No Middle Name begins with “Too Much Time,” a brand-new work of short fiction that finds Reacher in a hollowed-out town in Maine, where he witnesses a random bag-snatching but sees much more than a simple crime.

“Small Wars” takes readers back to 1989, when Reacher is an MP assigned to solve the brutal murder of a young officer found along an isolated forest road in Georgia—and whose killer may be hiding in plain sight.

In “Not a Drill,” Reacher tries to take some downtime, but a pleasant hike in Maine turns into a walk on the wild side—and perhaps something far more sinister. “High Heat” time-hops to 1977, when Reacher is a teenager in sweltering New York City during a sudden blackout that awakens the dark side of the city that never sleeps.

Okinawa is the setting of “Second Son,” which reveals the pivotal moment when young Reacher’s sharp “lizard brain” becomes just as important as his muscle. In “Deep Down,” Reacher tracks down a spy by matching wits with four formidable females—three of whom are clean, but the fourth may prove fatal.

Rounding out the collection are “Guy Walks into a Bar,” “James Penney’s New Identity,” “Everyone Talks,” “The Picture of the Lonely Diner,” “Maybe They Have a Tradition,” and “No Room at the Motel.”


《No Middle Name》以全新的短篇故事〈Too Much Time〉作為開頭，故事中李奇置身於沒落的緬因州小鎮，目睹一樁隨機的包包搶案，但他所發現的不僅是一起單純的犯罪。

〈Small Wars〉引領讀者回到 1989 年，當時憲兵李奇負責調查一樁殘酷的謀殺案，一名年輕軍官死在喬治亞州的一條偏僻的森林公路上，而凶手可能就近在眼前。

在〈Not a Drill〉中，李奇原本打算好好放假，但在緬因州的愉快登山之旅，卻演變成荒野行走——或者更加凶險。 〈High Heat〉將時序回推至 1977 年，當時李奇還是個青少年，悶熱的紐約市一場突如其來的停電，喚醒了紐約這座不夜城黑暗的一面。

〈Second Son〉的故事背景設於沖繩，故事中敘述少年李奇在緊要關頭時，他靈敏的反射本能，變得和肌肉力量一樣重要。在〈Deep Down〉中，李奇通過與四位強大的女性搭擋來追踪間諜。其中三名女性正派清白，但第四名則可能帶來致命的危險。

此短篇小說集中的作品還包括〈Guy Walks into a Bar〉、〈James Penney’s New Identity〉、〈Everyone Talks〉、〈The Picture of the Lonely Diner〉、〈Maybe They Have a Tradition〉以及〈No Room at the Motel〉等小說。