FORECAST FRIDAY: BLUE MOON BY LEE CHILD (Bantam, $A29.99) Published 29 October 2019

In the lead up to Christmas there is a flood of promising new crime novels and thrillers being released, including Chris Hammer’s Silver, Garry Disher’s Peace, Martin Cruz Smith’s The Siberian Dilemma and Deon Meyer’s The Last Hunt. One book that is sure to outstrip them all in popularity is Lee Child’s Blue Moon.

The 24th book in the Jack Reacher canon, finds the forever hitchhiking, phone-less, ex-military policeman on a Greyhound bus to some small town in America. When Reacher saves an elderly man from a mugging, he finds himself caught-up in a brutal turf war between two rival gangs, one Albanian and the other Ukrainian. Reacher just wants to move on to the next town, but can he leave the old man and his wife to the mercy of the competing gangs or will he, and a young waitress, be forced to make stand. As Reacher notes:

“‘This is a random universe…Once in a blue moon things turn out just right.'”

I am about half way through and it seems reasonably certain that the legion of Reacher fans will not be disappointed with this latest offering. The pacing is brisk and the alternating viewpoint between Reacher and the rival leaders of the gangs, is interesting and amusing at times. There is also a nice undertone of fighting back against the unfairness of American society and big business.

I will post a full review when I finish it.

Blue Moon will be released in Australia and the United Kingdom on 29 October 2019. Thanks to Penguin Random House Australia and the Canberra Weekly for an advanced copy of the book.