Second Son (short story)
2011 novella by Lee Child
"Second Son" is a 2011 short story by British author Jim Grant (who writes under the pen name of Lee Child). The story, which features Jack Reacher, is a prequel to the novel series and gives a glimpse of the teen-age Reacher. "Second Son" was released originally for the Kindle and, in 2017, was included in No Middle Name, a collection of Jack Reacher short stories. "Second Son" was bundled with the movie Jack Reacher as a Target Exclusive, when the movie was released on Blu-ray on 7 May 2013.
Plot
Paris
It is 1974. In Paris a 90-year-old man, the retired furniture restorer and World War I veteran Laurent Moutier, is unable to get out of bed and realizes he is about to die. He faces stoically and unflinchingly the approach of death, mainly concerned about letting his daughter Josephine know. This takes some effort since she is married to an American military officer who is a member of US Marine Corps and she is constantly moving around the world with her husband on his different assignments. Her married name is Josephine Reacher; she is Jack Reacher's mother, and the dying Moutier is therefore his grandfather.
Okinawa
The story then moves to give a snapshot of the life of the 13-year-old Reacher and his family, having newly arrived at a military base in Okinawa.
The public source identifies “Second Son (short story)” as 2011 novella by Lee Child. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Second, short and story.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Second Son (short story)”, the useful work is to connect “2011 novella by Lee Child” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 25, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7443552. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2011, 2017, 2013 and 1974.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Second Son (short story)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Second Son (short story) primary sources, Second Son (short story) archive and Second research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Second Son (short story)”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Second Son (short story)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.