#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Family secrets come back to haunt Jack Reacher in this electrifying thriller from “a superb craftsman of suspense” (Entertainment Weekly). Jack Reacher hits the pavement and sticks out his thumb. He plans to follow the sun on an epic trip across America, from Maine to California. He doesn’t get far. On a country road deep in the New England woods, he sees a sign to … the New England woods, he sees a sign to a place he has never been: the town where his father was born. He thinks, What’s one extra day? He takes the detour.
At the same moment, in the same isolated area, a car breaks down. Two young Canadians had been on their way to New York City to sell a treasure. Now they’re stranded at a lonely motel in the middle of nowhere. The owners seem almost too friendly. It’s a strange place, but it’s all there is.
The next morning, in the city clerk’s office, Reacher asks about the old family home. He’s told no one named Reacher ever lived in town. He’s always known his father left and never returned, but now Reacher wonders, Was he ever there in the first place?
As Reacher explores his father’s life, and as the Canadians face lethal dangers, strands of different stories begin to merge. Then Reacher makes a shocking discovery: The present can be tough, but the past can be tense . . . and deadly.
Don’t miss a sneak peek of Lee Child’s novel Blue Moon in the back of the book.
Praise for Past Tense
“Child is one writer who should never be taken for granted.”—The New York Times Book Review
“[Lee Child] shows no signs of slowing down. . . . Reacher is a man for whom the phrase moral compass was invented: His code determines his direction. . . . You need Jack Reacher.”—The Atlantic
“Superb . . . Child neatly interweaves multiple narratives, ratchets up the suspense (the reveal of the motel plot is delicious), and delivers a powerful, satisfying denouement. Fans will enjoy learning more of this enduring character’s roots, and Child’s spare prose continues to set a very high bar.”—Publishers Weekly (boxed and starred review)
“Another first-class entry in a series that continues to set the gold standard for aspiring thriller authors.”—Booklist (starred review)
“With his usual flair for succinctness and eye for detail, Child creates another rollicking Reacher road trip that will please fans and newcomers alike.”—Library Journal (starred review)
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Typical Jack Reacher book. Lots of action and beating people up. Also a lot of killing people as well. Although related situation because of proximity it’s like three unrelated stories.
Hard to put down.
Enjoyed this immensely. Action, wit, trouble, suspense and entertaining. Another outstanding Jack Reacher story.
No his best effort
There were some aspects that were troubling to me because they smacked of vigilantism. But I suppose that is just who Reacher is sometimes. The motel reveal was pure genius. Never saw that result coming. Also loved finding out about Jack’s family history. Don’t start this book if you have something else to do because it is really hard to put down once it’s opened. As always, Lee Child never fails to entertain.
Not his best but fun
I love the Jack Reacher character
By far the worst book by Child I have read. The characters were unbelievable. Seemed to be working hard to reinforce that Canadians are always polite.
Always a good read with Reacher
I was disappointed. This was a slow mover for a Reacher novel. As in most Reacher novels, there were two threads that eventually become intertwined and then resolved with an action packed ending. The problem from my perspective is that one of the main threads was very slow moving. If Lee Child was trying to be suspenseful, he failed.
I had a hard time with Child’s last book, Midnight Line, for reasons I won’t get into here, but this book, Past Tense, is vintage Reacher. Child has been giving those who wonder about Reacher’s history brief glimpses of Jack’s genesis in both novels and short stories for some time now and Past Tense doesn’t disappoint. How Reacher became Reacher is a giant jigsaw puzzle. Want a few more pieces? Do yourself a solid and read this book!
If it has jack reacher in it I’m on board. Jack will always come through
A definite step down from previous Jack Reacher books. Would not recommend this one to others.
It was a great escape for me.
Anther great read- thanks? Lee Child!
Following JACK REACHER. a unique character Lee Child created. Always morality, travel, choices and edge of the chair mystery.
I have read all the Jack Reacher books. This was the first one that I did not enjoy.
I totally disliked the plot(s) of this book. Reachers effort to find traces of his family roots was very tiresome. The other major plot concerned a pair of lost Canadian passing thru the area. This whole mess was awful. I hope that Mr. Child’s next book is better.
Too much rhetoric and not enough action. Not one of Childs better efforts.
Wendy and I saw Child at an interview hosted by the NY Times Magazine at the Time Warner Center in 2009 (I think). We had just moved into the Upper West Side. We awoke very early on a Saturday and made our way to the Time-Warner Center for a 9 am start.
There are few authors for whom I would stand in line at an ungodly hour on a Saturday. This was especially true in NYC. By 9 am, the Dept of Sanitation hasn’t hauled away the debris from a Friday night’s revelry. The November morning was cold. Our line outside the Time Warner Center, then an unpleasant construction site, was not the garden spot of NYC–far from it. Several years later, I learned that Child also lived on the Upper West Side. I think we also took the occasional weekend morning meal at the same French place near 86th Street. So, we had at least that in common. 🙂
I’m currently reading Past Tense, the most recent Jack Reacher novel. I’ve read all of the Reacher books, and I’ve come to view the character as an acquaintance. I’d prefer a friendship, but that’s not Reacher’s style. He can be unfailingly polite when circumstances warrant, although the context in which I usually find him seldom leads to polite behavior on the part of any of the supporting characters.
Followers of Child’s books know Reacher is a former military cop with a yo-yo tour of the Army’s officer rank hierarchy. He certainly believes in law and order, although the means he can employ toward that end may not always represent the Army’s idea of best practices. Effective? Yes. A role model for aspiring members of the (military) constabulary? Not always.
Reacher and I share one trait: We both over analyze, over think things. We do so because we believe in the old aphorism: Proper planning prevents poor performance. Obviously, his cerebral planning algorithms, and the life experience data lake on which they draw, are far superior to mine.
Did I mention that his pugilistic skills also outclass my own? How could they be otherwise? At age 68, I seldom find myself in the personal peril that is customary for Mr. Reacher. I go to the store for whatever, and I don’t find a robbery, a mugging, or some other act of harassment or assault in-progress. Candidly, I don’t always find what I set out to find at the store. So I often come away with less than intended. Reacher, however, always encounters more than he anticipated.
Even in my (much) younger days, a face-off with a rival was measured in the singular. To be fair, Reacher occasionally confronts a single foe. However, his more typical fight to the finish is a finish for his foes of whom two, three, four, and five is not uncommon. My foes looked like me. Which is to say they didn’t look at all like Reacher. And they certainly didn’t look like the ex-wrestler turned to fat and stubby arms in Past Tense. The outcome for me: A bloody nose. For Reacher’s foes: Let’s just say that Reacher is the best thing to ever happen for the community of Orthopaedic specialists.
We also walk a lot, Mr. Reacher and me. Here, too, we most often walk alone, but there the similarity ends. According to Mr. Childs, Reacher’s shoes are substantial and in a size befitting someone who is just a tad over six and one-half feet tall. By contrast, mine are light, built for speed, and befitting a more modest five foot ten. Let me note: Being “built for speed” does not mean I walk at anything more than a brisk pace.
Reacher hitch hikes. I do not. I do not aspire to. To me, the interstate clover leafs and empty country roads at which Reacher looks for rides are best seen in a blur. Inside the car. Not standing outside in the elements calculating the odds of a generous lift. And calculate those odds he does. Were it me, I wouldn’t be involved in a cerebral, probabilistic exercise. I’d be wondering, WTF?
Once in the thick of the plots devised by Child’s, Reacher drives/rides to and fro–a lot. I do not enjoy spending that much time in an automobile. Then again, I wasn’t a military cop–or any type of cop for that matter. Cops seem to spend a lot of their time in vehicles. Reacher is no exception. Further, the vehicles in which we find Reacher are not my taste. The dusty, beat-up Subaru in Past Tense not only sounds uncomfortable and unpleasant for a guy of his stature, but his choice of car companions is distinctly Reacheresque. They all have a rich back story and a challenging present. A very few are his former subordinates in the MPs. Those who are share his world view, analytics, and their procedural shortcuts produce unflattering annual performance reviews and military careers that seldom reach to the rank of Lt. Colonel or O-5. Major, or O-4, is as good as it gets. In fact, Reacher has an innate distrust of anyone in the MPs at the rank of O-5 and above. He suspects they performed unnatural acts to get there.
Now that I think of it, wanting to be Reacher’s friend isn’t a good idea for me. Even being his acquaintance takes me too close to the swirling vortex that is Lee Child’s creation. He’s like one of those traffic accidents I see all over Las Vegas.
God help me. I can’t seem to look away.
This is a good (though not quite great) addition to the Jack Reacher canon.
The main mark against it for me was the B plot meandered. Reacher’s A plot merging with it was inevitable, but I wanted it to happen quite a bit before it did to move things along.
The resolution was good and satisfying. It just took a little too long to get there.
Reacher remains a great character. He gets some new information about his life and his past in this one, and he takes it in typical Reacher style. He’s among the very best characters we have in modern thrillers.
I read this book on Audible, which featured an excellent narration.
As many Lee Child and Reacher fans do, I await the next volume in the series.