The Visitor (AKA Running Blind) by Lee Child

I know it seems I have read all these books today but the truth is I have been lazy in writing the review over the past few weeks and so am catching up this weekend. This one is next in line after the Tripwire. The romance between Jodie and Reacher is still going strong. Reacher is trying to lay down roots, by getting the house Leon has left him tidied and the garden beaten into submission. He is finding it hard to think of remaining in one place for a long time. He visits Jodie in the city and stays over often.

One evening Reacher is alone and stops at his favourite Italian restaurant for dinner. He observes that the owner appears to be threatened by a couple of young men. He thinks this is the start of harassment for the man to pay protection money. Reacher feels sorry of the man and asks him if he can help. The owner shrugs and says he does not think so; they were coming back in an hour and want a lot of money every week. There is only one other couple dining there. Reacher asks the owner about the nearest hardware shop and leaves. He comes back to catch the 2 enforcers before they can get into the restaurant. He beats them up and sends a message to the boss that they should not mess with this restaurant as it was their turf, making it sound like a message from a rival gang. Next thing Reacher finds himself being taken in by the FBI on suspicion of being a serial killer. There have been 2 women murdered and both are ex-army. However, the local FBI also want him for beating up the 2 gang men and wanting to know all about his dealing with the gang as they were observing the leader but could not find evidence to arrest him.

He finds that he has been under surveillance for the past week and they are pushing him to answer questions. Both teams of FBI want him but those from the Profiling department want him for 2 murders as he fits their profiling of the murderer. At that point they find out that there has been another murder and it cannot be Reacher as he had been under surveillance and so every move of his was accounted for. Now they twist his arm to get him to help them as they need someone with army links to find out more about what was the connection between the women and their killer.

The women are connected by the fact that they all had complained of sexual harassment and then left the services. There were over 100 women and were they all targets? Why was Reacher so against the lead profiler? She had a fear of flying and so she drove him all the way back to Quantico. The long drive does nothing to make them like each other. He is more or less kept locked up and has an agent with him when he is let out of the room, as they keep telling him he is helping them but he is still a suspect regarding the beating up of 2 gang members. 

So how will Reacher manage to nullify their threat that, if he does not co-operate the gang leader will be told about Jodie? This threat against Jodie was the FBI’s lever to get him to work for them as a liaison between the army and the FBI. He goes along with the current theory that this connection between the women must mean that a soldier could be the murderer. The murders were about 3 weeks apart and also were fairly far apart geographically. Reacher time and again asks the FBI to remove the lead profiler off the case only to be told that it would not happen and he should ease up on her as one of the women in the list was her sister.

Reacher and his guard are sent out to talk to this sister and check if all is well. Profiler gives the excuse that she is unable to fly and so cannot do this herself. It is strange that they have made no progress at all and there is yet another murder, of the profiler’s sister. What has the unnamed colonel got to do with these murders as he seems to be keeping a list and crossing out as each woman dies? Reacher insists that they should abandon the profiling and look for clues. This murderer was particularly smart as they do not seem to be able to find even a single clue. Can they narrow down this list of potential victims? Pinpoint who would be next? Was there something that these ladies had seen during their time in service that made them a threat to someone? Reacher remembers that the guns he had taken off the gang members in New York were army issue guns and so is there a racket of selling army guns on the black market? 

While going back and forth the country Reacher also has to think about what he wants in life as Jodie is heading for a partnership in her law firm and he is increasingly dissatisfied with having to stay put in his new house. If he sells the house and the car, how will Jodie feel? Can their relationship last over the years if he keeps a nomadic life he seems to like? Their goals of what they want from life seem to be totally opposite.

Most of the books with Reacher are fairly straight forward plot where you do have a good idea of who the bad guys are and the whole story is about how Reacher plans and get things done for justice and stop the bad guys. Here, however, you are guessing as to who is the murderer right to the last chapter. The usual minutiae about places, buildings, weapons is very much same as in hi other books and to tell you the truth sometimes I so want to know what is next that I kind of skim over the details. A good thriller and murder mystery this book is a must read if you love these genre.