Who is Jack Reacher?

No suitcase. No destination. No middle name. No matter how far Reacher travels off the beaten path, trouble always finds him. Feel bad for trouble.

Who Is Jack Reacher?

Known simply as Reacher, he is a 6 foot 5” 220–250lb corrector of problems with a real sense of what is right and what is wrong.

Born into a military way of life on an American base in Berlin, Germany, his dad being in the USMC. Jack grew up on various military bases around the world including the Philippines. His father was killed in service, after serving in both Korea and Vietnam. This, however, didn’t deter the young Reacher who when reaching 18 years of age, Jack decided to follow in his footsteps and joined the military too, but opted to join the Army instead.

He became an officer after graduating West Point then joined the Military Police, where he served around the world, including Germany, Beirut, Panama, Grenada also both Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

With his rugged looks, icy blue eyes, dirty blond hair and impressive presence, he is a magnet for a lot of the women he comes into contact with during his travels. He is actually a fine example of having “friends with benefits” where he is straight with people from the start as to what the outcome will be.

 

Service Life
Completed 13 years of Army service, demoted from Major to Captain in 1990, leaving finally with the rank of Major in 1997. Along the way he was awarded the following medals; Silver Star, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Soldier’s Medal, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart plus other less important ones

Family
He had an interesting relationship with his dad, who was a strict and hard man. Reacher once replied when asked about his father,“Harder than a nail. Next to him, I look like Liberace.”

His mother Josephine Moutier Reacher was 30 when Jack was born. Died in 1990, she lived in Paris.

Reacher and his brother Joe had just visited her and at this time discovered at 13 years of age she joined the French resistance ( using the alias Beatrice ) at one point she garroted a schoolmate, a boy who threatened to give her up to the Nazis. Joe, a couple of years older, similar build at 6’6″, 220-250 lbs. Born on an Army base in the Far East he as a kid seemed to be the one older kids went looking for due to his height to have a fight with. Reacher then used to go and sort out the older kids who gave Joe the problems in school.

Joe also graduated from West Point and served 5 years in Army Military Intelligence before joining the Treasury Dept.He died at the young age of 38 in the line of duty.

Reachers Friends
Friends and small talk, neither really appeals to Reacher.

There are a couple of exceptions to the rule however;

Frances L. Neagley  Master Sgt while serving with Reacher, started her own business as a security consultant and investigator. Reacher has a lot of respect for this woman, admiring her level of professionalism. He wanted to put her forward for officer school while in the army and she refused point blank. They have a purely platonic friendship, they respect each other highly and work so well as a team.

General Leon Garber, US Army was Reachers mentor, Sadly passed away age 64 of heart failure, leaving behind one daughter, Jodie. At the age of 15, Jodie met Reacher and fell for him, had a huge crush on him. Reacher had always had a thing for Jodie as a friend, but out of respect for her dad had told her things would never work nor happen between them. Jodie got married, worked as a corporate attorney. She’s then bumped back into Reacher, but now she’s divorced…….

Reacher
Since leaving the army, Reacher has never settled down anywhere or with anyone. He was left a house as part of an estate from a death of a friend but didn’t want it, as it would tie him down to the area and the responsibility. He can drive but doesn’t particularly enjoy doing so, He doesn’t own a car or vehicle, as this would mean him having to register & insure the vehicle and so appearing on databases. He works for cash in hand when he needs money, forget about any tax returns (doesn’t do them; he hasn’t filed taxes since he left the Army). As he’s not claimed any government benefits he is happy working for cash, as he spends his money in the local economy of wherever he is living/visiting.

People claim they travel light, but they are not in the same league as this guy. Cash, fold away toothbrush and he’s good to go. He buys new clothes every few days, cheaper than paying for laundry, luggage to carry spares. Forget designer labels ( His brother had a nice collection of top quality suits, shirts, ties and shoes ), cheap, cheerful and practical are what Reacher wants.

His army training combined with his upbringing has made a unique person in Jack Reacher. He is an expert marksman, can ( and does ) kill with his bare hands. He has a logical mind, using his investigator’s logical thinking and common sense he is able to solve incidents where others are baffled. He’s no longer bound by rules, so he exploits this fact and will happily make threats of violence towards the bad guys and quickly follow on to carry out these acts, to get the answers to the questions he is asking.

Reacher Books

No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Stories (Jack Reacher Short Stories) I haven’t got around to reading as yet. Although I ordered to take on holiday with me, via Amazon in the UK, like an idiot I left it at home.So when I landed in America, I ordered it again from Amazon.com and got it delivered next day.

As I have bought all the books in the collection, this was my first time thinking about trying out these short stories. There are hundreds of reviews and people in the main seem to like this format too.

This anthology compiles the complete collection of Reacher short stories to date and includes an original novella, “Too Much Time”, which leads into THE MIDNIGHT LINE (the 22nd Reacher novel). This is alongside eleven reader favorites: “Deep Down”, “Everyone Talks”, “Guy Walks into a Bar”, “High Heat”, “James Penney’s New Identity” (the original version which is longer), “Maybe They Have a Tradition”, “No Room at the Motel”, “Not a Drill”, “Second Son”, “Small Wars”, and “The Picture of the Lonely Diner”.

Past Tense

On his way back from Maine, Reacher decides to visit his father’s ancestral home – a place he’d heard a lot about as a kid. Over the years Reacher managed to spend time with his mother in Paris, learning more about her younger days. He decides it’s now time to find out more about his father. But the rural New Hampshire town turns out to be more of a mystery than a homecoming when he discovers no record of anyone named Reacher ever having lived there.
Out in November 2018, UK readers can order this title here for swift delivery.

 

If you’re a collector of these books, the American market have the same book but with a different cover.

Last update on 2023-09-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API