Jack Reacher Books in Order

The Jack Reacher series is a thriller series written by Lee Child and later co-authored by Andrew Child, following a former U.S. Army Military Police officer who travels across the United States and steps in when he encounters people in serious trouble.

For a complete list of books by Lee Child, see Lee Child Books in Order.
For a complete list of books by Andrew Child, see Andrew Child Books in Order.

Latest Jack Reacher Books

Exit Strategy
Exit Strategy (November 2025)

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Jack Reacher Series (Books in Order)

Reading Order

  1. Killing Floor ( #1), 1997
  2. Die Trying (#2), 1998
  3. Tripwire (#3), 1999
  4. The Visitor (#4), 2000 (also titled Running Blind)
  5. Echo Burning (#5), 2001
  6. Without Fail (#6), 2002
  7. Persuader (#7), 2003
  8. The Enemy (#8), 2004
  9. One Shot (#9), 2005
  10. The Hard Way (#10), 2006
  11. Bad Luck And Trouble (#11), 2007
  12. Nothing To Lose (#12), 2007
  13. Gone Tomorrow (#13), 2009
  14. 61 Hours (#14), 2010
  15. Worth Dying For (#15), 2010
  16. Second Son (#15.5), 2011
  17. The Affair (#16), 2011
  18. Deep Down (#16.5), 2012
  19. A Wanted Man (#17), 2012
  20. High Heat (#17.5), 2013
  21. Never Go Back (#18), 2013
  22. Not a Drill (#18.5), 2014
  23. Personal (#19), 2014
  24. Good and Valuable Consideration (#19.1), 2014 (with Joseph Finder)
  25. Small Wars (#19.5), 2015
  26. Make Me (#20), 2015
  27. Night School (#21), 2016
  28. The Midnight Line (#22), 2017
  29. James Penney’s New Identity (#12.5), 2017
  30. Too Much Time (#22.3), 2018
  31. Faking a Murderer (#22.4), 2018
  32. The Christmas Scorpion (#22.5), 2018
  33. Past Tense (#23), 2018
  34. The Fourth Man (#23.5), 2019
  35. Cleaning the Gold (#23.6), 2019 (with Karin Slaughter)
  36. Blue Moon (#24), 2019
  37. The Sentinel (#25), 2020
  38. Better Off Dead (#26), 2021
  39. No Plan B (#27), 2022
  40. The Secret (#28), 2023
  41. New Kid in Town (#28.5), 2024
  42. In Too Deep (#29), 2024
  43. Exit Strategy (#30), 2025
  44. Chain Reaction (#31), 2026

Reading notes:

  • The list above shows the Jack Reacher novels, short stories and crossovers in publication order. Most books can be read as standalones and you don’t have to follow the order strictly.
  • Several stories take place earlier in Reacher’s career, before Killing Floor, for example Second Son, High Heat, Deep Down, Small Wars, The Enemy, Night School, The Affair, The Secret and other short stories that look back at his army days. If you enjoy origin-style stories, you can read those as background either before or after the main novels.

Who is Jack Reacher?

Jack Reacher is a former U.S. Army Military Police major who lives a nomadic lifestyle with almost no possessions, traveling across the United States without a permanent home.

He is often described as very tall (around 6’5″), heavily built, with a rugged appearance. Wherever he goes he tends to get involved in dangerous situations, where he either helps law enforcement or acts on his own when he encounters serious injustice, including times when he himself is accused of a crime.

Story Arcs Within the Jack Reacher Series

Although most Jack Reacher books stand alone, there is a notable four-book arc that follows a single thread in more detail:

  • 61 Hours
  • Worth Dying For
  • A Wanted Man
  • Never Go Back

These four novels follow Reacher’s journey as he tries to reach the headquarters of his old unit in Virginia and eventually confronts events from his past in Never Go Back. Readers who enjoy a stronger sense of continuity often choose to read these four in order.

Other Books Featuring Jack Reacher

  • Good and Valuable Consideration: Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller – a crossover short story co-written with Joseph Finder, originally published in the anthology Face Off, where Reacher encounters private investigator Nick Heller in Boston.
  • Cleaning the Gold – a crossover novella co-written with Karin Slaughter, bringing Reacher together with Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Will Trent on a case linked to an old murder at Fort Knox.
  • New Kid in Town: A Jack Reacher Story – a 2024 short story by Andrew Child, originally part of the Hotel California anthology, following Reacher as he hitchhikes through rural Texas and intervenes when he uncovers a local criminal hiding in a small town.

These short stories are not required for following the main series, but they offer extra cases and character engagement for readers who want more stories set in the Jack Reacher universe.

Where to Start with the Jack Reacher Series

  • Best starting point: Killing Floor – the first published Jack Reacher novel and the book that introduces Reacher’s life as an ex-military drifter arriving in a small Georgia town where he quickly runs into serious trouble.
  • If you enjoy origin stories set earlier in his career: You can also start with one of the “prequel” stories that look back at Reacher’s army years and earlier life, such as The Enemy, Night School, The Affair or short stories like Second Son and High Heat. These take place before Killing Floor in Reacher’s personal timeline but were published later.
  • If you just want to try a recent book: The newer co-authored novels like The Sentinel, No Plan B, The Secret, In Too Deep or Exit Strategy work as standalones. You’ll miss a few callbacks, but you can comfortably start with any of them and go backwards or forwards in the series from there.

Related Lee Child / Andrew Child Series

  • Lee Child Books in Order – complete bibliography of Lee Child, including all Jack Reacher novels, short stories and related works.
  • Andrew Child Books in Order – complete list of thrillers written by Andrew Child (also published as Andrew Grant), including his work co-authoring the Jack Reacher novels.

Edited by

Marika

Founder of Mystery Sequels, a reference site focused on listing mystery and thriller books in the correct reading order. I maintain and update the site’s bibliographies as new titles are released, ensuring accuracy and consistency across author and series pages.
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25 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for these books, I have all the Eric Van Lustbader series of the “Ninji” asnd have been looking for another series similar. You have given me my love of reading back! Also my husband has enjoyed all the ones I have successfully purchased. Now looking for more!!!!

  2. I read the Jack Reacher books through Bad Luck and lost interest in them. However, the Cruise movies got me reading them again starting with “Make Me” and “Night School” and realized how hooked you get once you start reading one of them.

    The movies got me interested again but Cruise is not the right person to play Reacher and was glad to hear Child is looking for an actor that fits the size needed to take them to NetFlix. Regardless of how that works out, I still have a lot of books to read this year.

  4. I love and will continue to read the Reacher books, but absolutely refuse to watch Tom Cruise in the movie. I never liked him to begin with and he simply cannot plat Reacher.

  5. Will not watch a Reacher movie. Have never been a Tom Cruise fan and could not believe he cast himself as Reacher. Does he not own a mirror? The author comes closer. Understand Cruise bought rights to all Reacher movie rights. Please say it aint’t so. Guess I will never see a Reacher movie. Good thing I’m a book lover.

  6. Dear Mr. Childs,
    I have read the majority of the Jack Reacher novels. You describe his height and weight yet somehow Tom Cruise is selected for the movie roll. Tom Cruise may do well in the Mission Impossible series BUT he is no Jack Reacher…not even close! I’ve seen the ‘Jack Reacher’ movie and it’s almost impossible to look at Tom trying to portray the part of your character. Just my 2 cents. Thank you for your books – they are very entertaining.

  7. After reading ” 61 Hours” I was devastated to think Reacher might be dead! You have no idea how happy I was when the next Reacher book came out!!

    1. I thought he was dead too….when next book came out, I hoped it would tell how he survived…..but did not find the answer……

  8. I have enjoyed all the Lee Child stories of Jack Reacher have just finished 61 Hours. Is there a follow up to this one. Great books!
    It couldn’t end there for Jack I would be so disappointed!

  9. I read each Reacher book as soon as it is released and then anticipate each new story. I love Jack Reacher as the “good guy” who always makes things right. I wish there were more. Several times, I have gone back and re-read them all one after another just to get my fix.

  10. WOW! What a great, informative post! I’ve heard of Jack Reacher but didn’t know he wrote so many novels. I also like the idea that it doesn’t matter the order that one reads his books. Thanks for sharing.

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