The Enemy

The eighth book in the Jack Reacher series, The Enemy is the 2004 mystery crime thriller novel written by British author Lee Child. Set in 1990 North Carolina, Virginia and Paris, the prequel focuses on Reacher’s investigation into the death of a two-star general found at a sleazy motel, as well as the contents of the general’s missing briefcase. When Reacher discovers that the general’s wife has been murdered hundreds of miles away only hours before, he is thrown into a grand conspiracy that leads him on a perilous hunt for the truth. Along the way, Reacher enlists the help of a young female agent who helps him uncover shocking secrets that makes him question his entire existence. The Enemy has been hailed as “a fabulously suspenseful prequel” by Kirkus Reviews, “textured, swift, and told in Reacher’s inimitable tough voice” by Publishers Weekly, and that it “will keep you guessing until the final page” by Playboy. The Enemy was nominated for the 2005 Dilys Award, and was named winner of the 2005 Barry Award for Best Novel.

Narrated in the first-person perspective by Jack Reacher, a loner elite military cop, the story begins in North Carolina on the final day of 1989. Major General Kenneth Kramer has been found dead of an apparent heart attack inside a sleazy “hot-sheets” motel. Presumably, Kramer was in the company of a prostitute at the motel. Military Police Major Jack Reacher is called upon to investigate the death. When he arrives, Reacher deduces that the prostitute must have taken Kramer’s briefcase. Reacher’s commanding officer, Colonel Leon Garber, orders Reacher to break the news to Kramer’s wife. With the aid of a female officer named Lieutenant Summer, Reacher travels to Virginia to speak with Kramer’s wife. When they arrive however, they find signs of breaking and entering as well as Kramer’s deceased wife.

Reacher frequents the bar across the road from the motel in search of the prostitute. After kneecapping the bouncer, Reacher speaks to the motel night-manager and learns a military vehicle was in the area around the time of Kramer’s death. Reacher surmises that the woman Kramer was with must be military personnel. Later, Reacher is approached by two of Kramer’s men, Croomer and Vassell, who inquire about the missing briefcase. When Reacher mentions Kramer’s dead wife, the men leave. After a while, Delta Force soldier Christopher Carbone is found dead in a way that suggests his homosexuality. Carbone’s remains are dispatched to South Korea and he is replaced by a miserable bureaucrat named Colonel Willard, who orders Reacher to dismiss Carbone’s death as an accident. Willard also shares a complaint lodged by Carbone that Reacher assaulted a bouncer, and threatens to use the complaint as evidence that Reacher killed Carbone if the case isn’t closed immediately.



Carbone’s CO, David Brubaker, is soon found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in an alleyway in Columbia, South Carolina. His pockets are filled with cash and heroin. Reacher and Summer investigate, believing the two murders to be related. When Kramer’s briefcase is retrieved, they home in on the one missing item, an itinerary for an Armored Divisions conference. Reacher receives a major blow when his older brother Joe calls and informs him that their mother Josephine has passed away of cancer in Paris. Devastated, Reacher attends his mother’s funeral in Paris. When he returns to the states, Reacher meets with the Chief of Staff. Reacher learns that, as the Soviet Union faces collapse, the army intends to downsize from armory to infantry. Unwilling to part with his cushy job, Kramer and his men concocted a plan to lobby Congress and persuade the American public to rebuke this plan. The chief presents evidence to Reacher and admits that the Secretary of Defense is involved.

Using his resources, Reacher concludes that Kramer was gay and that he convened with Carbone at the motel. Carbone stole Kramer’s briefcase and, before his death, exposed the contents to Brubaker. Attempting to obtain the briefcase, Coomer and Vassell arrange a meeting between Carbone and their subordinate Major Marshall. It turns out that Marshall murdered Carbone and then killed Brubaker before he was able to see the contents of the briefcase. Reacher also deduces that Marshall killed Kramer’s wife while searching for the briefcase. Reacher discovers that Marshall and Kramer had a homosexual relationship and that Marshall killed Kramer’s wife in a jealous rage. Later, Reacher goes to California to book Croomer and Vassell for conspiracy to commit murder. Afterwards, Reacher treks to the Mojave Desert to arrest Marshall, who’s out leading firing drills. Averting arrest, Marshall attempts to take his own life by manipulating tanks to fire on his location. However, Reacher shoots Marshall in the arm and arrests him. The missing itinerary from Kramer’s briefcase is located in Carbone’s billet. The agenda expresses plans to assassinate 18 key infantrymen, including the best and brightest up-and-comers, as a means of destroying the military’s modernization methods. The evidence is submitted to the authorities and those involved are sentenced to life in prison.

Reacher is told that, due to Carbone’s allegation, he is facing possible demotion to captain unless he denies the accusation. Reacher’s lawyer urges him to deny the accusations, but in the end, Reacher decides to accept the charge to avoid tarnishing Carbone’s memory any more. Before accepting his new command post and looking forward to returning to the frontlines, Reacher visits Willard and kills him in his own house. Reacher plants drugs on Willard’s body to cover up his involvement. The novel ends with Reacher lamenting never seeing Summer again, despite her promotion to the position as captain as well.



In addition to The Enemy, the Jack Reacher series includes Killing Floor, Die Trying, Tripwire, The Visitor, Echo Burning, Without Fail, Persuader, One Shot, The Hard Way, Bad Luck and Trouble, Nothing to Lose, Gone Tomorrow, 61 Hours, Worth Dying For, The Affair, A Wanted Man, Never Go Back, Personal, Make Me, Night School, The Midnight Lane, and Past Tense.