Complete list of Jack Reacher books in order to make you feel thrilled

If there is one fictional superhero who is not a vigilante wearing a cape & cowl or doesn’t possess supernatural powers of climbing walls then he is Jack Reacher.

Jack Reacher is a fictional protagonist created by Jim Grant, a British author, who writes under the pen name Lee Child.

Jack Reacher is an ex-military officer, who lives as a drifter roaming around the United States, doing odd jobs.

He has a knack for bumping into fatally dangerous situations where something fishy is going on against the interests of the country.

Jack Reacher takes on bad guys and puts an end to their criminal activities.

Lee Child introduced Jack Reacher to the world in 1997 and since then has published one Jack Reacher novel every year, only two in 2010.

When you put your mind to reading books about a particular character, you get anxious about where to start.

I am sure you’re intrigued about reading Jack Reacher books but are wondering where can I find Jack Reacher books in order of release date or Jack Reacher books in reading order?

The order of Jack Reacher books is not that big a deal because every novel is a story in itself.

Hence if you have bought a couple of Jack Reacher novels today and you’re worried about missing the order then you should not.

And if you’re contemplating which Jack Reacher novel to read first, then let me give you the answer right away and save you some time.

You can start with the first published novel of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher - Killer Floor. Or, if you enjoy an adrenaline rush then go for One Shot which is the 9th Jack Reacher novel.

26 Jack Reacher books have been published to date with the 27th novel arriving in October of 2022.

This article is going to provide you with the complete list of Jack Reacher books in the order of publication and reading. All you need to do is keep reading this article till the end. So, let’s start with the list -

Jack Reacher Books in series of publication

1. Killing Floor (March 1997)

The Killing Floor is the first Jack Reacher book written by Lee Child that was published in 1997.

Jack Reacher gets down from a bus in the fictional town of Margrave and shockingly finds himself being arrested by the local Police on the order of the Police Chief.

The Police chief claims that he saw Reacher leaving the scene of the homicide but Reacher knows that he is innocent.

As the story progresses and more people get killed, Reacher discovers that he is in the middle of something nasty and vows to bring the bad guys to justice.

2. Die Trying (July 1998)

Jack Reacher is in Chicago where he helps a woman on crutches and moments later they both are kidnapped together by two men.

They are taken in a dark van for 2000 miles across the United States, oblivious to why they got kidnapped in the first place.

The woman is an FBI agent and there is something special about her, so the FBI is keen to rescue her.

The woman and Jack Reacher will have to work together to unravel the mystery surrounding the events.

3. Tripwire (July 1999)

Jack Reacher is digging pools manually and working nights as a bouncer in a topless bar in Key West, Florida when he finds the dead body of a private New York Investigator with his fingers chopped off.

The PI was hired by the daughter of Reacher’s recently deceased mentor and father figure in the army.

She needs Jack Reacher’s help on her father’s last mission of knowing the whereabouts of a military officer who is MIA.

But an encounter with a psychopath businessman who is the main antagonist of the story is around the corner.

4. Running Blind ( The Visitor ) (April 2000)

Two army women, victims of sexual harassment, who resigned from the army under mysterious circumstances are found dead, naked in baths full of paint by a ruthless killer.

All that is known about the killer match the character description of Jack Reacher and thus he is arrested.

However, the murder of another woman happens when Reacher is in custody so he is not a suspect anymore.

But he is pressured to help with the investigation.

5. Echo Burning (April 2001)

Jack Reacher is strolling in the scorching summer heat of Texas, asking for a lift.

He is given a lift in a Cadillac by Carmen, a rich and beautiful girl.

Carmen is the mother of a beautiful girl who is being watched. Carmen’s husband is in jail and when he comes out he will kill her.

Jack Reacher encounters lies, prejudice, and hatred at her remote ranch in Echo county.

Soon, Carmen is arrested for her husband’s murder and now Jack Reacher has to help her as no one around can be trusted.

6. Without Fail (April 2002)

Jack Reacher is tracked down by a female secret service agent Mary Ellen (M.E.) Froelich; who wants him to tell her every possible way in which he could assassinate the Vice-President.

The reason is that she wants to figure out holes in her security system because the Vice-President is on the hit list of a group of bad guys.

Jack Reacher along with Mary Ellen Froelich has to find them and stop them.

7. Persuader (April 2003)

Jack Reacher is a drifter with no possessions and no commitments but is hell-bent on making a wrong right.

In this 7th novel of the Jack Reacher list of books, he has a chance encounter with Mr. Quinn who was responsible for the murder of two of his colleagues ten years ago.

Quinn was supposed to be dead but he is still alive which doesn’t go well with Reacher.

Reacher has to work with DEA to get to Quinn but there is a dark world in the middle that he has to cross.

8. The Enemy (April 2004)

Chronologically speaking, this is the first novel of Jack Reacher you should read.

Jack Reacher is in the army and has been ordered to control the situation where a two-star general is found murdered in a North Carolina hotel.

The speculation is that the general died while having intercourse with a prostitute.

Reacher finds that the general’s briefcase is missing, nobody knows what was in it.

Things get uglier when hundred of miles away, the general’s wife is found dead as well.

Jack Reacher is also being made as a scapegoat in this case by an unknown enemy he doesn’t know he has.

But Reacher is not a quitter and his enemy has done the mistake of messing with the wrong guy.

9. One Shot (April 2005)

Six shots are fired by a sniper that has left five people dead. The nasty event has sent shockwaves in the city whose people are terrified.

The Police have arrested James Barr. All evidence says that he is the killer and the Police have an open and shut case.

But Barr claims he is innocent and says,” Get Jack Reacher”.

Jack Reacher has no phone, no other way to contact him as he is a drifter so how he will be found? But he is coming to the city after watching the news report.

Reacher wants to give a chance to Barr so he starts digging out the truth; he realizes that there is more than what meets the eye because of that one missing shot.

10. The Hard Way (May 2006)

Edward Lane is the director of a private military operation that hires soldiers illegally. He is paying 1 million dollars as ransom money to the kidnappers of his beautiful wife and stepchild.

Lane will pay even more to get them back.

Reacher witnesses the transaction and joins the story. With the help of an ex-FBI private investigator, he is on the hunt for the kidnapper.

During the investigation, Reacher will get to know the secrets of the director’s past, who is hiding something dirty.

The story that started in New York City will end on a farm thousands of miles away in Norfolk, England.

11. Bad Luck and Trouble (April 2007)

Jack Reacher is in Portland when his account receives a small sum of money.

Reacher knows that this is a code that was used by the eight members of his former army team.

Actually, it is Frances Neagley who used this code to find Reacher who tells him that one of their own has been cruelly slaughtered.

Reacher regroups with his former team to dig into the mystery that deepens as the body count mounts.

Jack Reacher along with the soldiers of his former unit is up against international terrorism in ‘Bad Luck and Trouble’ which is 11th in the list of Jack Reacher novels in order.

12. Nothing to Lose (March 2008)

The state of Colorado has two towns - Hope and Despair.

Jack Reacher is traveling to Despair from Hope where he receives a cold welcome.

Why? What’s the reason?

Matters escalate when a deputy goes to the hospital moments after his arrival.

Reacher comes to know about Thurman, a businessman who owns the town of Despair.

His recycling factory from which a plane takes off every night and comes back 7 hours later; a factory that is always under the surveillance of army men and cops, having similar skills as those who Reacher worked with.

What’s cooking inside?

Reacher will team up with a beautiful cop from the town of Hope to get into the core of the matter thus revealing some nasty secrets.

13. Gone Tomorrow (April 2009)

Jack Reacher is on a New York City subway ride at 2’o clock in the morning, running through a checklist in his mind of identifying suicide bombers.

His eyes fixated on one female passenger in his bogie who is meeting the criteria of the checklist of suicide bombers.

But Reacher is wondering why would a bomber choose a time that is 2’o clock in the morning and a subway that has too few passengers to execute her mission.

Moments later, she shoots herself and a chilling mystery begins that Jack Reacher will do anything to solve.

14. 61 Hours (March 2010)

Jack Reacher is on a bus of elderly that meets an accident in South Dakota.

Reacher is stranded in the town of Bolton where there is an illegal meth lab outside the town.

A woman witnesses a biker selling drugs to a dealer and decides to testify.

The drug cartel has sent a killer to stop her, Police know about it but can’t stand against the drug lord and his force.

But the protector of the woman is in town and his name is Jack Reacher. He will spend the next 61 hours trying to save the woman and eliminate the bad guys.

61 hours is a spectacular thriller in the Jack Reacher list of novels.

15. Worth Dying For (September 2010)

Jack Reacher arrives in a county in Nebraska where he beats the husband of a victim of domestic abuse.

Trouble has different ways of finding Reacher and it is proved when the person he hits comes out as a notable member of a family that rules the county.

The fight is not just about ego but Reacher is up against a smuggling racket and also a 25 years old case of a missing child.

16. The Affair (September 2011)

Jack Reacher is still in the army because it is March 1997, six months before the events of Killer Floor.

The plot takes off in a small town in Mississippi where a young woman is found murdered, her throat cut from ear to ear.

She is the girlfriend of a soldier and there is an army base just down the road.

Reacher is ordered to stay undercover and perform the investigation.

He finds that his investigation is leading in a different direction than the official army investigation.

Is Jack Reacher's career about to change? What caused him to leave the army?

17. A Wanted Man (September 2012)

Jack Reacher takes a lift in a car to go to Virginia, a behavior normal for him.

The car has two men in the front and a silent, concerned woman in the back.

An hour behind, a man is found stabbed to death in a pumping station. Police arrive and the FBI arrives too at the scene.

On the other side, Reacher realizes that the woman has been kidnapped by the two men and thus finds himself in a sinister conspiracy.

What will happen next in this mind-boggling Lee Child thriller?

18. Never Go Back (September 2013)

Jack Reacher reaches northeastern Virginia, where he feels at home because that’s where his old headquarters are, 110th MP.

He wants to meet Major Susan Turner; he is fond of her voice but what he finds is that Susan Turner is arrested.

Soon Reacher finds himself arrested too based on the alleged charges of a sixteen-year-old homicide.

Jack Reacher will join forces with beautiful Major Susan Turner to exonerate himself and Turner from the alleged accusations.

19. Personal (August 2014)

An assassination attempt has been made on the life of the French President. A shot is fired from three-quarters of a mile, not many snipers can do it.

John Cott is one of those snipers who can do this, he is out of prison after 15 years and his target is the G8 summit full of world leaders.

Only one man can stop him, Jack Reacher who stopped him 16 years earlier as well too. Jack Reacher will team up with Casey Nice, an analyst to stop the wicked.

20. Make Me (September 2015)

Jack Reacher arrives in a town called Mother’s Rest where he meets an ex-FBI turned private investigator woman Michelle Chang.

Chang is searching for her partner who has been missing.

Wandering around the town Reacher smells something suspicious and thus decides to help her with the investigation.

In the list of Jack Reacher novels in order, you find ‘Make Me’ at position# 20.

21. Night School (November 2016)

“The American wants a hundred million dollars”, that’s the message a CIA informant working undercover in a Jihadist cell overhears when a Saudi courier whispers it to a Jihadist sleeper cell. The event takes place in Hamburg, Germany.

Jack Reacher who has just received a medal for the success of his latest mission is tasked to find the American.

This time he joins forces with one of his finest, Frances Neagley, and set out on his mission, failing in which will cause the world to fall steeply into the hands of terrorism.

Night school is at number second on the list of Reacher books in chronological order.

22. The Midnight Line (November 2017)

The plot follows the events of ‘Make Me’, the 20th novel in the list of Jack Reacher books by Lee Child.

Jack Reacher walks around in a town in Wisconsin. He sees a West Point graduation ring in a pawn shop and buys it.

Reacher thinks about the reason because of which the owner of the ring - a woman - pawned it in the first place. He plans to return it to the woman as he sees her initials engraved on the inside.

Little does he know that the ring is a connection to a dark world that no one should enter but Reacher is an exception from whom even the darkness fears.

23. Past Tense (November 2018)

Jack Reacher is on a road trip.

On his journey, he sees a signboard to a town named Laconia where his father was born. Thus, an impromptu detour begins.

A Canadian couple is on their way to New York City when their car breaks down so they take refuge in an isolated motel. The motel seems mysterious and the couple has priceless comic books to sell.

They are trapped inside the hotel by their owners for a wicked cause.

On the other hand, Reacher is told that no person named ‘Reacher’ lived in the town ever.

One thing is certain, Reacher will leave no stones unturned to find the truth about his father’s past.

24. Blue Moon (October 2019)

Jack Reacher is on a bus living the life of a drifter. He goes out of the way to help an old man.

Sooner than he realizes, Reacher has become a wanted man in a turf war between rival Albanian and Ukrainian gangs.

Blue Moon is a nail-biting thriller, the 24th of all the Jack Reacher books, in order of release date.

25. The Sentinel (October 2020)

Released during the Pandemic, The Sentinal has Jack Reacher in Pleasantville, Tennesse.

He saves Rusty Rutherford, who has just been fired from his job, from being kidnapped by four men.

But these four men are no ordinary goons or kidnappers, they are related to something big, something shady.

26. Better Off Dead (October 2021)

In this New York Times Bestseller, Jack Reacher runs into a woman whose Jeep has met with an accident.

She is an FBI agent who has some secrets of her own.

She is in search of her twin brother who is involved with someone who works from the shadows and is highly dangerous.

Everyone who works for him is terrified by his influence and would never think in their dreams of betraying him.

Reacher has a knack for changing wrong into right and he thus offers help to the woman.

Reacher is up against someone highly cruel in this novel.

27. No Plan B (October 2022)

Two people who are witnesses to an event give two different narrations of that event.

Witness#1 says that a woman got in front of the bus with the intention of suicide.

Witness#2 says that a man pushed the woman in front of the bus before swiftly taking away her purse and vanishing away.

Well, witness#2 is Jack Reacher himself who follows the killer and steps on a path that leads him to something nasty with bad people involved.

You now know the publishing order of Jack Reacher books.

If you want to read Jack Reacher's books in reading order then here is the list.

Jack Reacher books in chronological order

• The Enemy (2004)
• Night School (2016)
• The Affair (2011)
• Killer Floor (1997)
• Die Trying (1998)
• TripWire (1999)
• Running Blind (2000)
• Echo Burning (2001)
• Without Fail (2002)
• Persuader (2003)
• One Shot (2005)
• The Hard Way (2006)
• Bad Luck and Trouble (2007)
• Nothing to Lose (2008)
• Gone Tomorrow (2009)
• 61 Hours (2010)
• Worth Dying For (2010)
• A Wanted Man (2012)
• Never Go Back (2013)
• Personal (2014)
• Make Me (2015)
• The Midnight Line (2017)
• Past Tense (2018)
• Blue Moon (2019)
• The Sentinel (2020)
• Better Off Dead (2021)
• No Plan B (2022)

List of Jack Reacher short stories

Second Son (2011)

Deep Down (2012)

Guy Walks into a Bar (2011)

James Penny’s New Identity (2011)

High Heat (2013)

Everyone Talks

Not a Drill (2014)

Good and Valuable considerations (2014)

Small Wars (2015)

The Picture of the Lonely Diner

No Middle Name (2017)

Faking A Murderer (2017)

Too Much Time (2018)

The Christmas Scorpion (2018)

The Fourth Man (2019)

Conclusion : List of Jack Reacher novels in order

Jack Reacher is a superhero who is more realistic than other comic superheroes.

He is a loner, a drifter, prefers keeping cash, and has no phone but he does have a deep urge to turn wrong into right.

Reacher is that hero that you can be too. Yes, he is trained with special combat skills but so are you as you have got skills in your area of work.

The point is if by reading Jack Reacher you can adapt his attributes as well as his attitude to be the fierce best in your field then you must read his novels.

And this list of Jack Reacher books in order will help you with it.

By the way, which book out of this list will you read first?

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