Cleaning the Gold

Jack Reacher #23.6

by Karin Slaughter, Lee Child

From New York Times bestselling authors Karin Slaughter and Lee Child comes this electrifying short story featuring their iconic characters Will Trent and Jack Reacher.


Twice the action.

Twice the drama.

Double the trouble.

Will Trent is undercover at Fort Knox. His assignment: to investigate a twenty-two-year-old murder. His suspect’s name: Jack Reacher.

Jack Reacher is in Fort Knox on his own mission: to bring down a dangerous criminal ring operating at the heart of America’s military. Except now Will Trent is on the scene.

But there’s a bigger conspiracy at play—one that neither the special agent nor the ex-military cop could have anticipated. And the only option is for Jack Reacher and Will Trent to team up and play nicely. If they can…

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime, Short Stories, Mystery Thriller

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2019

About the author

Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular storytellers. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty- five novels, including the Edgar nominated COP TOWN and standalone novels PRETTY GIRLS and FALSE WITNESS. An international bestseller, Slaughter is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. PIECES OF HER, based on her novel, debuted at #1 worldwide on Netflix as an original series in 2022. Her bestselling thriller series, Will Trent, is now a television and streaming sensation in its 4th season. THE GOOD DAUGHTER will soon be a limited series starring Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy, and further projects are currently in development for film/TV. Karin Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta.

Facebook: Facebook.com/AuthorKarinSlaughter

Website: http://www.karinslaughter.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karinslaugh...

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a short story the authors say was years in the making, Karin Slaughter and Lee Child have brought their ideas together to create a captivating tale that can be conquered in a single sitting. Will Trent has been working a cold case for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, tracking down a cop killer from the late 1990s. While he has followed some leads, the most promising points him to the United States Bullion Depository, where much of the country’s gold is held. Trent will not be able to traipse in and slap a pair of cuffs on the man he has in mind. He’ll have to go undercover, creating a strong alias that will pass muster with the Commanding Officer. Not entirely happy with the welcome he receives, Trent sweats it out and is given an assignment, to help catalogue the gold reserve. It is there that Trent meets the man he has been trying to locate, Jack Reacher. Before Trent can act, he’s led into a little situation that Reacher has been investigating, specifically corruption by two high-ranking Army officials overseeing the Depository. As Trent and Reacher work together, they reveal a scam at the highest level that could cause great harm if it is not neutralised. All that being said, Trent has not forgotten the mission that brought him to Kentucky, and the man whose guilt seems all but certain. Slaughter and Child work together to create this wonderful piece that blends both the writing styles and character quirks for which they are so well known. A great piece that can easily be completed with a cup or two of coffee and is recommended for those who enjoy short stories, as well as either of the protagonists.

I will be the first to admit that my reading time is not infinite, so I have never tackled any of Slaughter’s Will Trent novels. I am, however, a great fan of Lee Child and have devoured anything Jack Reacher. The story pits these two strong protagonists against one another—seemingly, if one is to believe the opening chapter—though they seem to work effectively together when duty calls. Trent comes from his policing background and is keen to arrest those who commit crimes, while Reacher continues to seek to find injustice and remedy it, while remaining elusive to many who want to know him better. Slaughter and Child do well in this piece to keep these two behemoths working effectively on the same side, before spinning things towards the end to discuss the elephant in the room, a murder in Georgia. The story flowed well and, for a short story, built up effectively before coming to a great conclusion. Series fans of either character will likely be impressed and it will have them wanting more. My attention is firmly focussed on what Jack Reacher will do, should he be able to slip out of this conundrum, though it is likely that his glowing personality will not create too many issues.

Kudos, Madam Slaughter and Mr. Child, for developing this wonderful piece. I’d read one of your collaborations again and hope you have some ideas to put Reacher and Trent on the same path again down the road.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio of this short story featuring Lee Child's Jack Reacher and Karin Slaughter's Georgia Bureau of Investigation's (GBI) Will Trent. I must say that I was intrigued how the stars of two separate hugely popular series would work out as joint protagonists here. Will is undercover, posing as a troublesome ex-military man who manages to obtain work at Fort Knox. He is working on a cold case, a long ago shooting of a law enforcement officer who stayed in a coma for years prior to succumbing to a infection, making it a murder. He has traced the suspect to Fort Knox, intending to find some DNA evidence. His suspect? Jack Reacher himself, working undercover too, the two men find themselves working together over suspicious circumstances that arise in Fort Knox, the perfect dream team. Is it possible that Will might not know everything about his cold case and the victim? This is a short story that will appeal to fans of both series.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much special or exciting in this very short story. 3 of 10 stars

[Terence M [on a brief semi-hiatus] · Rating 1 out of 5]

0.5-Star ^ 1.0-Star - It Was Total Rubbish!
Why did two respected and experienced authors actually collaborate to write such drivel? Money... ya reckon!?

How did two respected and experienced narrators manage to read such drivel? Well, quite badly as it happens!

Such a waste of my rapidly diminishing "Listening Time"😒!

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack Reacher and Will Trent were both entrenched in Fort Knox. They hadn’t known one another prior to meeting in the vaults where the gold was being cleaned, but they both had an agenda. Will was undercover, Reacher wasn’t. Murder and conspiracy – would they both reach the conclusions they were sent there for?

Cleaning the Gold by good friends and authors Karin Slaughter and Lee Child is a short story bringing the two famous characters together under one title. I enjoyed it very much until the end which was abrupt and unfulfilling. My 4 star rating dropped to 3 which was a shame as individually I thoroughly enjoy both series. A shame the authors couldn’t pull off a more satisfying ending.

[Sean Peters (A Good Thriller) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, firstly I know this is a short story, which limits the potential of a great epic story with two great characters.

Let me tell you, I was looking forward to reading this, two great authors, two great characters and the change to see two greats coming together in this story.

Yes great to have them both in one story, great idea for a story, build up to a great "one chapter" then is stops !!

"Where is the rest of the story"

Have they both left this for a part 2, or was it just a massive let down at the end. I felt let down, especially as I have a great regards for this two great authors.

Three stars, that I thought would be an explosive quick five star thriller.

Don't get me wrong still a great fan of both authors and characters, I guess this short story was just too short.

[Laura Wonderchick · Rating 2 out of 5]

WTF was that??!! I know this is plainly a short story but it has this great build up and then just screeches to a halt!! What a waste of $3.99

[Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version and it was perfectly alright. I quite liked the fact that Will Trent was there investigating Jack Reacher while Jack himself was there investigating a case himself. So both were undercover on a mission, Jack just happened to be Will's mission. LOL.

This is quite a short novella and it did feel like an appetizer for a coming book. Especially since the ending is a bit open, so hopefully there will be a full-fledged book.

[Kathi Defranc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice Story Combining Two Of My Favorites

Great story melding the positives of Jack Reacher and Will Trent in an exciting story happening in the gold depository, where the two men find a common enemy and are able to end Will's cold case.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read alot of will trent books never read any Jack reacher books but love the films found this book to short lot of action just wish it was longer.🌞

[Sheyla ✎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intersecting combo of characters. On the one hand, we have Will Trent, the tall, three-piece suit FBI agent who had a tough upbringing but is very smart. On the other hand, you have Jack Reacher, an ex-military man with his own compass for right and wrong.

Will and Jack are brought together into Fort Knox for very different reasons. Will is looking into a cold case and Jack is investigating into some funny business inside Fort Knox. Will doesn’t know if he can trust Jack and vice-versa until a new problem surfaces for both.

I’m a HUGE Will Trent fan. He’s perfectly imperfect. Good detective skills, strong and smart with a good heart. He loves the law and he's great with numbers.

Jack Reacher is a smart person too. He’s super strong and deadly. Yet, he’s guided by justice. He's actually taller than Will!

Quite a lot of fun to have these two worlds colliding. I’m sure Slaughter and Child had a blast writing it.

I've to admit (don't kill me) that I haven't read any of Jack Reacher's books (I've seen the movies with Tom Cruise). After, reading Cleaning the Gold, I need to carve some time for this Lee Child's series.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

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[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A silly story if you ask me. But I welcome a Reacher story any day... (I haven't read any Will Trent)

[*TANYA* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll read ANYTHING that includes Will Trent!! I love that guy, I know I’ve said this before but he’s by far one of my favorite book characters. I’m not too familiar with Jack Reacher, based on this story he was a likable character.

The writing and story were good, entertaining enough.
And let me just say that perhaps they should have chosen someone other than Tom Cruise to play him. He’s got the personality down but the physicality is WAY off!!! (I needed to include that last bit. LOL)

[Jonetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

the setup…
Will Trent goes undercover to find a cold case murder suspect. This time he’s in Fort Knox…yes, the site of the US gold vault. The man he’s hunting? Jack Reacher.

the heart of the story…
It’s Will Trent meeting Jack Reacher! Both are on a mission and when Will’s ready to “confront” Reacher, he takes a moment to reassess. Jack is on a different mission and it doesn’t take long for them to warily team up. The highlight of it all is in that first private encounter where they’ve got to decide what to do with each other.

the narration…
Both handled their characters well, with a tinge of wit and sarcasm, just as I expected.

the bottom line…
I stumbled across this story, not realizing I’d missed it. I’m a Reacher fan but not far into that series but up to date in Will Trent. It was entertaining and I enjoyed it but it could have used a more satisfying ending. Definitely worth the time to see the matchup of these two characters. 3.5 stars

Posted on Blue Mood Café

[Alan Cotterell · Rating 5 out of 5]

2 4 1

This is such a treat, when you get 2 of your favourite characters from different authors, in one story. The only downside, is it it's a short story. If only this was a full length novel.
Will Trent and Jack Reacher, are two different characters,with different backgrounds and skill sets. It could of gone horribly wrong, but it didn't, not surprising, when you have two fantastic authors working together as one.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story 3 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrators Eric Jason Martin
Jeff Harding

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some awesome moments... just wish this short story to be much longer!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short novella co-authored by acclaimed storytellers who happen to feature two very popular characters.

The story features Will Trent (Slaughter’s character) going after Jack Reacher (Child’s character) based on a cold case. Trent believes, based on the information he has been provided, that Reacher is a cop killer. Of course, when they finally meet, things aren’t as he expected.

As the two begin to work together, they realize stronger forces are at play than they realized.

The writing is clearly descriptive. Interspersed throughout are interesting descriptions of the heat, the people, the place. As they entered one location, one description in particular caused me to smile…

“The hinges were polished brass, as long and wide as an outstretched corgi.”

For anyone who has gone to my page, you will know immediately, why that particular description captured my interest! ;)

If you are familiar with the Jack Reacher series, you will get a lot from this story. The character is readily fleshed out. If you are familiar with Will Trent, he may not be as easily recognizable. His physical traits seem obvious, but other aspects of him didn’t come out as noticeably. But it is clear that they are the good guys.

My main disappointment comes from the fact that the bigger story the two come upon gets no resolution. If there is some intention that it comes out in a future Will Trent or Jack Reacher story…not cool. I don’t appreciate cliffhangers or loose ends to any stories. Thus a downgraded star review.

Other than that, it was an okay short story that will be fun for fans. 3.5 stars.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t believe that two of my favorite series came together and made a dud.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a combined novel by authors Karin Slaughter and Lee Child featuring both writers most well known characters, Jack Reacher and Will Trent. I follow both authors and enjoy reading the books featuring these two hardmen so it was a win, win for me. The only issue was that it was 86 pages long and not a full length novel which makes it so difficult for me to fully engage. I have read quite a few of these combination novels and this was definitely one of the better ones and hard to see the join between writers. In the notes it actually states that much of the novel was written together rather than the more troublesome way of alternate chapters which tend to show the difference in writing styles.
The story works up to a point but spoilt by appearing to try and cramp it all into a short story.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Reacher shrugged." -- on page 45

He wasn't the only one - the tag-team novella mixes Lee Child's Jack Reacher with Karin Slaughter's Will Trent in a short story that the rear cover blurb boldly promises as "Twice the action. Twice the drama. Double the trouble." That's a catchy advertising jingle of sorts, but this bland narrative - with both characters working undercover, although initially independently on separate investigations (Reacher on behalf of a friend formerly in the military, Trent in his line of work as a Georgia Bureau of Investigation operative), at the U.S. Bullion Depository in Fort Knox - did not exactly glitter like the title element. Possibly a book-length treatment of the plot would have been a better option.

[kartik narayanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cleaning the Gold is a return to form for Jack Reacher after the abysmal book that was 'Past Tense'.

I have to admit first that as of writing this review, this is the first Will Trent/Karin Slaughter book that I am reading. And I am quite impressed with both the character as well as the writing style demonstrated in this book. So, watch out, Will Trent, I am going to binge read you.

That aside, I found the story to be quite good, the action great and the interactions between the main characters to be fun and involving. While Lee Child continues the tradition of making Jack Reacher into a superman, it is not so pronounced in this book (when compared to the last 2-3 books). I am not sure how much influence the collaboration had on this factor, but it is for the best since Jack Reacher is suddenly becoming interesting again.

The only issue I had with this story is its super abrupt ending. I literally went back and forth to make sure that the story was not missing pages or that I had not skipped any by mistake. Other reviewers are also commenting on this and I think this will end up being the most disappointing aspect of the book.

I highly recommend 'Cleaning the Gold.'

[Amanda Hupe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cleaning the Gold by Karin Slaughter and Lee Child is the merge of the Jack Reacher series and the Will Trent series. My beloved Will Trent is going undercover again. This time it takes him across state lines to investigate a cold case murder. The suspect: Jack Reacher. Turns out Jack Reacher is under assignment as well. Their worlds collide when some red flags present themselves at Fort Knox.

Let’s call this a mini-review. This is a short story, it moves extremely quickly. I am not familiar with the Jack Reacher series but I did like the teamwork between him and Will. I love how Will keeps an open mind and is willing to listen to those around him before going solely off the evidence. The only downfall is that this book ends on a huge cliffhanger! I am also assuming that the questions will be answered in the next Jack Reacher book and not in Karin Slaughter’s next book. However, the story is always filled with suspense and criminal mystery. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

[Tracy P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute gem of a short story, and with two of my favorite male protagonists (Jack Reacher and Will Trent). Each of their unique personalities, with their always entertaining and distinctly individual idiosyncrasies were well highlighted. Since they both have personal trademark eccentric quirks and mindsets, it goes without saying there was plenty of fun interchanges and thoughts being bantered about over the course of the case. What a riotous and perfect pairing these two are. Each is super smart, committed to their careers, and oh so passionate. Making for some seriously stellar listening. The only qualm I had is that 'Cleaning the Gold' was too short. No sooner did the characters really start getting warmed up and their mojo going than it ended. Hope they have more adventures together in the near future in full length novels. Since Will and Reacher are both larger than life personalities and are used to being the main hero in their individual series', condensing them both into a novella was asking a lot. Needless to say, it was worth its weight (no pun intended) in gold! Please keep rolling 'em out. Hope Ms. Slaughter and Mr. Child collaborate more in the future. #Teamwork

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

Cleaning the Gold is a short story written jointly by both Karin Slaughter and Lee Child. This book has two of the authors well known characters in it - Will Trent and Jack Reacher. These two characters become an unlikely team working together to bust open criminal activity.
This book flowed really well and most of the time it was difficult to tell which author had written which part of the story- possibly because they worked together closely in this novel rather than write individual chapters.
The result of this dual writing between the two authors is fantastic. I only marked it down to 3.5 stars because the novel was too short for me to get into it fully and it ended unfinished. I would live to see a sequel to this book at some point as I think Will and Jack could make a formidable team.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of novellas, because I usually feel the story is given short shrift. However, that is not the case here as Will Trent pretends to be former Army personnel to fill a vacancy on a team cleaning gold at Fort Knox in order to find the killer of a fellow police officer, gunned down in Georgia 22 years ago. He is looking for a huge guy (6'5" 250 lbs. -- not Tom Cruise), who of course is Jack Reacher. Jack is already undercover at the behest of his Army gal pal to arrest the Colonel's chief of staff, who is a loan shark, bully, and enforcer. Turns out he is much worse. Told mostly from Trent's POV as he tries to work out if Reacher is a murderer, something else or both. The ending was weak.

[Ammar · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s an okay short story

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cleaning the Gold is a short story by Lee Child and Karin Slaughter. What events might lead to these most bizarre of circumstances? Will Trent (under the alias of Jack Phineas Wolfe) and Jack Reacher are in the nation's Gold Vault in Fort Knox, Kentucky, dusting and stacking bars of gold.

Reacher is there to get some in-the-act evidence on an abusive army major/loan shark. He knows that Wolfe's not really this other guy's name, but he suspects he might be there for the same reason.

He's not. Will Trent is on the trail of a murder suspect from a twenty-two-year-old cold case in Georgia. And that suspect is Jack Reacher. He just needs some DNA....

It's easy to see that Slaughter and Child had a lot of fun putting this little piece together. Lots of twists, a bit of action and some fun between these two very different protagonists. A short but very entertaining dose of Jack Reacher and Will Trent.

[Lisazj1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I was a little disappointed when I started since I was unaware this was a novella instead of a full length book. I did enjoy seeing Will Trent *WILL 😍😍* and Jack Reacher work together. I’ve only read one Reacher book, but Will was definitely Will and Jack appeared true to his character. But the solving of the case felt kind of ho-hum from what I would normally expect, though it was a novella and not very much time for set up or investigation. Hopefully this is a lead in to a book where these two work with each other on a much more complex case, which I would absolutely read. But for what it was, pretty good and any look at Will Trent is a win in my book! ❤️

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee Child's Jack Reacher & Karin Slaughter's Will Trent meet in a neat little story set in Fort Knox. Although I've read all the Jack Reacher stories I have never read a Karin Slaughter novel, but this didn't spoil my enjoyment of this thriller.
Being a James Bond fan I loved the two main characters discussing Goldfinger & even quoting from the film at one point. There may not be as much action as you usually find in a Reacher story, but the plot was well executed & the ending nudged it up from a 4 star review to a 5 star one.