Book Review: "High Heat" by Lee Child

Thriller master Lee Child returns with an exclusive eBook novella. In the midst of a savage heat wave and an infamous murder spree, a blackout awakens the dark side of the city that never sleeps—and a young Jack Reacher takes action as only he can.

Don’t miss the exciting preview of Lee Child’s highly anticipated Jack Reacher novel, Never Go Back!

July 1977. Jack Reacher is almost seventeen, and he stops in New York City on the way to visit his brother at West Point. The summer heat is suffocating, the city is bankrupt, and the mad gunman known as Son of Sam is still on the loose. Reacher meets a woman with a problem, and agrees to help her . . . but then the power grid fails and the lights go out, plunging the lawless city into chaos. What does a visiting teenager do in the dark? If that visiting teenager is Jack Reacher, the answer is plenty. - from Amazon.com

I was a bit disappointed that this wasn't a full novel, but see that the next book is due to be released soon, I was hoping this was enough to fill my Reacher fix until then. This one jumps us back to when Reacher was 17 and on vacation in New York City. It is a pretty short read (for me) so I was a bit down about it (again). We know a little from his life growing up from one of the other novels, and short bits and pieces throughout the series, but I felt my credibility was stretched a bit with this one.

Reacher's 'fighting tactics' are pretty much the same as 20+ years later. I understand he was raised as a Marine's son, and lived on bases around the globe, but though they aren't specified as military training, it seemed a bit ... overkill from a 17 year old. Granted, physical description stated he was basically the same build as the novels but still. The story, him helping out a suspended FBI agent, in dealing with a "mob boss" seemed sketchy as well, considering how it started (won't share and ruin it for you). But him single-handedly taking on said mob guy ... c'mon! And throw in the whole Son of Sam thing, too?! Now you're pulling on both legs. 

In short, I was just disappointed with this short story. It just didn't feel like the other Lee Child novels. I liked the idea of the small fill-in on Reacher in his youth, but this was a bit too far-fetched for me. hoping the next novel will be better.