I used to say after every Jack Reacher novel that I wouldn’t read another one. That may not sound like a ringing endorsement of the series, but noticed the qualifier. I “used” to say that. The fact is, I’d finish one novel, say I was done, and after a few months I’d see another at a used bookstore, pick it up, and inevitably read it. Now that I have more than half the series on my shelf, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m probably going to read them all.
There are worse things.
Author Lee Child doesn’t plan his stories, and it shows. Some of the books are drastically better than others. Some have tight plots. Some spend too much in search of a plot. And as the last of the blockbuster novelists, he can get away with it. So his clear refusal to plan too far ahead is a problem. What he does do, which I admire, is agonize over his word choices. Since he got his start in TV writing, it makes sense that he wants his books to sound good.
So who is Jack Reacher?
Jack Reacher is a one-man A-Team, except that instead of running from the Military Police he was one. In many ways he’s also a modern day Conan the Barbarian, an impossibly huge man (in one book, he builds up his pecs so much he’s basically bulletproof) who travels the countryside providing aid through the most violent means imaginable. He sometimes beds beautiful women, but never stays in one place long enough to have a real relationship.
Reacher is a red-blooded man’s fantasy.
With nearly 30 books and short stories out there, I’m not sure how many I have read. When I worked in a library I used to listen to Reacher novels while shelving books, and after a certain point they all started to blend together (though I still remember where I was working when I heard certain things). You don’t need to go through them order, either, and that scattershot approach has my memory muddled.
As I said, some are better than others. So here are three that I’ve read more than once.
Killing Floor
The first is often the best, and this one was written when Lee Child was hungry. It’s probably the most carefully plotted of the series, taking Reacher on his first out-of-the-Army adventure in a small town when he's arrested for muder and stumbles into a counterfiting operation. And it gets personal. It's also unique in that it’s the only novel I’m aware of that’s written in first person. If the Amazon TV series adaptation (you can read my review here) was too gruesome for you, the book is even bloodier, so be forewarned.
One Shot
You don’t need to completely put the Tom Cruise movie out of your head to enjoy this one, as it follows the book pretty closely. Well, except for the Tom Cruise part. This was the first Reacher novel I read and it clearly made a good impression. Reacher has to prove that the man confessing to an assassination isn't guilty. There’s a reason why it was picked as the first screen adaptation, as it provides an engaging introduction to the character and isn’t as horribly, horribly, violent as the first book.
61 Hours
This is a fun ticking clock adventure that puts Reacher in a cold environment. Actually, it’s more of a running out the clock, as Reacher needs to protect a woman for (you guessed it) 61 hours. It’s been awhile since I read this one, so my memory is a little hazy on the content. But the unique setting makes this a good one for snowy days.
Dishonorable mention: Without Fail
Book six reminds us that no author is without fails, and this book is a disaster. Reacher is pulled in to protect the Vice President from a Thanksgiving Day assassination. Maybe if I’m feeling like a completist I’ll read it again. But if you’re interested in the series and see this one at a yard sale, wait until you find something better.
