Never Go Back (novel)

At a motel outside Washington D.C., former Army cop Jack Reacher is confronted by two men, who call him a disgrace for bringing his army unit into disrepute and order him to leave town. Reacher refuses, and subdues them in a fistfight.

Earlier that same day, Reacher had arrived at the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP Special Investigations Unit, to meet with its commander, Major Susan Turner. When he arrives, however, he discovers that Turner has been relieved of command. Her replacement, Col. Morgan, says Reacher is under investigation in two cases: a suspected homicide dating back nearly sixteen years, and a lawsuit filed by Candice Dayton, a woman who alleges that she and Reacher had an affair when he was stationed in South Korea and that he is the father of her fourteen-year-old daughter, Samantha. When Reacher points out that the military has no authority to investigate him due to his civilian status, Morgan reinstates him as an officer and gives him a room at a local motel, where the fight occurs later that night. Learning that Turner has been incarcerated on suspicion of taking a bribe, Reacher goes to see her, but learns that she has requested that he not be allowed to visit her.

The next morning, Reacher meets with his lawyers, Maj. Helen Sullivan and Capt. Tracy Edmonds, and learns more about both cases. He also asks Col. Moorcroft, Turner's attorney, to get her released from custody. Returning to police headquarters, Reacher discovers that Morgan is nowhere to be found, and that two men from the 110th on duty in Afghanistan have gone missing. Reacher uses his authority as an officer to order a search for them, embarrassing Morgan and getting himself banned from setting foot in the headquarters or issuing any more orders. Police from the 75th MP, led by Warrant Officer Pete Espin, later take him into custody and bring him to the same prison where Turner is held. Moorcroft has been severely beaten, and Reacher is considered a prime suspect.

Reacher arranges a meeting with Sullivan to buy time until Turner arrives, and then stages an escape, stealing Sullivan's ID and giving it to Turner. The two find her car and leave, but are intercepted by Metro police and end up ditching their ride and fleeing to Berryville, where Reacher informs Turner that her men in Afghanistan were assassinated, and that the charges against her were invented to cover up some sort of illegal activity. Finding themselves tracked by strange men, they hitch a ride into West Virginia.

Reacher steals money and a car from a deceased meth dealer named Claughton, but his relatives identify the car, locate Reacher and Turner's motel, and confront them. Reacher intimidates them into backing down, and takes one of their trucks. Turner says the mission in Afghanistan was linked to a Pashtun elder, later identified as Emal Zadran, and theorizes that Morgan, the strange men, and some higher-ups in the army's chain of command (who are using the pseudonyms Romeo and Juliet) are working together to protect him. She also insists that Reacher go to Los Angeles to deal with Dayton. They track down Samantha, but Espin later confirms that the paternity claim is bogus as he found that someone named Romeo had secured a falsified birth certificate from a crooked LA lawyer and had Candice sign it for $100. Sullivan also discovers that the homicide charge was faked as well, clearing Reacher of any potential legal consequences.

Through Edmonds, Reacher and Turner learn that an illicit operation was being run through Fort Bragg army base in North Carolina under the control of Crew Scully and Gabriel Montague, both Deputy Chiefs of Staff, involving the smuggling of contraband using empty ordnance crates. Reacher arranges for Morgan and Staff Sgt. Ezra Shrago, one of the smugglers, to be arrested, and locates Scully and Montague at Dove Cottage in Georgetown, a private club owned by Scully and Monatague, where both men choose to commit suicide rather than be arrested. Morgan and Shrago reveal that Zadran had been supplying their bosses with opium, and Turner's name is cleared, allowing her to resume command. They part ways, and Reacher drops his phone in the trash and sits on a bench waiting for the next bus, alone.

• Jack Reacher: The main protagonist, a former military policeman, known for his resourcefulness and capacity for justice.
• Major Susan Turner: Current Commanding Officer of the U.S. Army 110th Military Policeman Special Investigations Unit.
• Sergeant Leach: Major Turner's Sergeant.
• Lieutenant Colonel Morgan: Acting Commanding Officer of the U.S. Army 110th Military Policeman Special Investigations Unit.
• Major Helen Sullivan: JAG Attorney appointed to represent Reacher.
• Captain Tracy Edmonds: JAG Attorney appointed to represent Reacher.
• Colonel Moorcroft: JAG Attorney appointed to represent Major Turner.
• Pete Espin: Warrant Officer, Investigator from the 75th Military Policeman.
• Samantha Dayton: Young girl alleged to be Reacher's daughter.
• Crew Scully: Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel. Known as Juliet.
• Gabriel Montague: Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence. Known as Romeo.
• Sergeant Ezra Shrago: Directed by Scully and Montague to track down Reacher and Turner.

Janet Maslin, writing in The New York Times, stated that the book "may be the best desert island reading in the series. It's exceptionally well plotted. And full of wild surprises. And wise about Reacher's peculiar nature. And positively Bunyanesque in its admiring contributions to Reacher lore."^[3]

Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media produced the 2016 film adaptation, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, as a sequel to 2012 film, Jack Reacher. The film was written and directed by Edward Zwick and features Tom Cruise reprising his role as Reacher.^[4]

• Official website