Deep Down

Deep Down by Lee Child
A Jack Reacher Story

Summoned by Military Intelligence to Washington, D.C., Reacher is sent undercover. The assignment that awaits him: The army is meeting with its Capitol Hill paymasters for classified talks on a new, state-of-the-art sniper rifle for U.S. forces. But vital details about the weapon are leaking—straight from the Capitol and probably into the hands of unidentified foreign arms dealers. The prospect of any and every terrorist, mercenary, or dictator’s militia getting their hands on the latest superior firepower is unthinkable. That’s where Reacher comes in. His task: infiltrate the top-secret proceedings and smoke out the mole. His target: a quartet of high-powered Army political liaison officers—all of them fast-track women on their way to the top.

According to his bosses, it’s a zero-danger mission. No need to draw a gun . . . just chat over drinks. But Reacher knows that things are rarely what they seem. And he’s learned the hard way never to underestimate an opponent. Or four. Lessons that will come in handy when he starts digging for the truth—and gets his hands a lot dirtier than he expected.

--Deep Down
by Lee Child
Copyright © 2012 by Lee Child

My Review

The time:  1986. 

The place: Washington, D.C. 

The problem: Someone is leaking classified information regarding designs on a new sniper rifle.

The solution: Send in Jack Reacher.

Reacher is sent to sit in on talks about the designs on a new sniper rifle, but he’s not there to sell the thing.  He’s there to figure out which of the four Army political liaison officers is the mole.  Based on the information he’s given, he has a pretty good idea which one it is.  But when she’s killed in a motor vehicle accident, his attention switches to the other three.  He needs to figure out which is the guilty party quickly before he’s the next one going to the morgue.

This is the second short story released by Lee Child and while perhaps not as enjoyable as the first short (Second Son), it’s still a glimpse into Jack Reacher’s past and a chance to learn what makes him such a great investigator.  If you’re a fan, I don’t even need to tell you to buy it because you will anyway (like I did).  If you’ve never read any of the Jack Reacher books, this story should be enough to whet your whistle and make you want to read more.

But you’d better read fast.  His 17^th novel, A Wanted Man comes out September 11^th.

I give this story FOUR STARS.