollars at play in that world. Attempts are made to take out Reacher, Turner, and others...can they figure out who killed Bisley and why before they are taken off the chessboard?
Chain Reaction is the 31st installment in the long running series by author Lee Child featuring the physically imposing former Army CID major with a rock-solid moral center and thirst for justice. Given that Reacher is about as unsavvy as one can be about technology, the irony of his being tasked with sussing out a cybercrime in the world of cutting edge tech is profound. Reacher is his usual self, a thorough investigator, who uses his well-trained mind and well=honed physical presence to get the answers he needs and eliminate obstacles as they arise. He and Turner had a thing back in the day, and finding themselves working together again sparks quickly fly. The narrative moves along quickly, and I found it overall to be a solid and entertaining addition to the series, 4.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 5. Can it be read as a standalone? Of course, but readers of previous books in the series will have a deeper understanding and appreciation of Reacher and why he does what he does. Fans of the series should enjoy this outing, as will readers of Gregg Hurwitz, Mark Greaney and David Baldacci. My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine/Bantam Books for allowing me access to the novel in exchange for my honest review.
General Susan Turner heads a new Pentagon unit, G-99 Section, staffed by the best of the best from CID, the MP Corps and counterintelligence; it is pretty much the Army's own FBI. One of her cybercrime people was just killed, mugged behind a bar while working on a case, and although the local police figure it was a wrong place, wrong time scenario Turner doesn't buy it. But if it was as she fears a targeted attack then Turner has a bigger problem, because the only people who knew where her guy Bisley was going are others in G-99. In other words, she has a traitor in her ranks. She can't be sure who on her team can be trusted, and decides instead to track down an outsider whom she knows she can trust and who is one of the best and most dogged investigators around...Jack Reacher. The two not only held down the same job (though at different times) once upon a time , they also had a brief relationship (the only kind Reacher does). Once she tracks him down (not easy to do) and puts the situation in front of him, Reacher agrees to look into the matter. It bothers him that the dead man left behind a wife and young daughter. He heads to the scene of the crime, a small Colorado town known for two things....large data centers and sprawling solar farms. No one, not even Turner, knows exactly why Bisley went there nor for what he was looking. It becomes clear that technology is at the root of the investigation....data farms, AI, Silicon Valley start-ups, cybercrime and the billions of dollars at play in that world. Attempts are made to take out Reacher, Turner, and others...can they figure out who killed Bisley and why before they are taken off the chessboard?
Chain Reaction is the 31st installment in the long running series by author Lee Child featuring the physically imposing former Army CID major with a rock-solid moral center and thirst for justice. Given that Reacher is about as unsavvy as one can be about technology, the irony of his being tasked with sussing out a cybercrime in the world of cutting edge tech is profound. Reacher is his usual self, a thorough investigator, who uses his well-trained mind and well=honed physical presence to get the answers he needs and eliminate obstacles as they arise. He and Turner had a thing back in the day, and finding themselves working together again sparks quickly fly. The narrative moves along quickly, and I found it overall to be a solid and entertaining addition to the series, 4.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 5. Can it be read as a standalone? Of course, but readers of previous books in the series will have a deeper understanding and appreciation of Reacher and why he does what he does. Fans of the series should enjoy this outing, as will readers of Gregg Hurwitz, Mark Greaney and David Baldacci. My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine/Bantam Books for allowing me access to the novel in exchange for my honest review.
October 24, 2026
Thank you to Penguin Random House for providing me with a free physical ARC of Chain Reaction in exchange for my honest review.
If you enjoy long-running, episodic series where you can jump in at almost any point without having to read every previous installment, Jack Reacher is a great option. Each book offers a new adventure filled with action, mystery, a little romance, and whatever trouble Reacher manages to find himself in.
This was actually my first experience reading a Reacher novel, although I’ve watched and enjoyed the television adaptation. I was excited to finally explore his world on the page, and while I did enjoy the adventure, I came away realizing that Reacher might be one of those characters I prefer watching rather than reading.
The story had plenty of action and intrigue, but I found the writing style a little distracting at times. Beyond Reacher himself, I also struggled to feel particularly invested in the other characters or honestly…even the plot at times. While that didn’t necessarily take away from the overall adventure, it made it harder for me to fully immerse myself in the story.
Admittedly, I was also experiencing a bit of a reading slump while working through this one, so I eventually switched to the audiobook to help me finish. Unfortunately, I wasn’t particularly fond of the narration either, which didn’t help my overall experience.
That being said, I can absolutely understand the appeal of this series. There’s something enjoyable about following a familiar character into an entirely new adventure without needing to remember the events of dozens of previous books.
Overall, I’m glad I finally ventured into Reacher’s world. While I enjoyed the adventure and action, I think this is one of those rare instances where I personally connect more with the television adaptation than the books. Still, for readers who enjoy action packed mysteries, familiar protagonists, and standalone adventures within a larger series, I can certainly see why Reacher has remained so popular.
If you enjoy long-running, episodic series where you can jump in at almost any point without having to read every previous installment, Jack Reacher is a great option. Each book offers a new adventure filled with action, mystery, a little romance, and whatever trouble Reacher manages to find himself in.
This was actually my first experience reading a Reacher novel, although I’ve watched and enjoyed the television adaptation. I was excited to finally explore his world on the page, and while I did enjoy the adventure, I came away realizing that Reacher might be one of those characters I prefer watching rather than reading.
The story had plenty of action and intrigue, but I found the writing style a little distracting at times. Beyond Reacher himself, I also struggled to feel particularly invested in the other characters or honestly…even the plot at times. While that didn’t necessarily take away from the overall adventure, it made it harder for me to fully immerse myself in the story.
Admittedly, I was also experiencing a bit of a reading slump while working through this one, so I eventually switched to the audiobook to help me finish. Unfortunately, I wasn’t particularly fond of the narration either, which didn’t help my overall experience.
That being said, I can absolutely understand the appeal of this series. There’s something enjoyable about following a familiar character into an entirely new adventure without needing to remember the events of dozens of previous books.
Overall, I’m glad I finally ventured into Reacher’s world. While I enjoyed the adventure and action, I think this is one of those rare instances where I personally connect more with the television adaptation than the books. Still, for readers who enjoy action packed mysteries, familiar protagonists, and standalone adventures within a larger series, I can certainly see why Reacher has remained so popular.
October 3, 2026
CHAIN REACTION
✍🏻 : Lee Child | Andrew Child
Okay, this one really said: What if AI, data centres, military secrets and murder all decided to cause problems at the same time?
Jack Reacher is pulled into a case when General Susan Turner asks him to investigate the suspicious death of one of her people in Colorado. The place itself is already giving creepy vibes ; one diner, one motel, huge data centres, solar farms… and only a handful of people around. 👀
And then Reacher starts asking questions.
The more he digs, the more things don’t add up. Someone is hiding something, and Reacher has to figure out who can actually be trusted. I really enjoyed how the story slowly connected the murder with technology, AI, data and a much bigger scheme.
Reacher is definitely the main attraction here. He notices the tiny details, thinks several steps ahead and somehow always manages to walk straight into trouble instead of away from it. The action was fast, the investigation kept me curious, and there were enough twists to keep me turning the pages.
I also liked seeing a slightly softer side of Reacher, especially through his connection with Susan and the people affected by the case. Their relationship added another layer without taking over the whole story.
“What kind of glitch?”
“Don’t you remember?”
And suddenly I’m suspicious of EVERYONE. 😂
Overall, Chain Reaction is a fun choice if you enjoy action thrillers with mystery, military secrets and a little bit of technology thrown into the chaos. You don’t need to be a tech expert either 👀😋 just sit back and let Reacher do the investigating. 😌
If you like your thrillers , dangerous and full of “wait… WHAT?” moments, this one might be the RIGHT choice ☝🏻🙌🏻
A SOLID ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for me!
Thank you @times.reads and Ms @putrifariza for this thrilling ARC! ✨
#chainreaction #jackreacher #actionthriller #bookrecommendations #bookish
✍🏻 : Lee Child | Andrew Child
Okay, this one really said: What if AI, data centres, military secrets and murder all decided to cause problems at the same time?
Jack Reacher is pulled into a case when General Susan Turner asks him to investigate the suspicious death of one of her people in Colorado. The place itself is already giving creepy vibes ; one diner, one motel, huge data centres, solar farms… and only a handful of people around. 👀
And then Reacher starts asking questions.
The more he digs, the more things don’t add up. Someone is hiding something, and Reacher has to figure out who can actually be trusted. I really enjoyed how the story slowly connected the murder with technology, AI, data and a much bigger scheme.
Reacher is definitely the main attraction here. He notices the tiny details, thinks several steps ahead and somehow always manages to walk straight into trouble instead of away from it. The action was fast, the investigation kept me curious, and there were enough twists to keep me turning the pages.
I also liked seeing a slightly softer side of Reacher, especially through his connection with Susan and the people affected by the case. Their relationship added another layer without taking over the whole story.
“What kind of glitch?”
“Don’t you remember?”
And suddenly I’m suspicious of EVERYONE. 😂
Overall, Chain Reaction is a fun choice if you enjoy action thrillers with mystery, military secrets and a little bit of technology thrown into the chaos. You don’t need to be a tech expert either 👀😋 just sit back and let Reacher do the investigating. 😌
If you like your thrillers , dangerous and full of “wait… WHAT?” moments, this one might be the RIGHT choice ☝🏻🙌🏻
A SOLID ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for me!
Thank you @times.reads and Ms @putrifariza for this thrilling ARC! ✨
#chainreaction #jackreacher #actionthriller #bookrecommendations #bookish
October 20, 2026
As a long time fan of this series I was very happy to delve into this newest installment featuring protagonist Jack Reacher and can’t say I was disappointed. I zipped right through this high-octane thriller that had a bit of everything I like to read about — from murder to military secrets, AI, and even some healthy “friends with benefits” thrown in.
General Susan Turner, a former colleague of Reacher's seeks his help when one of her team members is killed at a data center compound that he was covertly investigating. She doesn’t buy the story of how it happened and needs someone she can trust to assist her "off the books." She knows Reacher well as they were also lovers at one point. Finding him wasn't easy but once she does they head off to a remote town in Colorado where they hope to get some answers. In the process they uncover a complex web weaving more questions than answers but you know Reacher… with his spidey-senses will get to the bottom of it and thoroughly entertain us in the process. Lots of action, no boring chapters and It was nice to see a softer side of Reacher too, not just the big "macho-ness" he is known for.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend this offering releasing today 10/20/26, get your copy at your favorite retailers. My thanks for the pre-release eARC to publisher Ballantine via NetGalley. Thoroughly enjoyed this.
General Susan Turner, a former colleague of Reacher's seeks his help when one of her team members is killed at a data center compound that he was covertly investigating. She doesn’t buy the story of how it happened and needs someone she can trust to assist her "off the books." She knows Reacher well as they were also lovers at one point. Finding him wasn't easy but once she does they head off to a remote town in Colorado where they hope to get some answers. In the process they uncover a complex web weaving more questions than answers but you know Reacher… with his spidey-senses will get to the bottom of it and thoroughly entertain us in the process. Lots of action, no boring chapters and It was nice to see a softer side of Reacher too, not just the big "macho-ness" he is known for.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend this offering releasing today 10/20/26, get your copy at your favorite retailers. My thanks for the pre-release eARC to publisher Ballantine via NetGalley. Thoroughly enjoyed this.
October 21, 2026
Gravel, solar panels, five data centers, and two guys trying to take over the world with AI walk into a bar... and they meet Jack Reacher.
Susan Turner is back, and if you've been waiting to see her again since Never Go Back, you're in for a treat. She is now a one-star Brigadier General leading the Army's CSA G-99 Section. When a CID Special Agent turns up dead under suspicious circumstances, Turner knows in her gut it wasn't a random mugging that led to his death. With her own unit compromised by a powerful tech organization known as Everything Everywhere Forever (EEF) operated by Axel Brill and Cameron Saxby (in my head I totally saw Pinky and The Brain) , she needs someone completely outside the system. Enter Reacher.
This one feels different from recent Reacher novels. Yes, there's plenty of action, impossible odds, gallons of coffee, enormous meals, and, of course, pie. But there are also welcome nods to classic Reacher. We get those familiar habits that longtime fans love: setting an internal clock in his head, the way he presses his clothes, and relying on his gut. At the same time, he's evolving. Reacher shows more emotion in this book than all the books combined, and it hints that bigger changes may be on the horizon.
The story moves from Colorado to California to Washington, D.C., weaving together data centers, AI, surveillance, gravel companies (yes, gravel becomes surprisingly important), and a plan to dominate the AI world that never leaves U.S. soil. It is absolutely over the top, but that's part of the fun. This is Reacher—we're not here for subtle.
Susan Turner is back, and if you've been waiting to see her again since Never Go Back, you're in for a treat. She is now a one-star Brigadier General leading the Army's CSA G-99 Section. When a CID Special Agent turns up dead under suspicious circumstances, Turner knows in her gut it wasn't a random mugging that led to his death. With her own unit compromised by a powerful tech organization known as Everything Everywhere Forever (EEF) operated by Axel Brill and Cameron Saxby (in my head I totally saw Pinky and The Brain) , she needs someone completely outside the system. Enter Reacher.
This one feels different from recent Reacher novels. Yes, there's plenty of action, impossible odds, gallons of coffee, enormous meals, and, of course, pie. But there are also welcome nods to classic Reacher. We get those familiar habits that longtime fans love: setting an internal clock in his head, the way he presses his clothes, and relying on his gut. At the same time, he's evolving. Reacher shows more emotion in this book than all the books combined, and it hints that bigger changes may be on the horizon.
The story moves from Colorado to California to Washington, D.C., weaving together data centers, AI, surveillance, gravel companies (yes, gravel becomes surprisingly important), and a plan to dominate the AI world that never leaves U.S. soil. It is absolutely over the top, but that's part of the fun. This is Reacher—we're not here for subtle.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Chain Reaction was a really fun thriller with a good mystery, plenty of action, and enough suspense to keep me interested! I enjoyed watching Reacher piece everything together because he’s smart, observant, and always seems to be one step ahead of everyone else.
Also, I LOVE the Reacher show on Prime Video, so I was picturing Alan Ritchson as Reacher the entire time I was reading. He fits the character so well, and imagining him in all the action scenes made the book even more enjoyable!
One thing I really appreciate about this series is that the books can be read as standalones. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to read all 30+ books, but I love being able to jump into a story without feeling like I’m missing too much. I’ll definitely be reading all the newest books from here on out, especially because of my love for the show!
My only real issue was that some parts of the conspiracy got a little complicated, and I was more interested in the mystery and action than the technical details.
Overall, this was a really entertaining read, and I can’t wait to read more Reacher books!
Also, I LOVE the Reacher show on Prime Video, so I was picturing Alan Ritchson as Reacher the entire time I was reading. He fits the character so well, and imagining him in all the action scenes made the book even more enjoyable!
One thing I really appreciate about this series is that the books can be read as standalones. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to read all 30+ books, but I love being able to jump into a story without feeling like I’m missing too much. I’ll definitely be reading all the newest books from here on out, especially because of my love for the show!
My only real issue was that some parts of the conspiracy got a little complicated, and I was more interested in the mystery and action than the technical details.
Overall, this was a really entertaining read, and I can’t wait to read more Reacher books!
October 21, 2026
This one was fun! I like how Reacher has been building people that he's helped and they know he will help them again, if only they can find him. This time around one of those people is uniquely set up to be able to find him and does so in a great way. And of course due to their history, Reacher is all set to help Susan once he knows what is going on.
It was interesting all that they found out, the way that Reacher was able to use the bad guys against themselves to find the next one in the chain, all the way to the ones that started it all. It was sickening what the ultimate motive was behind things. The bad guys totally got what was coming to them and you know what that last phone call from Reacher, they will be exposed for all their evil ways.
On a side note, who knew Reacher was such a baby whisperer.
It was interesting all that they found out, the way that Reacher was able to use the bad guys against themselves to find the next one in the chain, all the way to the ones that started it all. It was sickening what the ultimate motive was behind things. The bad guys totally got what was coming to them and you know what that last phone call from Reacher, they will be exposed for all their evil ways.
On a side note, who knew Reacher was such a baby whisperer.
October 25, 2026
Welcome back Reacher! The last couple were a disappointment on a relative basis, but it is a tough bar to exceed. This one is a return to form. Great, twisty plot, A bid sadistic in dispatching of the bad guys but not less than they deserve. Interesting to see Reacher in the middle of a modern issue like artificial intelligence. A great read!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Reacher is a Six foot-five trained ex military police officer who has never exactly settled into civilian life. He has no home, no car, no regular job. Instead, he’s on permanent walkabout wherever whim takes him. Reacher never finds trouble is too far distant and he has a penchant for helping others.
But here Reacher isn’t working alone but as part of a troika that includes now-General Susan Turner and her second in command Colonel Elwood, both of whom operate a super secret off-the-books outfit G99. Turner brings Reacher in because she thinks her unit has sprung a leak. A young officer in her unit died in Colorado visiting a solar farm and no one knows why.
Combining Reacher with Turner and Elwood offers three highly trained individuals who are each competent to take on murderous thugs run out of a Silicon Valley law firm. This is a modern battle for Reacher to fight in out digital world.
But here Reacher isn’t working alone but as part of a troika that includes now-General Susan Turner and her second in command Colonel Elwood, both of whom operate a super secret off-the-books outfit G99. Turner brings Reacher in because she thinks her unit has sprung a leak. A young officer in her unit died in Colorado visiting a solar farm and no one knows why.
Combining Reacher with Turner and Elwood offers three highly trained individuals who are each competent to take on murderous thugs run out of a Silicon Valley law firm. This is a modern battle for Reacher to fight in out digital world.
October 23, 2026
Jack Reacher has no phone plan, no email and no address, which has always been the point of him. What he does have, these days, is a bank card, and bank cards expire. When his runs out, the woman looking for him simply waits at the branch in Arlington where he will have to collect the new one, and two military police warrant officers are standing at the door when he arrives. Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child opens with the drifter outmanoeuvred by paperwork, and it is a sly first move. Modern life, the book suggests, leaves a trail even for a man who refuses to leave one.
The general who sent them is Susan Turner. She has three promotions since Reacher last saw her, a thousand people under her command and a dead investigator she cannot explain.
How the Summertown Case Works
Turner now runs CSA G-99 Section, a new army law enforcement outfit that reports straight to the Chief of Staff. One of her agents, a young cybercrime specialist named Bisley, flew to Colorado to look into a theory about data centres copying each other's traffic. On his first night there he was stabbed behind a biker bar forty miles from his motel. The sheriff calls it a mugging. Turner suspects a leak inside her own section, which means she cannot trust anyone she works with. So she hands Reacher the file, a burner phone and five thousand dollars in cash.
The setting is Summertown, a place that is barely a town at all: one motel, one diner, two vast solar fields and five data centres the size of airfields, humming in the heat. From there the trail runs to Denver and then to Palo Alto, and each person Reacher catches leads him to the one above. The structure of Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child is a ladder, climbed one rung at a time.
What Lee Child and Andrew Child Get Right About Detection
The best thing in the novel is that Reacher solves a twenty-first-century crime with twentieth-century eyes. He cannot follow the technical pages in Bisley's file. What he can do is look at a crime-scene photograph and notice that the driver's seat of the victim's rented hybrid is pushed back far enough for a man a foot taller than Bisley. Then he notices that the dead man's sunglasses stayed in his motel room, although he was supposedly driving west into the evening sun. Two physical details, and the official story falls apart.
That pattern holds all the way through Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child. The clues are planted fairly, often in scenes that look like comic interludes, and they pay off much later. Readers who like to play along will find the evidence was in front of them the whole time.
What works
Susan Turner. She outranks him, plans the door breaches and makes the hard calls, and her history with Reacher gives the book a warmth the recent entries lacked. She is a partner, not a passenger.
The decoy play. In Palo Alto, Reacher buries Turner's switched-on work phone in a hotel welcome basket and waits across the street to see who comes for it. It is a lovely, simple test of who is leaking what.
The cutaways. Short scenes show the people paying for the hits reacting to every failure, so the reader watches the panic spread upward while Reacher is still working his way up from the bottom.
Colonel Elwood. Turner's deputy is a stickler who will not exceed twenty-five miles an hour, and he earns his place by the end.
Where It Gives Ground
None of these sinks Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child, but they keep it from the top tier.
The villains are flimsy. The founders at the top of the ladder say "bro" in nearly every line and fold without much of a fight. After so much careful build-up, the confrontation at the summit feels slight.
The climax runs low on risk. The big set piece is tactically neat, but the heroes take almost no damage, and the final chapter plays more like a coda than a showdown.
A body count with no paperwork. Cameras fail on cue, bodies vanish, and a serving general's choices are never examined. Long-time readers expect this; newer ones may balk.
The tics. "Paused a beat" and its cousins recur so often that you start counting.
The Last Word
This is the most satisfying Reacher in years because it remembers he is an investigator first. The new world of data centres, driverless cars and hacked hotel locks gives the brothers a playground, and Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child uses it to prove that a large man with a good eye still beats a fast computer. The ending is too easy and the money men are cardboard, but the hunt up the ladder holds you from the first expired card to the final page.
It is out now. Bring coffee, and pay in cash.
The general who sent them is Susan Turner. She has three promotions since Reacher last saw her, a thousand people under her command and a dead investigator she cannot explain.
How the Summertown Case Works
Turner now runs CSA G-99 Section, a new army law enforcement outfit that reports straight to the Chief of Staff. One of her agents, a young cybercrime specialist named Bisley, flew to Colorado to look into a theory about data centres copying each other's traffic. On his first night there he was stabbed behind a biker bar forty miles from his motel. The sheriff calls it a mugging. Turner suspects a leak inside her own section, which means she cannot trust anyone she works with. So she hands Reacher the file, a burner phone and five thousand dollars in cash.
The setting is Summertown, a place that is barely a town at all: one motel, one diner, two vast solar fields and five data centres the size of airfields, humming in the heat. From there the trail runs to Denver and then to Palo Alto, and each person Reacher catches leads him to the one above. The structure of Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child is a ladder, climbed one rung at a time.
What Lee Child and Andrew Child Get Right About Detection
The best thing in the novel is that Reacher solves a twenty-first-century crime with twentieth-century eyes. He cannot follow the technical pages in Bisley's file. What he can do is look at a crime-scene photograph and notice that the driver's seat of the victim's rented hybrid is pushed back far enough for a man a foot taller than Bisley. Then he notices that the dead man's sunglasses stayed in his motel room, although he was supposedly driving west into the evening sun. Two physical details, and the official story falls apart.
That pattern holds all the way through Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child. The clues are planted fairly, often in scenes that look like comic interludes, and they pay off much later. Readers who like to play along will find the evidence was in front of them the whole time.
What works
Susan Turner. She outranks him, plans the door breaches and makes the hard calls, and her history with Reacher gives the book a warmth the recent entries lacked. She is a partner, not a passenger.
The decoy play. In Palo Alto, Reacher buries Turner's switched-on work phone in a hotel welcome basket and waits across the street to see who comes for it. It is a lovely, simple test of who is leaking what.
The cutaways. Short scenes show the people paying for the hits reacting to every failure, so the reader watches the panic spread upward while Reacher is still working his way up from the bottom.
Colonel Elwood. Turner's deputy is a stickler who will not exceed twenty-five miles an hour, and he earns his place by the end.
Where It Gives Ground
None of these sinks Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child, but they keep it from the top tier.
The villains are flimsy. The founders at the top of the ladder say "bro" in nearly every line and fold without much of a fight. After so much careful build-up, the confrontation at the summit feels slight.
The climax runs low on risk. The big set piece is tactically neat, but the heroes take almost no damage, and the final chapter plays more like a coda than a showdown.
A body count with no paperwork. Cameras fail on cue, bodies vanish, and a serving general's choices are never examined. Long-time readers expect this; newer ones may balk.
The tics. "Paused a beat" and its cousins recur so often that you start counting.
The Last Word
This is the most satisfying Reacher in years because it remembers he is an investigator first. The new world of data centres, driverless cars and hacked hotel locks gives the brothers a playground, and Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child uses it to prove that a large man with a good eye still beats a fast computer. The ending is too easy and the money men are cardboard, but the hunt up the ladder holds you from the first expired card to the final page.
It is out now. Bring coffee, and pay in cash.
October 21, 2026
As I picked up CHAIN REACTION I literally spoke aloud: ‘Let’s see what Reacher is up to now.’ If you are not familiar with the decades of best-selling novels featuring Lee Child’s main man, perhaps you have watched the highly addictive series on Amazon Prime, ‘Reacher,’ which gets better and more violent with each passing season.
For those who still do not know who Reacher is, I will sum up his general attributes to paint you a picture. This former military mountain of muscle chooses to now live off the grid as a nomadic figure, moving from town to town and finding trouble at almost every turn. He carries all his worldly possessions in a plastic bag, has no credit cards and minimal form of identification. He is not easy to find, and at the beginning of this story General Susan Turner becomes well aware of this fact as she is in desperate need of his help.
The assignment she tasks Reacher with is highly confidential due to the fact that she fears there is a mole operating on her own team. CID Special Agent John Bisley was brutally murdered while on assignment and she fears that the killers were operating with inside information. Not only was Bisley one of her best, but he was also married with a young child. His body was found in the small town of Summertown, Colorado, a place known primarily for its many solar farms and huge data centers. This is where Reacher is sent, and as soon as he checks into the only motel in town, he is immediately on the radar of the baddies that iced Bisley courtesy of a coerced phone call from the motel manager.
Reacher, as always, gets the jump on the first stooge who was parked in the motel lot and forces him to give up his two cronies that were responsible for Bisley’s death. Using the stooge’s phone, he lures the two men out to the desert with only solar farms around them and takes them both down. After getting minimal information as to who gave them the hit call on Bisley, a man named Hugo, Reacher eliminates them both as repayment for Bisley’s family. Turner is able to get information about an attorney who might be involved in all of this, a man named Lazarus Lorenzo out in California. This is where she sends Reacher next and agrees to meet him out there due to the high amount of secrecy with this case.
Lorenzo has offices in both Palo Alto and San Francisco. They decide to check out Palo Alto first, as Bisley was assigned to cybercrime and that is in the heart of the Silicon Valley. If he was getting close to a high-tech business owner enough to get him killed than this sounded like the ideal place to start the next step in their hunt. Meanwhile, Turner needs to figure out who she can trust in her D.C. office without letting anyone know where she is. She sends her second-in-command, Colonel Elwood, out to Summerton to investigate the Bisley case in addition to two bodies found burnt up in a vehicle in the middle of some solar farms. While there, she is able to vet him out to validate that he was not the mole. At this point, Turner decides to bring him into their mission to have another hand on deck that she can trust.
With the three of them working this case, things should start moving quickly. The unexpected thing is that the further up the chain they get, the closer they are to a megalomaniac with a global domination plot that no one could have ever expected. Reacher will need to use his brains as well as his brawn if he is going to chop off the head of this snake before they are buried alongside Bisley. CHAIN REACTION is classic Jack Reacher, chock full of violence and intrigue that is pretty much non-stop. This is still one of the most exciting series on the market and with each passing novel, Reacher shows me a new way to kill someone!
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
For those who still do not know who Reacher is, I will sum up his general attributes to paint you a picture. This former military mountain of muscle chooses to now live off the grid as a nomadic figure, moving from town to town and finding trouble at almost every turn. He carries all his worldly possessions in a plastic bag, has no credit cards and minimal form of identification. He is not easy to find, and at the beginning of this story General Susan Turner becomes well aware of this fact as she is in desperate need of his help.
The assignment she tasks Reacher with is highly confidential due to the fact that she fears there is a mole operating on her own team. CID Special Agent John Bisley was brutally murdered while on assignment and she fears that the killers were operating with inside information. Not only was Bisley one of her best, but he was also married with a young child. His body was found in the small town of Summertown, Colorado, a place known primarily for its many solar farms and huge data centers. This is where Reacher is sent, and as soon as he checks into the only motel in town, he is immediately on the radar of the baddies that iced Bisley courtesy of a coerced phone call from the motel manager.
Reacher, as always, gets the jump on the first stooge who was parked in the motel lot and forces him to give up his two cronies that were responsible for Bisley’s death. Using the stooge’s phone, he lures the two men out to the desert with only solar farms around them and takes them both down. After getting minimal information as to who gave them the hit call on Bisley, a man named Hugo, Reacher eliminates them both as repayment for Bisley’s family. Turner is able to get information about an attorney who might be involved in all of this, a man named Lazarus Lorenzo out in California. This is where she sends Reacher next and agrees to meet him out there due to the high amount of secrecy with this case.
Lorenzo has offices in both Palo Alto and San Francisco. They decide to check out Palo Alto first, as Bisley was assigned to cybercrime and that is in the heart of the Silicon Valley. If he was getting close to a high-tech business owner enough to get him killed than this sounded like the ideal place to start the next step in their hunt. Meanwhile, Turner needs to figure out who she can trust in her D.C. office without letting anyone know where she is. She sends her second-in-command, Colonel Elwood, out to Summerton to investigate the Bisley case in addition to two bodies found burnt up in a vehicle in the middle of some solar farms. While there, she is able to vet him out to validate that he was not the mole. At this point, Turner decides to bring him into their mission to have another hand on deck that she can trust.
With the three of them working this case, things should start moving quickly. The unexpected thing is that the further up the chain they get, the closer they are to a megalomaniac with a global domination plot that no one could have ever expected. Reacher will need to use his brains as well as his brawn if he is going to chop off the head of this snake before they are buried alongside Bisley. CHAIN REACTION is classic Jack Reacher, chock full of violence and intrigue that is pretty much non-stop. This is still one of the most exciting series on the market and with each passing novel, Reacher shows me a new way to kill someone!
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
October 22, 2026
Chain Reaction was a much better read than the previous Jack Reacher book. This felt like the Reacher I know and enjoy, with a strong central investigation, plenty of action and a main character who is always several steps ahead of everyone else. It was refreshing to feel properly invested in the story again.
The plot starts with General Susan Turner, who needs Reacher’s help after a member of her team is brutally murdered while working undercover. She doesn’t know who she can trust within her own organisation, so she turns to Reacher, someone who operates outside the usual rules and can get things done without leaving a trail. Reacher heads to Summertown, Colorado, a strange and isolated place dominated by huge data centres and solar farms, where there are very few people around but plenty of reasons to be suspicious.
I really enjoyed having Susan Turner back in the story. She’s a great character in her own right, and her relationship with Reacher adds something extra to the investigation. It was good to see a familiar face return rather than having Reacher deal with an entirely new cast of characters. Turner is intelligent, capable and someone Reacher can respect, which makes their involvement in the case all the more interesting.
The setting also worked well for me. Summertown feels deliberately unsettling, with its remote location, enormous data centres and tiny population. There’s a real sense that something isn’t quite right, and I liked the way Reacher gradually starts working out what’s happening. The mystery kept me interested, and the action felt much more in keeping with what I expect from a Jack Reacher novel.
Most importantly, Reacher himself felt like the real Reacher again. He’s resourceful, independent and not someone who can easily be intimidated. I enjoy the way he approaches problems differently from everyone else, relying on observation, instinct and a willingness to take matters into his own hands. This book reminded me why the character has remained so popular for so long.
My only real criticism is the ending. After spending the book building up the investigation and developing the various threads of the story, everything seemed to wrap up far too quickly. I wanted a little more time for the conclusion to unfold, rather than feeling as though we suddenly rushed towards the finish line. It wasn’t enough to spoil the book, but it did leave me feeling that the final section could have been stronger.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable Reacher thriller and a definite improvement on my previous read. The return of Susan Turner was a welcome bonus, the plot kept me engaged, and Reacher felt much more like the character I want to read about. If the ending had been given a little more time and attention, this could easily have been a five-star read.
Four stars. A proper Reacher book again, and a reminder of why I enjoy this series so much.
The plot starts with General Susan Turner, who needs Reacher’s help after a member of her team is brutally murdered while working undercover. She doesn’t know who she can trust within her own organisation, so she turns to Reacher, someone who operates outside the usual rules and can get things done without leaving a trail. Reacher heads to Summertown, Colorado, a strange and isolated place dominated by huge data centres and solar farms, where there are very few people around but plenty of reasons to be suspicious.
I really enjoyed having Susan Turner back in the story. She’s a great character in her own right, and her relationship with Reacher adds something extra to the investigation. It was good to see a familiar face return rather than having Reacher deal with an entirely new cast of characters. Turner is intelligent, capable and someone Reacher can respect, which makes their involvement in the case all the more interesting.
The setting also worked well for me. Summertown feels deliberately unsettling, with its remote location, enormous data centres and tiny population. There’s a real sense that something isn’t quite right, and I liked the way Reacher gradually starts working out what’s happening. The mystery kept me interested, and the action felt much more in keeping with what I expect from a Jack Reacher novel.
Most importantly, Reacher himself felt like the real Reacher again. He’s resourceful, independent and not someone who can easily be intimidated. I enjoy the way he approaches problems differently from everyone else, relying on observation, instinct and a willingness to take matters into his own hands. This book reminded me why the character has remained so popular for so long.
My only real criticism is the ending. After spending the book building up the investigation and developing the various threads of the story, everything seemed to wrap up far too quickly. I wanted a little more time for the conclusion to unfold, rather than feeling as though we suddenly rushed towards the finish line. It wasn’t enough to spoil the book, but it did leave me feeling that the final section could have been stronger.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable Reacher thriller and a definite improvement on my previous read. The return of Susan Turner was a welcome bonus, the plot kept me engaged, and Reacher felt much more like the character I want to read about. If the ending had been given a little more time and attention, this could easily have been a five-star read.
Four stars. A proper Reacher book again, and a reminder of why I enjoy this series so much.
October 11, 2026
This is Jack Reacher #31, although Andrew Child has been the main co-author of his older brother’s series for the past six installments. If you’ve read them all, or just a few, the excellent consistency of the thrillers has been maintained. And most, like this one, are easy to pick up as a standalone action story. You just have to know that Jack Reacher is physically imposing, has a brilliant analytical mind, is highly trained and often dangerous (ex Military Police), always seems hungry, is guided by a strong moral code, and is a loner by choice.
There are a few recurring characters, but most do not repeat in sequential stories. In “Chain Reaction,” General Susan Turner from “Never Go Back” (2013) contacts Jack. She’s the head of a new secretive FBI-like division in the army and one of her agents was murdered/mugged in Colorado. She fears an insider on her team gave the guy up, hence she’s trying to get Reacher to investigate.
The victim, an employee of General Turner’s, was investigating whether a phantom data center was copying the contents of the other data centers in the middle of Nowhere in northern Colorado (there were five data centers in that area). Trying to keep the investigation off the books is why she contacts Reacher.
The storyline is very current — a data center thriller! — and a solid plot about going off grid (Reacher’s specialty) as every high tech surveillance gimmick (mile high drones, facial recognition, self-driving vehicles, cryptocurrency scams, AI cybercrimes) conspires against you.
As usual, the bad guys are very bad (but never as smart as Jack) and there are megalomaniac tech bros as villains, with all the money in the world to use on eliminating Reacher.
I love these Reacher books— like a guaranteed HEA in a romance book, I’m reassured that the good guys will win. 5 stars!
Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Only Susan’s army uniform is the most green thing.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The Colorado desert is appropriately hot and boring.
Thank you to Ballantine/Bantam and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.
There are a few recurring characters, but most do not repeat in sequential stories. In “Chain Reaction,” General Susan Turner from “Never Go Back” (2013) contacts Jack. She’s the head of a new secretive FBI-like division in the army and one of her agents was murdered/mugged in Colorado. She fears an insider on her team gave the guy up, hence she’s trying to get Reacher to investigate.
The victim, an employee of General Turner’s, was investigating whether a phantom data center was copying the contents of the other data centers in the middle of Nowhere in northern Colorado (there were five data centers in that area). Trying to keep the investigation off the books is why she contacts Reacher.
The storyline is very current — a data center thriller! — and a solid plot about going off grid (Reacher’s specialty) as every high tech surveillance gimmick (mile high drones, facial recognition, self-driving vehicles, cryptocurrency scams, AI cybercrimes) conspires against you.
As usual, the bad guys are very bad (but never as smart as Jack) and there are megalomaniac tech bros as villains, with all the money in the world to use on eliminating Reacher.
I love these Reacher books— like a guaranteed HEA in a romance book, I’m reassured that the good guys will win. 5 stars!
Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Only Susan’s army uniform is the most green thing.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The Colorado desert is appropriately hot and boring.
Thank you to Ballantine/Bantam and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.
September 14, 2026
One of my favorite things every year is a new Jack Reacher book. They are the one constant and always a fun time watching Jack think through the situation while playing the vigilante hero that we all love.
In Chain Reaction, we get a rare treat in a character from Jack’s past, Susan Turner. She has been promoted to a high rank in a new unit and needs Jack Reacher’s help off the books to help solve a murder that centers around the current hot topic of the moment, AI and data centers.
This is a timely and interesting mystery and Andrew Grant pulls it off fairly well, although I guessed a lot of it which is often unusual for a Reacher book. But the good news is that it entertained and kept my attention throughout and I even liked seeing a tender side of Jack.
My only complaints is this one definitely felt more Andrew Grant than Lee Child. I have noticed a pattern where some books have more of a Child feel to it while some do not; this is one. I felt there were things Jack said that didn’t feel organic to the character I know. One of the strangest was Reacher professing to be a fan of Stephen King books; I just don’t see this being true. The book also felt like it could have been 50 pages fewer even though the ending part felt rushed.
Complaints aside, it’s still an enjoyable Reacher and I look forward to the next one.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
In Chain Reaction, we get a rare treat in a character from Jack’s past, Susan Turner. She has been promoted to a high rank in a new unit and needs Jack Reacher’s help off the books to help solve a murder that centers around the current hot topic of the moment, AI and data centers.
This is a timely and interesting mystery and Andrew Grant pulls it off fairly well, although I guessed a lot of it which is often unusual for a Reacher book. But the good news is that it entertained and kept my attention throughout and I even liked seeing a tender side of Jack.
My only complaints is this one definitely felt more Andrew Grant than Lee Child. I have noticed a pattern where some books have more of a Child feel to it while some do not; this is one. I felt there were things Jack said that didn’t feel organic to the character I know. One of the strangest was Reacher professing to be a fan of Stephen King books; I just don’t see this being true. The book also felt like it could have been 50 pages fewer even though the ending part felt rushed.
Complaints aside, it’s still an enjoyable Reacher and I look forward to the next one.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
October 20, 2026
Brigadier General Susan Turner, former lover of Reacher, seeks his help in determining if the death of one of her team members was really an accident or intentional murder. Finding him is her first problem, but she manages to solve that quite easily. Cybercrime, data centers, cryptocurrency, hacking, and even general modern technology are not his areas of expertise or interest, but he’s determined to help Susan solve what turns out to be the murder of her team member, who left behind a wife and an 11-month-old daughter. Susan isn’t sure she can trust anyone on her team but knows she can trust Reacher.
An edge-of-your-seat thriller that takes Susan and Reacher across the country and puts them in danger every step of the way. Both have the necessary skills to thwart the enemy. An awesome addition to the series. I loved seeing the softer side of Reacher and his interaction with the 11-month-old baby. So sweet!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
An edge-of-your-seat thriller that takes Susan and Reacher across the country and puts them in danger every step of the way. Both have the necessary skills to thwart the enemy. An awesome addition to the series. I loved seeing the softer side of Reacher and his interaction with the 11-month-old baby. So sweet!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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