Reading order · 31 books · 1997 to 2026
Jack Reacher Books in Order
Jack Reacher is a former military policeman who drifts across America with no home and no luggage, and keeps finding trouble in the towns he passes through. Each novel stands alone, and several are prequels set during his army career. From The Sentinel on, Lee Child writes the series with his brother, Andrew Child.
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Series facts
- Books
- 31
- Published
- 1997 to 2026
- First book
- Killing Floor
- Latest
- Chain Reaction (2026)
- Order
- Story order differs from publication order
The reading order
Every Jack Reacher book in publication order, with the story order a switch away. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
31 books
- 1Killing Floor1997With Jack ReacherJack Reacher gets off a bus in Margrave, Georgia, on a whim and is arrested for murder within the hour.Buy on Amazon
- 2Die Trying1998With Jack ReacherReacher stops on a Chicago street to help a woman on crutches and is bundled into a van with her.Buy on Amazon
- 3Tripwire1999With Jack ReacherReacher is digging swimming pools in Key West when a private detective comes asking for him and turns up dead.Buy on Amazon
- 4Running Blind2000With Jack ReacherWomen who left the army after complaints of harassment are being found dead in their homes, with no sign of how they died.Buy on Amazon
- 5Echo Burning2001With Jack ReacherHitchhiking across Texas in a heatwave, Reacher is picked up by Carmen Greer, who tells him her husband is about to get out of prison and will hurt her again.Buy on Amazon
- 6Without Fail2002With Jack ReacherThe Secret Service asks Reacher to find the weak spots in its protection of the vice president-elect by planning how he would kill him.Buy on Amazon
- 7Persuader2003With Jack ReacherReacher goes undercover inside the guarded house of a rug importer on the Maine coast, working with a federal agent whose colleague vanished there.Buy on Amazon
- 8The Enemy2004With Jack ReacherA prequel set on New Year’s Eve 1990.Buy on Amazon
- 9One Shot2005With Jack ReacherA sniper kills five people in an Indiana city, and the evidence against a former army sniper, James Barr, looks airtight.Buy on Amazon
- 10The Hard Way2006With Jack ReacherIn New York, Reacher sees what turns out to be a ransom payment and is hired by Edward Lane, a former soldier running a private military company, to find his kidnapped wife and stepdaughter.Buy on Amazon
- 11Bad Luck and Trouble2007With Jack ReacherReacher finds a coded payment in his bank account from Frances Neagley, the signal that his old army investigations unit needs him.Buy on Amazon
- 12Nothing to Lose2008With Jack ReacherWalking across Colorado, Reacher passes from the town of Hope into the town of Despair, where he is arrested for vagrancy and thrown out.Buy on Amazon
- 13Gone Tomorrow2009With Jack ReacherLate at night on a New York subway train, Reacher notices a woman who matches every point on a checklist for spotting a suicide bomber.Buy on Amazon
- 1461 Hours2010With Jack ReacherStranded in a South Dakota winter after a bus crash, Reacher agrees to help the town of Bolton protect a witness, an elderly librarian, from a drug gang.Buy on Amazon
- 15Worth Dying For2010With Jack ReacherStill nursing his injuries, Reacher stops in a corner of Nebraska ruled by the Duncan family and their trucking business.Buy on Amazon
- 16The Affair2011With Jack ReacherA prequel set in 1997, before Reacher left the army.Buy on Amazon
- 17A Wanted Man2012With Jack ReacherWith a broken nose and no ride, Reacher is picked up on a Nebraska highway by two men and a woman who say they are work colleagues.Buy on Amazon
- 18Never Go Back2013With Jack ReacherReacher finally reaches the headquarters of his old unit in Virginia to meet Major Susan Turner, only to find she has been arrested.Buy on Amazon
- 19Personal2014With Jack ReacherSomeone has taken a long-range shot at the president of France in Paris, and only a handful of snipers in the world could have made it.Buy on Amazon
- 20Make Me2015With Jack ReacherReacher gets off a train at Mother’s Rest, Missouri, because he likes the name.Buy on Amazon
- 21Night School2016With Jack ReacherA prequel set in 1996.Buy on Amazon
- 22The Midnight Line2017With Jack ReacherIn a Wisconsin pawn shop Reacher finds a small West Point class ring and wonders why its owner gave it up.Buy on Amazon
- 23Past Tense2018With Jack ReacherPassing through New Hampshire, Reacher takes a detour to Laconia, the town where his father was born.Buy on Amazon
- 24Blue Moon2019With Jack ReacherOn a bus, Reacher sees an old man about to be robbed and steps in.Buy on Amazon
- 25The Sentinel2020With Jack ReacherReacher arrives in a small Tennessee town in time to stop the kidnapping of Rusty Rutherford, an IT manager blamed for a cyber attack that shut the town down.Buy on Amazon
- 26Better Off Dead2021With Jack ReacherNear the Mexican border in Arizona, Reacher stops at a crashed jeep and meets Michaela Fenton, an army veteran searching for her twin brother.Buy on Amazon
- 27No Plan B2022With Jack ReacherIn a Colorado city Reacher sees a woman pushed under a bus, though the police call it suicide.Buy on Amazon
- 28The Secret2023With Jack ReacherA prequel set in 1992.Buy on Amazon
- 29In Too Deep2024With Jack ReacherReacher wakes up handcuffed to a metal table in a room he does not recognise, with no memory of how he got there.Buy on Amazon
- 30Exit Strategy2025With Jack ReacherReacher’s day of routine errands takes a turn when he finds a desperate handwritten plea for help in his pocket, and he sets out to learn who needs him and why.Buy on Amazon
- 31Chain Reaction2026With Jack ReacherBuy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
The Reacher books can be read in any order, since each has its own story and Reacher carries little from one book to the next. Publication order shows how his history builds up; the prequels (The Enemy, Night School, The Affair and The Secret) can be read whenever you like.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Jack Reacher | Frances Neagley | Joe Reacher | Leon Garber | Jodie Garber | Susan Turner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Killing Floor | LLead | MMajor | ||||
| 2 Die Trying | LLead | |||||
| 3 Tripwire | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 4 Running Blind | LLead | MMajor | ||||
| 5 Echo Burning | LLead | |||||
| 6 Without Fail | LLead | MMajor | ||||
| 7 Persuader | LLead | |||||
| 8 The Enemy | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | |||
| 9 One Shot | LLead | |||||
| 10 The Hard Way | LLead | |||||
| 11 Bad Luck and Trouble | LLead | MMajor | ||||
| 12 Nothing to Lose | LLead | |||||
| 13 Gone Tomorrow | LLead | |||||
| 14 61 Hours | LLead | MMajor | ||||
| 15 Worth Dying For | LLead | |||||
| 16 The Affair | LLead | |||||
| 17 A Wanted Man | LLead | |||||
| 18 Never Go Back | LLead | MMajor | ||||
| 19 Personal | LLead | |||||
| 20 Make Me | LLead | |||||
| 21 Night School | LLead | MMajor | ||||
| 22 The Midnight Line | LLead | |||||
| 23 Past Tense | LLead | |||||
| 24 Blue Moon | LLead | |||||
| 25 The Sentinel | LLead | |||||
| 26 Better Off Dead | LLead | |||||
| 27 No Plan B | LLead | |||||
| 28 The Secret | LLead | |||||
| 29 In Too Deep | LLead | |||||
| 30 Exit Strategy | LLead | |||||
| 31 Chain Reaction | LLead |
Characters in the Jack Reacher books
17 characters from Lee Child’s chart, with the number of Jack Reacher books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Jack ReacherFormer US Army military police major who drifts across America | 31 | Killing Floor 1997 |
| Frances NeagleyFormer sergeant in Reacher’s military police unit | 3 | Without Fail 2002 |
| Joe ReacherJack’s older brother, a Treasury investigator | 2 | Killing Floor 1997 |
| Leon GarberReacher’s former commanding officer | 2 | Tripwire 1999 |
| Jodie GarberLeon Garber’s daughter | 2 | Tripwire 1999 |
| Susan TurnerMajor commanding Reacher’s old unit | 2 | 61 Hours 2010 |
| Paul FinlayChief of detectives in Margrave | 1 | Killing Floor 1997 |
| RoscoeMargrave police officer | 1 | Killing Floor 1997 |
| Dominique KohlMilitary police sergeant who served under Reacher | 1 | Persuader 2003 |
| Francis QuinnFormer intelligence officer | 1 | Persuader 2003 |
| Josephine ReacherJack and Joe’s French mother | 1 | The Enemy 2004 |
| Lauren PaulingFormer FBI agent turned private investigator | 1 | The Hard Way 2006 |
| Karla DixonFormer member of Reacher’s unit | 1 | Bad Luck and Trouble 2007 |
| David O’DonnellFormer member of Reacher’s unit | 1 | Bad Luck and Trouble 2007 |
| Casey NiceState Department analyst | 1 | Personal 2014 |
| Michelle ChangFormer FBI agent | 1 | Make Me 2015 |
| Stan ReacherJack’s father, a US Marine | 1 | Past Tense 2018 |