''Without Fail'' is the sixth book in the

Jack Reacher Jack Reacher is the protagonist of a series of crime thriller novels by British author Lee Child, a 2012 film adaptation, its 2016 sequel, and a television series on Amazon Prime Video. In the stories, Jack Reacher was a major in the U.S. ...

series written by

Lee Child James Dover Grant (born 29 October 1954), primarily known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British author who writes Thriller (genre), thriller novels, and is best known for his ''Jack Reacher (book series), Jack Reacher'' novel series. The boo ...

. It was published by Putnam in 2002. It is written in the third person. In the novel, retired military police officer Jack Reacher is asked by the Secret Service to help track down assassins who are threatening the Vice President-Elect.

Plot

Jack Reacher arrives in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

after hitching a ride cross-country with a couple of aging blues musicians who dream of playing at

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

's club in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He is approached there by

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

Agent M.E. Froelich, who had dated Reacher's brother Joe, a fellow Secret Service agent, before his death in '' Killing Floor''. Froelich hires Reacher to conduct a "security audit" of the Secret Service's protection of Vice President-elect Brook Armstrong, the junior senator from

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. Armstrong attends a meeting and photo-op with prominent bankers on

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

, a campaign event in Bismarck with the newly elected senator from North Dakota, and a fundraising event in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Reacher reveals to Froelich that he hired his old colleague from the military police,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

security consultant Frances Neagley, to help with the "audit." Working together, Reacher and Neagley say that they could have killed the Vice President three times for sure, and once probably, in three days. Froelich reveals that the Secret Service has been receiving letters from someone threatening to kill Armstrong. Armstrong has been kept from knowing about them. She and her supervisor, a man named Stuyvesant, agree to hire Reacher and Neagley to help their investigation. Later, Reacher tries on one of his brother's suits which had been left behind following Joe's break-up with Froelich. Froelich sleeps with Jack with whom she has been flirting but, although denied by her, there is some question whether Froelich likes Jack or it is just the reminder of the similar looking Joe. Froelich asks why Neagley and Reacher never had a relationship and he tells her that, for reasons she will not disclose, Neagley has a fear of being touched by others. The would-be assassins kill two men, one in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and one in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, who resemble the Vice President and also have the name "B. Armstrong," as a warning message. A killer team appears at another event in Bismarck, but Reacher breaks into the church tower where they were hiding out and they flee without a trace. On

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

, Armstrong is scheduled to serve food at a lunch buffet at a homeless shelter in Washington DC. Reacher and Neagley argue that Armstrong should be warned, and that the event should be cancelled. Stuyvesant agrees to bring in the F.B.I. for help; they send Special Agent Bannon, who concludes, based on the weapons used in the Colorado and Minnesota homicides that a Secret Service agent is behind the killings. Froelich moves the benefit lunch outside, where the Secret Service can better control who gets close to Armstrong. On Thanksgiving, Froelich meticulously secures the area. Ten agents look over the homeless people as they line up to get food from Armstrong, and snipers are posted on the only rooftop that has a clear shot at the Vice President. An assassin kills a Secret Service sniper, taking over his position, and fires at Armstrong twice. The assassin misses with the first shot, and Froelich covers the Vice President from the second. Fatally struck in the neck, Froelich becomes delirious with blood loss in Reacher's arms, and addresses him as if he was his brother, saying, "I love you, Joe," to which Reacher replies, "I love you too." Against the recommendations of Stuyvesant and Bannon, Armstrong agrees to Reacher's demands to publicly announce he will attend a funeral for Froelich in her hometown of Grace,

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, to lure the killers out into the open. Armstrong insists that his protection detail be limited to three men, out of respect for Froelich's family. Reacher remembers seeing the Thanksgiving Day shooter running with a badge during the assassination attempt in Bismarck, and concludes that the killers are policemen. Reacher also deduces that the assassins are motivated by some personal feud with Armstrong. The Vice President confesses that, as a teenager in rural

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, he stood by as his father brutally beat two local bullies with a baseball bat so hard it broke. Armstrong reveals that he received a miniature broken baseball bat in the mail (from the killers), which is something the Secret Service did not pick up on during their postal screening as they were not aware of the significance. Armstrong had been unaware of the subsequent threat messages so hadn't taken his message too seriously. Reacher and Neagley fly to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

and drive to Grace, arriving the day before the funeral. Staking out the church steeple, they watch the assassins arrive and ambush them the morning of the funeral. Neagley and Reacher kill the assassins, who are revealed to be cops from rural

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. Back at the Denver airport, Neagley gives Reacher a quick hug before catching the plane to Chicago. Reacher flies to New York, and stops at B.B. King's club to see if the musicians made it there from Atlantic City. An usher says no one matching their description has played at the club. Reacher heads toward the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus station, bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving ab ...

to catch a ride out of town.

Characters

: The main protagonist, a former military policeman, known for his resourcefulness and capacity for justice. * M. E. Froelich: Secret Service, 35, Head of the VP Protection Detail. * Frances Neagley: Former Master Sergeant, U.S. Army and member of Reacher's old 110th Military Policeman Special Investigations Unit. * Brook Armstrong: Vice President-elect * Mr. Stuyvesant: Secret Service, Head of Protection Details and Froelich's boss. * Agent Bannon: FBI Special Agent * Agent Nendick: Secret Service, In charge of video surveillance. * Andretti: Had his thumb removed to be used as a "stamp" on the envelopes sent to Armstrong. * Bruce Armstrong: Murdered as a warning to Brook Armstrong. * Brian Armstrong: Murdered as a warning to Brook Armstrong. * Agent Crosetti: Secret Service * Richard Wilson: Police Officer from a small town south of Boise, Idaho. * Peter Wilson: Police Officer from a small town south of Boise, Idaho. '' Bad Luck and Trouble'', the eleventh Reacher novel, is dedicated, "For the real Frances L. Neagley", who is a real person. Frances Neagley won a

Bouchercon Bouchercon, the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher, and pronounced the w ...

charity auction to have a character named after her in Child's novels

Awards and nominations

* 2003

Dilys Award The Dilys Award was presented every year from 1992 to 2014 by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. It was given to the mystery title of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. The Independent Mystery Booksell ...

nomination. * 2003 Barry Award nomination, Best Novel.

References

External links

* — United Kingdom * — United States {{Jack Reacher 2002 British novels American thriller novels Jack Reacher books Third-person narrative novels Bantam Press books G. P. Putnam's Sons books

Plot

Characters

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links