by Lee Child

It's through his bank account that Reacher receives a message from the past. An unexpected $1,030 has landed in his balance, but he didn't put it there. Significantly, 1,030 is the code for "military policeman needs urgent assistance" and Reacher immediately knows who would predict he'd understand the message. Neagley, one of his old special investigator comrades, has begun investigating the murder of another member of their old team. Franz was alive when somebody tossed him into the desert—from a helicopter at 3,000 feet. And he's only the first.

Reacher normally rides alone, but in this newest novel, Child throws him a curve, reuniting him with a group—the remaining members of the once tightly-knit investigators unit, now gathered from the four corners to find out what happened to their murdered comrade—and to make someone pay. Soon, they realize that three other old members of the team are either dead or missing, and before long somebody's gunning for the survivors. What did their friends find out that got them killed? Who is monitoring Reacher and the team's progress? And what are those mysterious numbers Franz deftly kept from falling into the wrong hands? No matter what, the deaths of their friends will be avenged—their old slogan: "You don't mess with the special investigators." But not before the team finds themselves in the very same circumstances as their friends.

Besides the usual dose of detail-rich action and suspense, Bad Luck and Trouble also expands on Reacher's loner personality, which is tested when he must fit into a team system once again. Watching this quiet, dangerous, giant of a man interact with fellow ex-soldiers is almost as interesting as watching the elite unit follow nebulous clues to uncover the reason their comrades were tortured and taken on that last helicopter ride. Once hooked, chances are you'll be hungry for those previous Reacher books featuring this engaging modern judge, jury, and often executioner.