Jack and Joe: Hunt for Jack Reacher Series

Jack and Joe You never really quite know what is going to happen when your boss calls. That is the downside of being employed. The paychecks are nice, but it’s those pesky phone calls. Diane Capri has created as parallel world to Lee Child’s vaunted REACHER series; two FBI agents, Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar, who have been tasked by their Charlie-esque boss—Cooper—to build a file on Jack Reacher and his activities since the end of “The Affair”; the purpose is ostensibly to vet Reacher for a confidential government mission. In this sixth installment (covering about three weeks so far) Otto and Gaspar revisit the locale for THE ENEMY, Reacher’s involvement with both Delta Force and Armor. For the first part of the journey, Otto is on her own as Gaspar is dealing with the impending arrival of his fifth child. The informant she is to meet is killed in a horrendous crash on sleet-slick North Carolina mountain roads. A wild shoot-out in a strip-club leaves people dead and the gimp-legged club owner injured. Cousins, brothers, husbands, wives, divorces and corruption…in many guises interplay in a game of which door do to run down. Capri moves into a bit of a different mode in this book by shifting narration from third person to Otto’s point of view. Subtle, but very much in line with Child’s modality as well…he mixes voice from book to book. She also involves Otto and Gaspar much more in the Army social culture, especially the brother officer block and the meshing-yet-separation between officers and non-commissioned officers. It was sort of fun to see that Otto was sort of out of her comfort-zone on a military base without Gaspar, the newest dent in her Teutonic visage…other than the flying thing. Gaspar’s character is the sounding board and steadying influence in the team. He is the pragmatist and why Connor included him is not quite clear yet. He is an FBI lifer who could a disability out but is not. He is not fully physically fit…and yet can handle everything that needs to be done. This is a character I want to understand more fully. He deserves to be as rounded as Otto. One issue I have with this tome…maybe it was perception or maybe it was wishful thinking…I was sort of hoping that we might have been treated to more of Jack and Joe being brothers together. We didn’t get that—glimpses, yes. A few spots less murky, yes. Not the “full-contact” Joe and Reacher, though. I got only one quibble that is sorta hanging out there. One weapon figures in the plot…the L115A3 rifle. I cannot for the life of me, figure out why. There is no reason for the shooter to have a British rifle in the circumstances in this book…not a one. I have to do some further checking, but the ballistic signature of the putative round likely wouldn’t be too good for conditions given. That’s my pickiness... What about the book itself. First and foremost, I recommend it highly, especially if you are a Reacher fan. There are a couple of Reacher spin-offs but Diane Capri’s is the only one I suggest you include on your shelf or in your Kindle/Nook/e-reader. Her writing is well-paced, she has a good command of story arc and both tension development and satisfying resolution. Her character development is spot on, especially fully forming the characters Childs has penned. One in particular…Charles Finley…has grown in both complexity and lethality. One other very important issue---Capri reprises the essence of the prior Search for Reacher books/novellas beautifully…so well, you will want to go back and read the whole series…from the beginning…

The latest tale from Diane Capri relating the FBI agent hunt for Reacher is well-paced. We learn a few new details about the Reacher brothers, their pasts, and family. There is not much nuance in this tale, but it is a nice balance of action and intrigue. There are a number of 'gotcha' moments that keep the story moving. I felt that the ending was somewhat abrupt; of course this makes the reader want to pick up the next book to see what happens next.

As someone who is a die hard Lee Child/Jack Reacher fan, I approached Diane’Capri's books regarding my current favorite character with some ambivalence. How, I wondered would anyone do justice to the action and suspense I have found in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books? Well, beginning with her first novels in this series Diane has allayed my fears, producing engrossing novels that once started, I didn’t want to quit reading. Her unlikely team of Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar and their developing camaraderie are wonderful. The team’s escapades as they search for Jack Reacher by visiting locations where he had been before are the basis for several engrossing novels, the latest “Jack and Joe” is top notch. Agent Otto is assigned to interview another investigator at a military base where Reacher was once a MP CO. What could go wrong there? Almost anything is the short answer. Reacher didn’t make many friends during his short stay and several of the disgruntled characters are still there. Follow Otto and Gaspar as they are embroiled in the action and relish the back story of finding out more about Jack’s brother Joe. Don’t miss this one!