Best Jack Reacher Books

Bad Luck and Trouble is the eleventh book in the series about Jack Reacher written by Lee Child back in 2007. The novel is written from the third-person perspective and shows very authentic, sometimes even shocking descriptions of human cruelty.

The story starts when a man with two broken legs is thrown down from a helicopter and crashes somewhere in the California desert. Later on, we find out that this person was related to Jack Reacher who was in Portland at the beginning of the story. Having abandoned his military service around 10 years ago, Reacher now travels with only a few clothing items and an ATM card and doesn’t even have a phone. He tries to stay incognito but when a mysterious stranger sends him a deposit with a hidden code, he realizes someone’s looking for him. It turned to be Frances Neagley from Chicago (one of the few characters who appear in a number of books in this series), a Reacher’s former colleague from the military service. She reveals a horrible truth that members of their elite squad are being hunted down. Jack teams up with Frances and a few other men he served with.

As the new-formed team starts their investigation, they get more questions than answers. What is more, their two other military colleagues are now gone missing. The story brings the characters to the bright lights of Las Vegas where they face up the threat of international terrorism. Now, the guys have to come up with the plan and find a way to sabotage the deal between the villains and prevent them from selling ballistic missiles. Whether they manage to do so or not, you can find only at the end of the book.

Lee Child’s 61 Hours is one of the most intense stories about Jack Reacher. The 14th installment of the series was published in 2010 and became New York Times best-seller. It was highly praised by critics and welcomed by the audience, so we couldn’t exclude it from our list of the best Jack Reacher books. The story is engaging from the very first page and will keep you guessing until the very end.

At the beginning of the novel, Jack Reacher takes a ride on the bus with tourists. Unfortunately, it gets caught in the storm and crashes. Due to the bad weather conditions, people from the bus have to stay in the nearest town of Bolton, South Dacota, to wait for the storm to calm. In the meantime, the biker gang leader awaits trial in the local prison (which is considered one of the biggest penitentiaries in the country). The only witness Janet Salter who can testify and put the criminal behind the bars for drug dealing is currently under protection. But when the riot occurs in the prison and all the police forces move to settle it down, an anonymous killer tries to shoot her. Reacher comes up with his help and promises to protect Jane’s life until the trial process.

The main hero contacts the Virginia office of the military police, where he used to serve. Over the phone, Jack meets the new Major Susan Turner, and something special has immediately sparked between them. She decides to help Jack, and soon they find out who was the prick in the local police and who helped to organize the riot as well as the assassination attempt on the witness.

At the end of the story, when 61 hours run out, Reacher has to find a way to stop a horrific plan of the bad guys and try to stay alive himself. The finale will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very last page.

Blue Moon by Lee Child is a perfect choice for all the action lovers. As for now, this thriller is the latest, 24th book in the series, yet, the author still manages to find new plot twists and interesting turns to make the whole story unusual and look different from his other novels. The book was even called “one of the best” by The Time magazine.

Jack Reacher takes a night bus to go nowhere with a few strangers. However, thanks to his natural power of observation and close attention to details, he quickly realizes that they are not just ordinary people as they might seem. His companions on this ride are an old man sleeping in his seat and a younger guy with definitely something bad in his mind. The old man carries an envelope with cash in his pocket and both Reacher and the other guy noticed that. When the criminal tries to get-rich-quick, Jack just can’t stay by and stops the bad guy. He also offers help to the old man and wants to accompany him home. Yet, the man refuses while looking scared and really intimidated by something.

It also turns out that the city where the protagonist arrives is torn apart by two rival criminal gangs. Each of them struggles for power and full control over the city. But how can this innocent-looking old man get in trouble with dangerous gangs? Jack decides to find the answer and starts his investigation. Andб as always, his own life is now hanging on a thread. Now, you will have to find out by yourself if Jack Reacher manages to avert the threat.

Persuader is the seventh book in the series about Jack Reacher that was published back in 2003 and since then, it has already become time-proven series classics. In this novel, you can clearly see Lee Child’s unique style and manner of storytelling, which made him one of the most beloved and bestselling authors worldwide.

Here, Jack Reacher goes undercover as he secretly cooperates with the Drug Enforcement Organization to get close to Zachary Beck, a criminal who is allegedly smuggling drugs. To do so, the agency stages the kidnapping of Zachary’s son Richard and allow Reacher to save him. In return, Beck offers Reacher a job as his bodyguard. While working on this case, it takes Jack much effort and attention to stay undercover, and along the way, he has to get rid of a few Beck’s men who threaten to expose him. As the story goes, we also find out that the maid who works in the house is an undercover agent who tries to prove Zachary’s involvement in arms trafficking. The DEO wants to get Jack off the case but he refuses to do so in his brand manner.

To further spice things up, Reacher meets his old enemy Francis Xavier Quinn who tortured and killed one of Jack’s female military colleagues ten years ago. Jack was sure that Quinn was dead until he finds out that he is actually Zachary Beck’s boss. Intrigued about how Quinn has managed to survive, he starts his own investigation. He decides to get closer to his old enemy to revenge and unwind the new case while he’s at it. It is hard to imagine how he gets through this complicated situation, but the author has carefully crafted the plot twists and a smart idea will definitely shock you (in a good way).

Killing Floor is Lee Child’s debut novel and the first book ever written about Jack Reacher. It was published in 1997 and won the Barry Award and Anthony Award as the best debut novel of the year. So let's take a closer look at this story and find out if it's worth reading.

We meet the main character when he steps out from a bus in the town of Margrave, Georgia. This place seems incorrupt and perfect at a glance, which makes everything look even more suspicious. Jack decided to visit this place because the musician Blind Blake allegedly died here. While sitting in the cafe, Jack Reacher, who is the only stranger in the town, is arrested. Later, it turned out that on the day he arrived, the city was shattered by the murder, which has been the first crime of this kind within the recent 30 years. The victim was a middle-aged man who had a paper piece with a phone number in his shoe. Reacher found out all of that while being in custody from the officers Finlay and Roscoe who believe he is innocent. Jack persuades them to call this phone number and the men who answered confesses to the crime. Before Jack gets released from jail, he also manages to save himself and the killer from a mysterious assassination attempt. Now, when his innocence is proven, he decides to join the investigation.

As the story goes, we get to know that the murdered man was someone whom Jack knew very well, so, he has a huge motivation to find the killer. It also becomes obvious that this person wasn’t the only victim. While Reacher tries to connect the dots, the streets of a small quiet town become flooded with dead bodies. So, if you want to find out how all those murders and Jack’s fake accusations relate to money laundering, read this book.