Jack Reacher Books In Order
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Chronological Order of Jack Reacher Books
Publication Order of Jack Reacher Short Stories/Novellas
| Second Son | (2011) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Deep Down | (2012) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| High Heat | (2013) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Not a Drill | (2014) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Good and Valuable Consideration: Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller | (2014) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Small Wars | (2015) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Too Much Time | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Christmas Scorpion | (2018) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Fourth Man | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Cleaning the Gold | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| New Kid in Town | (2024) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Jack Reacher Collections
| No Middle Name | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Jack Reacher Miscellaneous Books
| Jack Reacher's Rules | (2012) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Jack Reacher Biography:
Jack Reacher is the lead character and the protagonist in the series of books by British author Jim Grant who writes under the pseudonym of Lee Child. The books in the series follow Reacher as he goes through a number of exploits in his world. Reacher has been called one of “this century’s most original, tantalizing pop-fiction heroes” by the Washington Post. While Lee Child himself has been called a master of his craft by publications such as Entertainment Weekly and the series has drawn quite a following.
Killing Floor: This is the first book in the Jack Reacher series. Child was awarded with both the Anthony Award and Barry Award for Best First Novel. The book starts with Jack Reacher getting off of a Greyhound bus in the town of Margrave, Georgia for the simple reason that he heard that a blues musician that he liked had died in that town.
However, to his surprise he is arrested shortly after on the orders of the local sheriff. The sheriff claims that he saw Reacher leave the scene of a murder and arrests him for that crime. What they don’t know is what Reacher is capable of. Reacher meets the detective, Finlay, and a female officer named Roscoe who believes that Reacher is innocent. Jack will work together with them on the case to bring the right killer
to justice.
Die Trying: This book sees Jack Reacher heading to Chicago where he is witness to a woman being kidnapped off of the street. He’s in the wrong place at the wrong time which leads to him being kidnapped with her. The two are chained together and locked in the back of the van as it heads to an unknown destination. The men who kidnapped them are looking for an impossible ransom. The woman is worth a lot of money to someone and they just might get it.
However, the bad luck turns out to belong to the kidnappers. Jack may have been at the wrong place at the wrong time, but they kidnapped the wrong guy. Jack will do what it takes to save them both from this ordeal – or die trying
Tripwire: Jack is in Key West trying to enjoy the weather and the anonymity, far away from his life in the military police. That anonymity is soon dashed when a stranger show up looking for him with a lot of questions. Jack has questions of his own, but he won’t get any answers from him as the man has just turned up dead.
Reacher will leave Key West behind and head on a trail back to New York where the dangerous corners of his own past await him. A merciless killer lurks and Reacher is the only one who can bring him down.
Running Blind / The Visitor: Jack is trying to settle into a house in New York that he recently inherited from an old mentor. He’s never been one for being tied down though and feels like the house may be tying him down.
Meanwhile, a dangerous serial killer is making their way across the country. Everywhere they go women are being murdered with no evidence left behind, no wounds, no clues, and no motive. These are the perfect crimes and the authorities are struggling to stop them. However, there is one thing that links together all of the victims: each of these women knew Jack Reacher.
Reacher is out to find the killer, but he is running blind.
Echo Burning: Reacher is traveling across the scorching Texas desert when he ends up catching a rife from a woman. Her name is Carmen Greer and she has quite the story to tell him. The woman tells him that the only reason that she stopped is because of her problem: her husband. He is getting out of prison soon and she’s afraid of what will happen to her. She’s looking for someone to kill her husband and she thinks that man is Reacher.
Reacher doesn’t agree to those terms and even tries to escape, but eventually decides to at least look into the situation. It’s a decision that could cost him his life.
Without Fail: The story begins in Atlantic City where Jack has just arrived after hitching across the country. Upon his arrival, he meets a Secret Service agent, M.E. Froelich, who once dated Reacher’s brother Joe.
She needs Reacher’s help with a job to assassinate the Vice President of the United States, theoretically. Froelich needs his help to find the holes in her system because there is a covert group who plans to do it for real. The would-be assassins have thought of nearly everything in their plan to kill, but there’s one thing they didn’t plan for: Reacher.
Persuader: Reacher is on a seemingly never ending quest to right wrongs and rewrite his past. He’s working, unofficially, of course, with the DEA when this story begins to bring down a man suspected of smuggling drugs, but he has his own motivations as well. The plan is to stage a kidnapping of Zachary Beck’s son, Richard, to ingratiate Reacher with them. The plan works and Reacher is soon hired as the man’s bodyguard.
The move will send Jack into a dark world of secrecy and violence as he works towards his ultimate goal of finishing some unfinished business form his past.
The Enemy: On New Year’s Day, 1990, a two-star general was found dead in a North Carolina motel. The only thing missing from his room was his briefcase, but nobody seems to know what was in it. Reacher is called in to control the situation. However, hours later the general’s wife is also murdered and it’s only the beginning.
Somewhere in the U.S. Army, someone is trying to set up Reacher as the fall guy in this case. Some men may go down without a fight, but Reacher is not that man. He’ll fight against an enemy he didn’t know he had and a conspiracy darker than he ever could’ve imagined.
One Shot: The book starts with six shots and five people are left dead. A city is thrown into a state of terror and the police need to work fast to apprehend the killer.
They do just that and make a quick arrest, but the man claims to be innocent. Worse the police, he’s asking for help from one man: Jack Reacher. Reacher heads to town and he knows the shooter well, a trained military sniper who would never miss a shot. That extra bullet is telling to him and he knows that something is not right here. Reacher teams up with a beautiful young defense lawyer as they work to clear the name of this man and find the real enemy who is pulling the strings here.
Whoever the enemy is, Reacher knows that the only way to stop him is to match his ruthlessness and cunning, and beat him at his own dangerous game.
The Hard Way: Jack Reacher sits in a Manhattan coffee shop when he notices a man unlock a Mercedes and drive away. Twenty four hours later, he’s in the same coffee shop and is approached by men looking for answers. The men take him to Edward Lane who wants to know Jack’s description of the man and offers him a job: one million dollars to find his wife and daughter.
As Reacher is on the trail of these vicious kidnappers, he’ll learn the dark secrets of his employer and find that he’s in deep, but it’s too late to stop now.
Bad Luck and Trouble: With no phone and no address, Reacher thinks he’s isolated from the world and his former life, but it’s never that far from him. A woman from his old unit has put up a signal that only the eight members of his former team of army investigators would know so he contacts her.
What she has to tell him is a story of a man they served with’s brutal death and the killer isn’t finished. Reacher gets together with the other survivors of his elite team as they try to put together the pieces of this puzzle. Their trail leads them to more missing comrades, the city of Las Vegas, and the dark world of international terrorism.
Nothing to Lose: Like the singer in the classic Suicidal Tendencies song just wanted a Pepsi, Reacher just wants a cup of coffee. Just one cup of coffee, but he ends up finding himself in a world of trouble.
Reacher finds himself between two Colorado towns: Hope and Despair. He arrives in town and within minutes a deputy is in the hospital, sending Reacher back to Hope. Here, he will set up a base of operations against Despair as the town is doing something that nobody is supposed to see. A group of well-trained soldiers guards the facility.
A beautiful cop who runs Hope joins forces with Reacher to break open the secrets of Despair and expose their connection to the war that is killing Americans.
Gone Tomorrow: It’s 2AM in New York City when Reacher is riding a subway car uptown. There are five other passengers on the subway and one of them isn’t okay. If you think Reacher isn’t going to do something about that, you haven’t been paying attention.
The passenger is Susan Mark, an average woman with a big secret. She’s being watched by people in Washington, California, and Afghanistan, and her watchers all have one thing in common: they are lying to Reacher and it could be enough to get him killed. Reacher will end up fighting against soldiers from all sides of this shadow war, but he won’t stop until he comes face-to-face with his worst enemy.
61 Hours: A woman in a small town is standing up for justice in a small town. She is set to testify in a big case, but there are forces that don’t want her to make it to the trial.
Reacher ends up in South Dakota after a bus crash in a snowstorm which leads him to helping her out. It’s a good thing too because there is a proficient assassin making his way to the small town, a killer who never misses. The enemies he faces will be stronger than he imagined, but so is the woman he is risking it all to keep alive.
Worth Dying For: In the corn country of Nebraska, Reacher finds himself in a world of trouble. First, he meets the Duncans who have been terrorizing the entire county which means that they are immediately on Reacher’s bad side. However, there is also a cold case of a missing child, decades old at this point, that captures his attention and puts him into Reacher-mode.
Jack tries to look into the case, but the Duncans want him gone. They are awaiting a shipment that is already late which puts them at risk of angering their more powerful customers. A normal man would leave this town and its troubles behind him, but Jack Reacher is not a normal man.
The Affair: This is the sixteenth entry in the Jack Reacher series. This book is actually a jump back in time to 1997 when Reacher was still in the U.S. Army. The story sees the elite military cop sent to Carter Crossing, Mississippi where he is sent to uncover all that he can after a murder. A young woman died and there was a cover-up.
The evidence points to a soldier from a local military base who has someone powerful friends that could help to cover up something like this. Reacher meets with the local sheriff who is looking for justice in this case, but the two are uncertain if they can trust each other. As Reacher looks to uncover the truth, there are others trying to bury it forever. He’ll end up uncovering a conspiracy that threatens his faith in his mission and turns him into the scary man that readers know well.
A Wanted Man: This book starts with Reacher in the back of a car, hitching his way to Chicago. He’s in the guy with three others, one of which is telling stories that don’t quite add up. Meanwhile, an hour behind them lies the body of a man who was stabbed to death at a gas station. It was no ordinary crime, it was the work of professionals, and now the FBI has descended on the station to claim the victim.
All Reacher was looking for was a ride, but he now finds himself into something much bigger: a massive conspiracy that will make him a threat to both sides. What they don’t know is just how big of a threat he is.
Never Go Back: Reacher returns to northeast Virginia, the headquarters of his old unit, and the closest place he’s ever had to a home. He’s here to meet Major Susan Turner, the new commanding officer, who he has only spoken to on the phone. However, as he heads to her desk he finds someone else in the seat.
He quickly learns that she is in trouble and he is too. He’ll have to fight his way out, find Turner, and clear both of their names as the Army, the FBI, the D.C. Metro police, and some unidentified thugs are hot on his tail.
Personal: Reacher may have left the Army, but it’s never left him and now he’s being called back into action. Someone has taken a shot at the president of France in the City of Light and the shooter was American. The angle that the shot was taken at was so exceptional that there are very few people on the planets who could’ve made the shot.
One of those men is John Kott, an American marksman who went rogue. Kott is out of prison and unaccounted for, likely headed for the G8 Summit to take out other world leaders. Reacher is the man who stopped him before and now he’ll have to do it again.
Make Me: When Reacher heads to a town called Mother’s Rest all he wants to know is why the town is called that, but no one will tell him. Mother’s Rest is a tiny town in the middle of nowhere filled with watchful people. A woman named Michelle Chang mistakes Jack for her missing partner. He doesn’t have much else to do so he sets out to help her find him.
He thinks it won’t be a tough job, but soon finds himself racing through LA, Chicago, Phoenix, and San Francisco, going against thugs and assassins at every stop. The search will ultimately force Reacher to confront one of the worst nightmares that he could possibly imagine.
Night School: This is another flashback book that takes place in 1996 and sees Reacher sent back to school by the army. He’s one of three in the class with the other two being an FBI agent and a CIA analyst. Like Reacher, they are both wondering why they were sent to this school. They all find out when they learn of a Jihadist sleeper cell in Germany that has received an unexpected visitor with a message.
The message is what draws their attention as the courier states that an American wants one hundred million dollars. They don’t know who is asking, who they are asking from, or what they are giving in return; and this group is tasked with finding all that out. Time isn’t on their side and all they know is that they need to find this man before an epic act of terrorism is committed. Their mission will send them from Langley to Hamburg, Jalalabad to Kiev as they try to stop this act of terror.
The Midnight Line: Reacher makes his way to small Wisconsin town where he notices a class ring for West Point in the window. The year on the ring is 2005 which would’ve been a tough year to graduate with Iraq and then Afghanistan. He notices that the ring belonged to a woman and sees her initials on the inside. This leaves his wondering why she would’ve given up something she worked so hard for and decides to find out by finding her and returning the ring.
His journey will take him through small towns, the middle of nowhere, and the Wyoming wilderness. As he digs deeper into his search, things get more dangerous for him. The ring is just a link on a chain that leads Reacher to a vast criminal enterprise.
Past Tense: A trip from Maine to California sounds like a heck of a journey to Reacher, but he doesn’t end up making it very far. He gets as far as New England before he notices a sign to a place that he has never been before: the place where his father was born and he decides to take a detour.
Meanwhile, a couple of young Canadians are stranded at a motel after their car breaks down. The two were on their way to New York City to sell a treasure and now find themselves stuck in this small town. The owners of the motel are friend at least. Maybe a little too friendly.
Reacher decides to head to the city clerk to see his old family home, but is told that no one named Reacher has ever lived in the town. This leaves him with more questions than answers and he starts to look into things. As he explores his father’s life, his investigation and the danger the Canadians face begin to merge.
Blue Moon: Reacher sets out to help the Shevicks, an elderly couple who are down on their luck. The two have made a few mistakes that have left them owing a lot of money to some very bad people. Reacher’s attempts at help end up turning him into a wanted man in the middle of a turf war between rival gangs. In order to stay ahead of the loan sharks, thugs, and assassins, Reacher will team up with a waitress who knows more than she lets on. Reacher has a plan to make the greedy pay, but it’s a long shot and all the odds are against him.
The Sentinel: Reacher ends up in a town near Pleasantville, Tennessee that is anything but pleasant. In the middle of the day, Jack sees a man about to be ambushed four on one so he does what he does and takes care of it with his unique brand of conflict resolution. The man’s name is Rusty Rutherford, an IT manager, who has just lost his job after a cyber attack took down the town’s data. Rusty thinks that he can clear his name, but Reacher knows there is more to the story. What he’ll find is a conspiracy, cover-up, and murder that some people will go very far to keep secret.
Better Off Dead: When Reacher is out for a walk in the hot desert sun when he comes across a Jeep that has crashed into a tree with its driver slumped over the wheel. The woman isn’t dead, thankfully.
Her name is Michaela Fenton and she’s an army veteran turned FBI agent who is out looking for her twin brother who is into some trouble. Her brother is mixed up with some dangerous people who would rather die than betray their leader, the mysterious Dendocker, but he’s the one who would know what happened to him. Reacher is good at finding those that don’t want to be found and offers his help. Jack has been in some tricky situations before, but going against Dendocker will be one of the most dangerous situations of his life.
No Plan B: This is one you will have to pay attention to! It’s one of those books where there are 4 separate storylines essentially going on. They all come together in the end of course, but it can be a little hard to keep track of initially.
The primary storyline of course involves Jack Reacher. He is standing at a street corner when he sees a man push a woman in front of a bus. He chases (as fast as Reacher can go) after the man to stop him. The man has help, and there’s a big kerfluffle. When it all comes to a head, Reacher is told that the woman actually killed herself.
With so many people involved in the murder of one woman, you know Jack has to get to the bottom of things.
Jack Reacher Novellas
Second Son: This novella focuses on Jack Reacher as a 13-year-old in Okinawa, Japan. Even at this age, he knows how to outwit and overpower anyone that stands in his way. Jack and his older brother get a rude welcome from the other Army brats and make plans to get even, but it quickly becomes clear that there is more at stake here. With his family’s future in trouble, young Jack will rise to the occasion to put things back together.
Deep Down: Reacher is called in by Military Intelligence and sent undercover on a mission. Classified talks about a state-of-the-art sniper rifle are being infiltrated and it’s up to Reacher to sniff off the mole. It’s meant to be a zero-danger mission with no weapons involved, but if there’s one thing Reacher knows it’s that things rarely turn out that way.
High Heat: Jack is seventeen-years-old in New York during the Summer of Sam in this one. Reacher meets a young women who needs help and agrees to help her. Soon after, the power grid fails and the city is plunged into a lawless darkness. What can a visiting teenager do in the dark city? A normal teenager might be in trouble, but Jack is no ordinary teenager.
Not a Drill: Back on the road, Reacher hitches a ride with some Canadians on their way to hack in the forests of Maine. Reacher decides to check out the quiet town, but soon after the trail is closed and the military police arrive. It could be just a drill, but Jack finds that is rarely the case when he’s in town.
Too Much Time: This book works as a prequel to the Reacher novel, The Midnight Line. It takes place after Jack’s time in the Army when he witnesses a random bag-snatching in a small Maine town. To some this would be a simple crime, but Reacher sees much more of it.
Good and Valuable Consideration: Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller: Jack Reacher makes a new acquaintance, Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller, in this short story. The two are sitting in a Boston bar watching a Yankees/Red Sox game when the man sitting between them turns out to be a marked man. We know what this two will do individually in this situation. What will they do together?
Small Wars: Lee Child takes Reacher to the 80s, 1989 to be exact. At this point Reacher is working as an MP who trying to solve the murder of a young officer. The officer was on the fast track to greatness and the hit appears to be a professional one. Reacher will get help from his older brother Joe and Sergeant Frances Neagley to figure out why.
The Christmas Scorpion: Reacher is spending the holidays in the California desert. It’s Christmas Eve and he finds himself in a roadhouse with a bartender, an elderly couple, and two members of the British Royal Military Police. The officers tell Reacher they were escorting a VIP to a top-secret meeting, but have since lost their charge. The threat is coming from a notorious assassin known as the Christmas Scorpion. It will take a Christmas miracle to save their charge and Santa brought Reacher.
Cleaning the Gold: A crossover featuring Jack Reacher coming face-to-face with Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent. Reacher is in Fort Knox looking to bring down a criminal operation while Will Trent is there to bring down a murder suspect: Jack Reacher. What the two don’t know is that there is a much larger conspiracy at play here, one they will have to team up to fight.
Killing Floor details the story of a ex military policeman and a drifter by the name of Jack Reacher. Reacher is just passing through a town by the name of Margrave, Georgia to find out information about a musician by the name of Blind Blake, and finds himself arrested for murder in less than an hour. Reacher is quite aware he did not kill anybody. The detective finds the phone number of a man named Hubble in the shoe of the dead man. Both Reacher and the next defendant Hubble are arrested for murder,and sent to the state prison. While in prison Reacher meets Roscoe a female police offiicer who helps with the two individuals defense.As Reacher alone is not about to convince anyone in Margrave, Georgia of his innocence.
The book details some of the exploits of Reacher as he tries to convince an unwilling populace that he is not guilty of the crime he is accused of committing. The book details Reacher’s interactions with a detective by the name of Findlay one of his main accusers.There are other characters that feature prominently in the novel as well. Some of the other characters of note that are part of the plot in the Kililng Floor include Chief Morrison and his wife who also are murder victims. There is also a multi billion dollar counterfeiting ring that comes in play in the action of this award wining book. There are other sorts of interesting plot twists within this novel that many people will read. Use this story for a great summer read and enjoy the time to delve into this exciting and powerfully written novel.
Some of the acclaim attached to this book includes USA today who stated the “indomitable Reacher burns up the pages. The New York Times called the action “Smart and Breathless.” Newsweek also called the action in he Killing floor “Subtle and nuanced with seductive writing and irresistible plot twists.” This book was followed by a succession of other novels featuring Reacher. All of them have been well regarded and well read. This book is something that you can find and take advantage of when you are looking for classic mysteries. This is one great read, and the Jack Reacher story The Killing Floor is a real page turner as literary critics and readers both agree.
The second Reacher novel to hit the scene was Die Trying. Although, the first novel the Killing Floor was widely acclaimed it did fall party to some critics who stated that the character of Jack Reacher was an unconvincing protagonist.Child attempted to address some of those concerns, in the second novel, lathough he largely paid no heed to the voices of the critics. The second novel may be one of the attempts to get the support of both readers and the voices of the critics.
In the second novel the ex military policeman Reacher is walking by a Chicago dry cleaner when an FBI agent also attractive and young, by the name of Holly comes by carrying some large packages. Holly is also the daughter of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. she is Kidnapped off the street along with Reacher. Only Reacher has the complex finely honed instincts to foil the kidnapping plot, and to see beyond the complex deadly plan of the Montana militia group that has kidnapped him and this young woman. The leader of the military group is a dangerous and charismatic leader who has some brutal action planned for both the kidnapped, and ruthless plans for the United States as a whole. This is a thrilling novel that has numerous plot twists to keep the reader entertained.
This novel is one of the things that you can look forward to when you are looking to find novels that have great stories and the great action that you need to stay involved This novel is one that will thrill the individual. It is one that makes a great summer time read.Readers will be stunned by the action with Die Trying when they decide to read this novel.
Both of these novels follows the larger than life character 6’5 Reacher as he gets very involved in the action and is a hero in his own way. His military training comes in handy within these novels. Read both of these novels as an introduction to the Jack Reacher character, and you may find that you wish to read more. These are some of the amazing novels by Child and can really be interesting and easy to find.
Any issues with the book list you are seeing? Or is there an author or series we don’t have? Let me know!
Had Jack Reacher been around in the late 50’s and 60’s Clint Walker would have been a good choice to play him.
Is “The Visitor” a continuation of “Running Blind”?
No they are the same book. Just different titles.
I have read all the Spenser books (so far), all the Jesse Stone books (so far),and all the Travis Mcgee books. Jack Reacher was a natural choice and I was not disappointed!!
I have read all of the Jack Reacher books up to The Secret. While I can understand that authors might have trouble extending their character after numerous books. Lee Child starting a few books ago teamed up with his brother Andrew. The secret is a disappointment to me as Reacher is back in the army dealing with army corruption while the parallel story is about CIA agents are being killed from something that happened 23 years ago. I will give the latest a read but if it does not continue the storyline of current books I will remove Jack Reacher from my list of characters that I read.
I have read ALL of your Jack Reacher books and its clear that I am addicted to this series. Read the series twice,then heard about the Reacher movie. I was beyond elated until I saw who the actor was. OMG TOM CRUISE, Really? What a huge disappointment. He is nothing like my Reacher. Did not see the movie and wont watch it on TV either.So sad it ruined Reacher for me!
Watch the New Jack Reacher Series. This actor is the guy in the book! You will love it.
The first seeason was the Killing Floor, essentially. It was really well done and Reacher wasnn’t a punk like in the movies.
The new Reacher Series is hands down the best! The movie didn’t do the character justice, but the actor that portrays Reacher in the series is great!
i watched the movie before i had read any of the books so i was fine with tc, but since i liked the movie i looked into the books and read a few and then watched the tv series which was much better cast, sorry tom but even good actors cant do everything.
I so agree with Eve…Tom Cruise is like 5’7 or close.Reacher is 6’5 or 6…and looks like a man.Hope they drop him,he blew the discription of Jack.
John
I Just read “The Grave Tattoo” and it was okay, but not great. Miss McDermid could use lessons from Lee Child just as much as the other way around. Or not. If they gave each other lessons their writing would likely change and might no longer appeal to their readers.
The point being they write for different audiences. What is mediocre for one reader might be just what another reader wants and vice versa. The popularity of the ‘Jack Reacher’ series is simply based on Mr. Child giving his audience the kind of story they want from him.
You may not like his writing but that doesn’t make it mediocre. It just means you should probably move on to something that is more to your tastes.
I just read the book No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher. Of the 12 stories I had read 3 of them before (Deep Down, High Heat, Small Wars). Were they published somewhere else? I know I hadn’t read the collection before as I didn’t recognize the other 9 stories in the book. But I can’t figure out where I had read them.
I loved the Jack Reacher movies. then i watched the TV season of JACK REACHER —- i just love it….i cant wait to start reading the books and waiting for more jack reacher tv seasons and movies.
I came across Jack Reacher by accident. My sister is an avid fan. I picked up her book read a little and I wouldn’t give it back to her. Since then I have read all of the JR books and I wait impatiently for each new publication. Of course some of the books are a little weaker but that is normal when writing about a character that in a yearly format.
My only complaint is that I am not wholly happy about Lee Childs writing in tandem with his brother. I found that I couldn’t hear Lee Childs voice I couldn’t hear Jack’s voice because of that.
I had to re-read the Sentinal in order to feel at home with it. The books that feature Jack Reacher are never likely to win the Nobel Prize for Literature but they entertain. They keep the readers interest and we invest in Jack’s well-being.
As to TC, physically he couldn’t be Jack and that is important for the book and the character. TC is an excellent actor. The Fourth of July was a tour de force.
Have you read the latest one, Better Off Dead? If you told me Lee wrote the entire thing I’d believe you. Feels like a really old school Lee Child book and I’m really enjoying it. Reminds me a lot of Persuader.
Persuader was probably my least favorite book. Could be colored by the fact that Lee Child used the name of a real Maine town that is no where near the ocean, so that ruined the entire book for me. He could have made up a name or if he wanted to use an actual name, picked one that was there on the ocean, not one that is over 2 hours north. Thought he would have done better research than that.
I’m finding many of the comments above amusing. My daughter’s book recommendations, along with my father’s hatred for Tom Cruise being cast as Jack Reacher, are the two main reasons for me getting back into reading a few years ago. My Dad is a pretty chill dude, but he was adamant that Tom Cruise should not have been Jack Reacher. I saw the movie before reading any of the books, and enjoyed it. In roughly the year following the movie’s release… I read every Jack Reacher book in order. (I just had to ‘see’ why my Dad felt so strongly about ol’ Tom Cruise.) And I’ve enjoyed the books too. True, Tom Cruise does not does not physically fill Reacher’s shoes, but as an actor, he does have the presence to be a passable intelligent, good, well intentioned, brute.
The second movie wasn’t very good. But I really enjoyed the first.
I’m two or three books behind now and am looking forward to catching up soon.
There are numerous actors that would better fit Reacher’s dimensions… but I’m not sure any would have Tom’s presence. I’m not Tom’s biggest fan, for sure. But more often than not, he does what he does quite well.
I totally agree with you on this statement. Tom Cruise should NOT have been Jack Reacher. Many others could have played the part. I really wish they would have used a book for the story line. 1of the first 18 would have been good. I have gotten away from reading and have failed to purchase the last 8. Did anybody find that several of the first 18 were written 2 times and I do see that a couple of the last 8 have already been written.
But in all this is a very good clean ass kicking book..
I have offenders in the correctional facility were I work reading these good as kicking books.. ❤️❤️❤️
Cruise purchased the rights to the character in 2005 – he always intended to play Reacher. Lee Child announced in November 2018 that he was ending the “Jack Reacher” film franchise and developing a television reboot around the character. Part of the reason Child ended Cruise’s “Jack Reacher” film series is because he agreed with reader complaints that Cruise did not look anything like the character Child wrote in his books. “I really enjoyed working with Cruise. He’s a really, really nice guy. We had a lot of fun. But ultimately the readers are right,” Child said last year. “The size of Reacher is really, really important and it’s a big component of who he is.”
Cruise has his moments, but he was possibly the worst person they could have picked for playing Reacher. It was awful.
I heard that Child bought back the script so Cruise would not make another movie of his work.
I love Jack Reacher. the perfect actor to play him is Vince Vaughan. He is 6′ 5″, and weighs approx 225 to 250. he is dark haired and has the look of how I imagine Jack looks. If any more movies are made about Jack, it must NOT be Tom. I never saw the 2 movies made because of the horrible casting. Tom should have left his ego somewhere else!!!
I agree it can’t be TC, but Reacher is a blonde, not dark haired. Not that that is the most important thing, his size is. I thought Chris Hemsworth would have fit the bill pretty well, but apparently the guy picked for the part, Alan Ritchson, looks the part, so hopefully he will do well. Child allowing the first two movies to go to Cruise almost made me stop reading the books, as my mental vision of Tom and that of Reacher was just too annoying
I think liamneesonwould beperfect
I read “Killing Floor” and I thought it was passable but a bit boring. Since then I have read 4 others and they are getting progressively worse. They are too linear with lots of long boring sections. 61 hours is typical.
Can someone please explain how such a mediocre writer sells so many books?
Oh: my favourite author is Val McDermid. Lee Child could take some lessons from her. Try reading “The Grave Tattoo”.
John
you have to be a certain kind of reader to enjoy the Child books. Obviously you are not that kind.
Jack Reacher is one of the most popular characters in the modern day book world.
The first novel in the series, Killing Floor, was released in 1997. It was an instant hit – winning multiple awards such as an Anthony Award and a Barry Award both for Best First Novel.
Trueee,Coz The first book I read was Killing floor and ever since that day I was hooked,kept on reading more reacher books(started reading them when I was 14 now I’m 18) a year of reading the books like 4/5bks then I decided to Google to get more info about the series and to my absolute shock found out there’s more than 20 JR books,I literally recommend It to all my friends, Killing floor is one of the books everrr. while reading the JR series, I could actually visualize the scenes kind of imagining how reacher figures out stuff and how he fights,Really Amazing.
I love the Reacher books. They fulfill a need for the hero we are all looking for. The guy who will stand up for what is “the right thing to do”.
I am hoping Mr Childs will hear us when we ask that he continue writing the books. Jack has lost his edge and he now talks more than he used to. He is a “kinder and more gentler” person and I am not certain we want that.
None of your readers want to lose Jack. We need our hero in this most disquieting times. Someone we can look to and have hope.
Oh and get rid of Tom Cruise.
I am seeing a trend in all of my favorite authors, Lee Child included. They actually have the poor sense to buckle to publisher’s request and actually make political statements on actual politicians. I am disappointed in this new behavior, I look to my fiction to step away from reality and not have someone’s manicured political leanings interrupt the story line.
In the past, when needed, authors cleverly created fictional politicians that they would use for the purpose of plot movement and then move on.
This was not the case with the Sentinel. As such, rather than buy another copy of Mr. Lee’s new book, I will wait until my public library has a copy available and read it. If this behavior continues, I will drop him completely. Please support me in keeping our favorite authors non-political. tx
I agree with keeping politics out of fiction. While Reacher wasn’t killed, he’d be better off dead. Lee’s brother had a terrible impact on the character. The Sentinel featured a woke, gutted and all too talkative Reacher. My wife and I bought every book as soon as it was on sale and also bought audio books for long car trips. We are done. RIP Jack Reacher. Won’t even read them from the library. The last book was dumber than casting Tom Cruise in the roll.
I’ve read all Reacher books. And I love them.
When the first movie had been announced I imagined Dolph Lundgren as Reacher. I know Dolph is a bit too old, but he is much better Reacher than shorty 😀
I’m not sure why but I always imagine Reacher as a Jim Caviezel character. Maybe because the part he played on the show Person of Interest. I know he doesn’t have sandy colored hair but he’s who I see in my head when I read these books.
i agree only one guy can play reacher jim caviezel
They should never used TC for that movie because he can’t act. Jim is the only that can play JR
Yes, I can picture Caviziel in the part, although he is a tiny bit shorter, but miles closer than Cruise! Mind you, that’s a low bar!
Wow. J.C.was my first thought also. Hair dyed blond and he is my perfect image of Reacher.
I agree with Mario as to the choice of our beloved Jack Reacher. I like Tom Cruise but he is not Jack Reacher. If another movie is married a new actor would be a great improvement and just because Tom Cruise starred in the first one doesn’t mean we have to watch him in a second because as a matter of fact if he stars in another Jack reacher movie I don’t believe I’ll go see it. I’m 78 and I’m reading the child’s books for the third time and it’s not because of memory loss it’s because they’re so good thank you Mr. Childs please keep writing.
Dear Sir, I am an 84yr old who came upon your very first book in the 90’s and for the last 25 years or so, have read the series more than two times and have been one of your most supportive fans from the beginning and enjoyed every minute of telling other readers of your work. Now I come across “Past Tense” this A.M. in an Amazon ad and find it listed nowhere else. What”s up?
I’m a 6 year Veteran of US Submarine service , 31 years in Los Angeles as a Firefighter !
Had horrible injury at brush Fire , I read every Reacher book and am on last one !
Outstanding story telling !
Thank you
Looking at last book and totally taking time to read makes me appreciate the author !
So so many times I looked at new words
Thank you
Bob Launius
Im 80 years old,and I,have being reading your books for the last four years, my husband was a ex Militery Police, and I use to pretend,.That Reacher was my husband.I have read some of your books twice,i just finish the Sentinel…WHY ,WHY, do you have to kill him,you wrote all this other books,..Im really piss at you.
Hi Geraldina,
I’m not sure if you misread but Reacher didn’t die in The Sentinel. There’s a new Reacher book coming out later this year 🙂
I am Nearly 83 years old and love the Teacher books. I have read most of them at least twice, especially during lockdown. Thank you. Lee, keep on writing them Mike
I’ve been reading the Reacher series in publication order and have found that to be perfect and the books relating to his earlier life slot in very well. I’m sure we’d all like a Jack Reacher in our lives, a rolling stone with a strong sense of doing what he believes is right – and I absolutely hated it when he did end up with a broken nose in one of his many reckless encounters!
I’m 42 in July, just got into this series, these are incredible stories, I’m fixed. A absolutely amazing author, and a brilliant, brilliant, character!!!!
Jack (no name) Reacher, your legendary!!
It seems to me that Jack doesn’t jump into bed with women nearly as often as he did in the earlier books. I think as he ages his libido has decreased. I’m not complaining, I’m just observing, but in fairness, I haven’t gone back and reread any of the books. I started reading them about 10 years ago and just look forward to a new one every fall. Perhaps I’ve misremembered.
I have all of the Jack reacher books except the 2020 and 2021 publications. Most I have read twice. I love this series and the reacher character. I highly recommend them to readers who enjoy a good mystery, little or a lot sometimes of sex thrown in.
Your review suggests reading “Killing Floor” and “Die Trying” first, but you also note that to read it in chronological order to read “The Enemy,” “Night School,” and “The Affair” first. As I am about to order some of Child’s books in this series, which would you suggest? Thank you.
Hi Claude,
We just list the chronological order as some people prefer reading it in that manner. For the Reacher series I would 100% read it in publication order. There is a lot of growth to the Reacher character as well as the way Lee Child writes and I think that would be off-putting reading some of the later books first.
Read the books. The movie came out and i choose to not mar my mind with 5’5″ wimpy tommy. Would have been nice to have a Reacher movie with a ‘new’ actor. Not a retread. And cruise as an actor has two or three facial moves. His deepth as an actor/(human), is that of an earth worm.
That’s not fair to earthworms
Watch the Amazon Prime Reacher series. You won’t be disappointed. The actor who plays Reacher REALLY looks like Reacher (and acts the part too). Enjoy!
I’m pretty adept at “willing suspension of disbelief”, but it is too far a stretch to believe Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. Reacher, besides being described by his physical size has also been referred to as ‘ugly’. In my mind the perfect actor to portray Reacher is Ron Perlman. He’s actually 5’11, 190, but carries himself on the screen with a commanding presence.