Book Review: The Sentinel

Jack Reacher is back (once again), but he's changed? The Sentinel — the 25th in the series featuring former U.S. Army major and a compulsive drifter with nothing but cash, a toothbrush, and his passport — opens with Reacher wandering into Pleasantville, Tennessee, a community reeling from a major ransomware attack that's crippled its computer systems — an incident for which the blame is pinned on I.T. manager Rusty Rutherford, leaving his reputation in tatters. Before long, trouble comes seeking Reacher when he foils a kidnap attempt on Rutherford, and things start going sideways along the twisty, winding road of small town secrets and conspiracies. With Lee Child officially hanging up his boots and his younger brother Andrew Child taking over the reins, the change in Reacher is obvious: he's a lot more loquacious, does way too much shopping, and isn't shy of using a cellphone. The Sentinel, referring to a piece of security software designed to prevent election interference, is nothing if topical, even if the writing leaves a lot to be desired, running on the fumes of its violent action-packed formula that leaves its paper-thin characters precious little room to breathe and cut through. Righting a wrong in trademark Reacher style that could have used more smarts.