Best Jack Reacher Books in the UK

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 Jack Reacher books” 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 realises 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. And, 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.

One of the latest Lee Child’s novels about Jack Reacher is called Past Tense and was published in 2018. In the previous books, the author introduced us to other members of Jack’s family, but in this book, we will get a chance to know more about his father and his side of the family.

In the beginning, we find out that Reacher winds up in the city of Laconia, New Hampshire on his way to Portsmouth. Jack has never been there but he heard about this place since his father was born and raised there. But once he tries to find out anything about his dad, it turns out that no one with the name Reacher has ever lived in this town. This is when Jack’s new adventure starts. He involves in a fight with a local corrupted farmer and barely escapes from a killer sent by a Boston crime syndicate. In the meantime, though, he manages to get a clue about his family and learns that a university professor with a surname Reacher wants to speak to him.

What makes the book even more interesting is that there are two plot lines. Apart from Jack’s adventures, we also meet two Canadian migrants who seek help after their car broke. They meet four men who offer them to stay in a hotel. Little did the couple know that they were walking into a trap and would be hunted down like animals. And when their story interwines with Jack’s own story, the action becomes even more captivating.

In this story, Jack Reacher will have not only to deal with his own problems but also to try to save people from horrible and undeserved death. At the very end, the readers also will be able to get the answers to the question of what actually happened with Jack’s father and other family members, and this answer is truly unexpected and shocking.

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.

If you want to read a book about Jack Reacher that is filled with thriller elements, we suggest giving Tripwire a try. It is the third book in the series, which was highly praised by critics for its plot and Lee Childs' writing style.

Tripwire starts with the description of Victor Truman "Hook" Hobie who has a detailed plan of his escape with lots of traps and tricks. In order to protect himself, he sets a specific system, the so-called tripwires, and the narrative shifts when both of tripwires go on one day.

The story takes a turn and the readers end up in the tropical atmosphere of Key West, where Jack Reacher seemingly found his peace. He tries to live a normal life and works as a pool cleaner and a bouncer in a club. During his night shift, he discovers that some investigator from New York is looking for him. On top of that, two suspicious-looking men are trying to find Reacher as well. But while following them, Jack stumbles upon the dead body of the New York detective. After some research, he finds out that this investigator, Costello, was working with some woman Mrs Jacob, so, he has to fly to Big Apple. There, he meets her at the funeral of his command officer and mentor Leon Garber. Mrs Jacob turns out to be his daughter Jodie who was looking for Reacher so that he would help her investigate her father’s latest case.

Here’s where we return to Victor Hobie who is actually a military helicopter pilot. His family is looking for him after he has gone missing in Vietnam, and the grieving relatives were tricked to give their money to someone named Rutter. Now Jack with the help of Jodie tries to unravel this secret and bring the bad guy down. So, if you want to find out if the justice was served, give this book a go.

The Visitor, also known as Running Blind in the US, is one of the most intense and gruesome stories about the American major Jack Reacher. It features an interesting detective story spiced up with some mystery and thriller elements, so, if you seek a long intense read, it should fit the bill perfectly.

While working on the other case, Jack Reacher beats up two thugs. At his house, he gets arrested, not because of a fight but because of two military women, Sergeant Amy Callan and Lieutenant Caroline Cooke, who were killed, and Reacher has a fitting criminal profile. It turns out that while serving in the military police, he was working with them on cases about sexual harassment, and the investigators suspect that he may be involved in the murder. Since Jack has no alibi, he gets help from his girlfriend-lawyer who take him out of the prison. But when the next murder occurs, FBI forces Reacher to help them with this case.

Jack starts working with the mysterious agent Lamar who seems to have her own secrets. And even though eventually he manages to get out of FBI’s control, the murders don’t stop. What makes the case even harder is that there are no traces of violence on the bodies. So, Jack has to find out how and, most importantly, why they were killed. The end of the story is truly unexpected and shocking, and the killer turns out to be someone whom military forces could never suspect. If you want to get an answer to this mystery (which may or may not involve hypnosis), start reading this book.