You Shook Me All Night Long: A Jack Reacher Story

Jack Reacher #29.1

by Andrew Child

A stunning new installment in the bestselling Jack Reacher series, written by Andrew Child

Reacher finds himself caught in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse between US Military Intelligence and the KGB in this thrilling tale of espionage …

This story originally appeared in Back in An Anthology of New Mystery Short Stories, edited by Don Bruns.

Genres: Short Stories, Thriller, Fiction, Crime

28 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 29, 2025

About the author

Also see Andrew Grant
Andrew Child, who also writes as Andrew Grant, is the author of RUN, False Positive, False Friend, False Witness, Invisible, and Too Close to Home. Child and his wife, the novelist Tasha Alexander, live on a wildlife preserve in Wyoming.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story by Andrew Child, furthering the Reacher collection. he treats the reader to this wonderful piece, easily read in a single sitting. Child builds on the work his brother, Lee, has done over the years, though not in the traditional sense. A brief, but entertaining piece, for all to enjoy. I enjoyed the teaser into the Reacher world, though I am also eager to have the roaming nomad back for a full case soon.

East Germany can be a dangerous place, especially for spies. That said, Joe Reacher (yes, father of Jack) is afraid of little, especially while he is on a mission. Working a tense game between US Military Intelligence and the KGB, Reacher plays his role perfectly. The story explores a case of espionage and how things are never as they seem until the final reveal. Andrew Child echoes the work his brother started with this prequel piece that could be a standalone.

Reachers of all kinds have been known to push the limits with ease. Andrew Child explores Joe, father to the nomadic Jack Reacher, and his time in the US military. With a quick flowing narrative, the story has little time to spare and yet does not disappoint. Characters, while fleeting, work well to lay the groundwork needed to keep the reader engaged. The plot seems not to have clear direction, at least until the final pages. At that point, everything makes sense.

Kudos, Mr. Child, for a look at how Jack Reacher got his skills, which run through the family!

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Daniel Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing short Jack Reacher story. Jack works with his brother Joe in an unsanctioned military action.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of only a few short stories by Andrew Child featuring Jack Reacher. A few years back he started co-writing the Reacher novels with his brother. An accomplished author in his own write under the name Andrew Grant, I have enjoyed following his contributions to the Reacher canon. I read my first Reacher story in 2019, I had picked up the most recent as a gift for my dad, this time I read the back and thought it looked interesting, and picked up the eBook for myself. I read about a book or published short story a week until I was caught up, thought I jumped around a lot, picking titles at random. I have since stayed up to date on the series. I have also read the Hunt for Reacher Series by Diane Capri and also the Jack Reacher Experiment book 1 by Jude Hardin. I even have a tag on my blog for all Reacher Stories no matter the author. I really enjoy the character, and have loved almost all of the books. I had picked up the Anthology this came from but have not got around to reading it yet. This is one I really wanted to read and was excited it was available as a standalone story. So I was pretty excited to give this a read.

The description of this offering in the Reacher series states:

“Reacher finds himself caught in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse between US Military Intelligence and the KGB in this thrilling tale of espionage …

This story originally appeared in Back in Black: An Anthology of New Mystery Short Stories, edited by Don Bruns.”

Another description states:

“A stunning new installment in the bestselling Jack Reacher series, written by Andrew Child

Reacher finds himself caught in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse between US Military Intelligence and the KGB in this thrilling tale of espionage …

This story originally appeared in Back in Black: An Anthology of New Mystery Short Stories, edited by Don Bruns.”

Man oh man what a great story. Very soon we realize that both Jack and Joe are in this story, and early indications are they are working together. It starts off with a defection and Jack in a most unlikely of places acting in a peculiar way. This story is excellent.

I absolutely loved this story. I read it then went back and listened to it using adaptive technology. This is one of three Stories Child has written for this anthology series; the books and stories are:

Hotel California - New Kid In Town
Back in Black - You Shook Me All Night Long
Bat Out of Hell – Vat Out Of Hell

If you are a fan of Reacher this is an excellent shorter story in the collection of Reacher stories from the Child brothers. It is a great piece. Writing short form fiction if a very different skill than long form fiction, Andrew is proving himself an expert of each. And this is a wonderful read. So I encourage you to give it a try, either as this standalone edition or in the anthology edited by Don Burns.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Child perhaps flying solo.

Neat short story from Reacher’s army days.

Interestingly at a time when the Child boys were combining together to take the Reacher series forward we have a throwback to a time when the Reacher brothers worked together. Joe’s brains and Jack’s brawn.

A clever window into spy-craft and the high stakes in the intelligence ‘game’.
How to counter defections and the loss of sensitive information. The stakes are raised; the risk is higher. Has Jack Reacher ever been a better blunt instrument?

Implied violence and a resulting body count but only time will tell if the mission was a success.

Meanwhile it is clear now that the Reacher legacy is served well with the forward motion and direction of travel.

[Zac Stojcevski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard not to like anything Jack Reacher even in the locks of 80s haute couture. This one is an Andrew Child only and there are subtle stylistic differences in the writing style in this oh to short offering. Great way to kill off just over half an hour.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story

Andrew Child has continued the adventures of the Reacher brothers. This is a very fast moving well written espionage story! What the others see and hear is not always what is true! Keep up the adventure and the stories! Thanks!

[J.Patrick Hardin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahh, the tangled web we weave…….

Good story and the sideways reference to an AC/DC song that matched later events was a masterful piece of work…..

[Carin · Rating 3 out of 5]

a tease...

[Marty Mardenfeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too short

The story was too short. By the time you got into it, it was over.
All it needed was a few additional pages

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atypical Jack book

still loving him

quick read

[Karen Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable short story into the world ofJack Reacher by Lee Child’s brother, Andrew. Looking forward to the continuation of Jack Reacher books.

[Marlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack is asked to assist on a espionage mission run by his brother. Its well thought out, well planned, and well executed.

[John McPhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost as good as the original. Great story and reacher is Reacher so you know this is a book you will love. Definitely a perfect Summer beach read.

[Elaine Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it!! I hope that lady was Neagly. Good Job Andrew.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story

[Rolland · Rating 3 out of 5]

So brief. Is there a next? Interesting comparing Andrew to Lee in terms of writing style. If there’s way to determine if same Reacher.

[Martín Q. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great addition to the series. It was confusing and anti-climactic.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and interesting read. Sort of a Jack and Joe team up

[Bennett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short story had almost nothing to do with Jack Reacher. He only makes a brief appearance. The title is extremely misleading.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable