In Lee Child's Past Tense, Jack Reacher wants to go across the country, from Maine to California. On the way, he sees a sign pointing toward Laconia, N.H., his dad's hometown--a place he's never visited. Reacher decides to take a detour for a look at the old homestead before hitting the road again. His plans don't unfold that way.
Meanwhile, Shorty and Patty, a young Canadian couple, are driving to New York City. They need a rest stop and their old car is overheating, so they turn onto a rural road in the New Hampshire woods. They find a secluded motel that's far from being a five-star establishment, but the rate is cheap and the staff is solicitous. Maybe too much. The couple's and Reacher's journeys eventually converge.
Reacher's excursion is personal; he's tracking his father's roots, but he's not burning with curiosity since he seems content with not knowing too much about the man's past. What keeps Reacher in town is his discovery that the facts as he knows them don't match Laconia's records.
Some readers will likely guess early on the couple's situation at the hotel, and the lead-up to it is drawn out a little too long, but once that development gets going, the action is vintage Child. As usual, Reacher may deviate from his intended route, literally and figuratively, but finds he's exactly where he needs to be. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, blogger at Pop Culture Nerd