See Literary Favorite Section for more on Lee Child and links to his other books reviewed here

The Affair is the sixteenth book in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, a prequel set six months before his first novel in the series, the Killing Floor.

Maj. Jack Reacher is sent to the small town of Carter's Crossing, Mississippi where a woman has been found murdered, her throat slit, with signs of rape. Maj. Duncan Munro is sent to the nearby base, Fort Kelham, and both are told to investigate.  The base commander, Captain Reed Riley, is a powerful Senators son and has a reputation as a lady’s man.  It seems clear that the army wants the military and Riley cleared and someone in the town found guilty.

Reacher arrives posing as a drifter, checks into the local inn and meets the local sheriff and previous Marine, Elizabeth Deveraux. She figures out who Reacher is, they work together and have sex at the Inn.

It turns out that there are other dead women, the most recent one, Chapman, was a white woman, and two prior ones were from the poorer African American part of the small town.

When Reacher finds that Riley did in fact have something to do with Chapman's death and possibly the other two murders he is ordered to cover up the evidence he's found thus far, which he ignores the request.

Others are killed in the cover up and an independent militia from Tennessee is assigned by someone inside the chain of command to destroy evidence of the murders.

The senator and his son believe that the crimes have been pinned on Elizabeth Deveraux and meet on the base and then in town to celebrate.

Just getting to this part of the plot is complicated and like all of Lee Child’s stories the plot is compelling.  Reacher’s ability to see through to the truth is of course amazing.  Another Child book you won’t want to put down.

See Lee Child Literary Favorite Section for more on this author and links to his other books reviewed here.

Quotes

• “He had fallen out of the ugly tree, and hit every branch.” ...

• “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” ...

• “The third guy was different. ...

• “The first day of the rest of my life.” ...

• “No one expects a head butt. ...

• “The best fights are the ones you don't have,”