A waste of time. And that's for damn sure. ( )

This book is set in 1992, and takes us back to Reacher when he was a Captain in the army. Reacher is brought in as a member of a high level team set up by the Secretary of Defence to determine why five former scientists have been murdered. The thing they have in common is they all worked at an American research facility in India in 1969. Something happened at that centre that caused a quick closure of the facility, and a big disbursement of staff back to American shores. It was nice to see Reacher as an army officer, and his interaction with other army staff and superiors. He is still the Jack Reacher that we know and love though--big, brawny, an excellent tactician, and someone who won't tolerate bullshit, and wants to get to the truth at all costs. It also became clear to me why he decided to leave the army and strike out on his own. This is an excellent book, and Reacher and his team's efforts to get to the bottom of this big and very secret mystery kept me guessing until the end. If you are a Jack Reacher fan, you need to read this book. ( )

Retro (1992) task force investigation of the murders of scientists involved in a 20 year old gas leak in India that killed a thousand Indian citizens. Least Reacher-like book in the series. The addition of Andrew Child does not help ... ( )

Jack Reacher is returning to form. The Secret is the fourth book authored by Lee and Andrew Child, at least according to the title credits, and the best since Lee relinquished sole control of the series.

This throwback story returns to the time after Reacher’s (bogus) demotion from major to captain. He is assigned with agents from the FBI, CIA, and Treasury to a team tasked with identifying the killers of scientists involved in a secret project in 1969. All four agents have experienced setbacks in their careers, and they believe their superiors selected them to take the blame if the search for the killer is unsuccessful. Although plenty of scenes depicting gunfights and hand-to-hand combat occur, the book emphasizes the process Reacher and the team use to identify the killer. The writing is lazy in spots. In one scene, for example, one killer is surrounded by four FBI agents with guns drawn. Yet, in an unbelievable sequence, she incapacitates all four agents. Later, near the end of the book, Reacher has captured the killer, but she picks up a rusty nail and threatens to kill one of Reacher’s partners if he doesn’t surrender his weapon. Weaknesses like these mar the story. Yet, on balance, the story was enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to the next entry in this series. ( )

The Secret is another well written Jack Reacher story that not until the end do we, the reader, get to know the story. This book had a beginning, middle and end. The characters are believable but our hero, Jack Reacher, always has superpowers perhaps that is why he is so likeable. Four stars were given in this review. A good story. ( )