BLUE MOON finds Jack Reacher in full-throttle Samaritan mode. An initial simple act (well, maybe not so simple) of intercession on behalf of someone less fortunate propels Reacher and an unlikely crew of hastily assembled associates, making for one of Lee Child’s best books to date.

This latest installment in the series begins simply enough (nothing new there) with Reacher on a Greyhound bus traveling from Point A to Point B. He makes an unscheduled stop when he notices a potential mugging in the making and interrupts his journey to prevent it. Aaron Shevick is an elderly gentleman in fragile health with a good deal of cash on his person, which led him to be targeted by the would-be mugger in the first place. Reacher learns that the money is for a loan shark, and after an interlude accompanies Aaron home, where he meets Aaron’s wife, Maria.

"BLUE MOON has what is certainly one of the most satisfying conclusions of any Reacher novel, and Child’s ability to assemble a cast of interesting secondary characters is displayed in full wattage."

The motive behind the unfortunate couple getting involved with a loan shark spins out in due course. However, the Shevicks also could be collateral damage in a bit of a power play between Albanian and Ukranian mobsters who up until now have forged an uneasy peace by observing a north-south territorial boundary. One party gets clever with the other and makes a grab for a potentially lucrative side business. Things go violently downhill from there.

Reacher’s primary motivation is to assist the Shevicks with the core of their dilemma, which has led to their seemingly insurmountable financial straits. Meanwhile, he meets a cocktail waitress named Abby Gibson with a few problems of her own and many reasons to help him out. She has a couple of friends with varying skill sets that complement his own considerable bag of tricks. Together they attempt to keep themselves and the Shevicks alive while incidentally rectifying the situation that led the couple into the difficulties they’ve experienced. It is the latter that is trickier than the former.

The warring gangs are as much of a threat to each other as they are to Reacher, and there is a lot of grim fun to be had as both criminal organizations demonstrate that being clever is not the same as being smart. Reacher has plenty of both on his side, but one thing he does not possess is numbers, and as a result there is no shortage of suspense from the first page to (almost) the last. There is also a great deal of enjoyment to be had in witnessing how Reacher plans to resolve the Shevicks’ problems --- if he can.

BLUE MOON has what is certainly one of the most satisfying conclusions of any Reacher novel, and Child’s ability to assemble a cast of interesting secondary characters is displayed in full wattage. Although it probably won’t happen, I wouldn’t mind seeing at least a couple of the folks we encounter here reappear down one of Reacher’s roads in the future. Regardless, put this one on your must-read list.