Discover

'Jack Reacher', commonly known simply as "Reacher," is a fictional character created by author Lee Child.

Contents

Biographical information

Physical Appearance

Family

Acquaintances

Travels

Appearances

See Also

External links

Biographical information

Jack Reacher is a former U.S. Army Military Police Major. He was born on a military base in Berlin on October 29, 1960. Aged 18, he went to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
He graduated and served 13 years as a Military Policeman, during which he was asked to lead a fictional unit, the 110th Special Investigations Unit, formed to handle exceptionally tough cases, especially those involving members of the United States Army Special Forces.
Though he was demoted from Major to Captain in 1990 (see ''The Enemy'' by Lee Child), he had regained the rank of Major by the time he mustered out in 1997. He was the recipient of many military awards during his career: the Silver Star, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Soldier's Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, and a Purple Heart. He is also the only non-marine to win the Wimbledon Cup, a sniper competition held at the Marine Sniper Academy (see ''Die Trying'' and ''One Shot'' by Lee Child).
Since mustering out, Reacher has been a drifter.
Reacher has the uncanny ability to know what time it is, at any time of the day, without referring to a timepiece. In ''Bad Luck and Trouble'' he is revealed to have a fascination with mathematics.

Physical Appearance

Reacher has blue eyes and fair hair.
He is a giant of a man, standing at 6'5" (1.96m) tall with a 50-inch chest, and weighing between 220 to 250 pounds (100-115kg).
He is shown in the various novels to be exceptionally strong as well but is not a good runner.

Family

Reacher's mother 'Josephine Moutier Reacher' was born in 1930 in France, was 30 when Reacher was born. She was widowed in 1988, and died in 1990 at the age of 60. When she was only 13, she joined the French Resistance and under the alias "Beatrice" worked with ''Le Chemin de Fer Humain'' (the Human Railroad), saving 80 men. She garroted a schoolmate, a boy who threatened to give her up to the Nazis. Josephine Moutier was awarded the ''Médaille de la Résistance'' (the Resistance Medal) for her heroism.
Reacher's father was a Marine, who served in Korea and Vietnam. His service in the United States Marine Corps kept his family continually moving all around the world to various military bases. He died in 1988. When describing his father, Jack is quoted as saying, "He was a stone killer. Made me look like Liberace." After military service, "there was no place left for people like him."
Jack has only one sibling, brother 'Joe Reacher'. Two years older than Jack, Joe was born on a military base in the Philippines. Jack used to help Joe beat up the kids who gave him trouble in school, and vice versa. Joe was also a West Point graduate, and spent five years in Military Intelligence before joining the Treasury Department. He never won any of the "good medals", only the junk awards. Joe died at the age of 38, having arranged a meeting with a potential investigation subject (see ''Killing Floor''). Because he was killed in the line of duty, he can be found on the Treasury's Roll of Honour.

Acquaintances

★ 'Officer Roscoe', ''(30)'', is a police officer, appearing in ''Killing Floor''.

★ 'Holly Johnson', ''(27)'', is a newly inducted FBI Special Agent and former Wall Street stock analyst. She is dark, attractive, self-assured and a knee ligament injury sustained whilst playing soccer requires her to use a cane. She appeared in ''Die Trying''.

★ 'Jodie Garber Jacob', ''(30)'', is the daughter of General Leon Garber ''(The Enemy)''. She met and fell in love with Reacher when she was 15 and was totally off-limits to him. In ''Tripwire'', she is divorced, using her maiden name and working as a corporate attorney. She appeared in ''Tripwire'' and ''Running Blind''.

★ 'General Leon Garber', ''(retired)'', is the father of Jodie, a General who knew Reacher, helped him in ''Die Trying'', and willed him his house. He appeared in ''Die Trying'' and ''The Enemy''.

★ 'Lisa Harper', ''(29)'', is an FBI Agent, stationed at Quantico. She appeared in ''Running Blind'' (''The Visitor'' in the United Kingdom).

★ 'Alice Amanda Aaron', ''(25)'', graduated from Harvard Law School, practicing law at a legal mission in Pecos, Texas, as penance for coming from a wealthy family. She appeared in ''Echo Burning''.

★ 'Carmen Greer', ''(30)'', is a housewife, short, slim, dark-skinned, fine-boned, "maybe 100 pounds". She is married with one child and an abusive husband. She appeared in ''Echo Burning''.

★ 'Frances Neagley', ''(late thirties)'', is a Security consultant, and former Army Master Sergeant and Military Policeman. She is of medium height, is slim, and has dark hair and eyes. She spends large amounts of time in the gym and has a purely platonic relationship with Reacher, not liking to be touched. She appeared in ''Without Fail'' and ''Bad Luck & Trouble''.

★ 'Mary Ellen Froelich', ''(35)'', is a Secret Service Agent, charged with protecting the Vice President. She has short fair hair, and is quietly confident. She dated Joe Reacher, but was killed by a sniper. She appeared in ''Without Fail''.

★ 'Susan Duffy', ''(early thirties)'', is a rogue agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. She is pale, slim and attractive, and appeared in ''Persuader''.

★ 'Lieutenant Summer', ''(25)'', is a Lieutenant in the Army Military Police. She is petite and slender, and appeared in ''The Enemy''.

★ 'Eileen Ann Hutton', ''(age unknown)'', is a Brigadier General in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the US Army. She and Reacher had a relationship prior to, and featured in, ''One Shot''.

Travels

His travels around the United States of America, exploring the one country he never got to see in his childhood, are the subject of all 11 Lee Child novels so far, with the exception of one prequel ("The Enemy") which centers around a case he undertook as an investigator in the Military Police.

Appearances

Jack Reacher can be found in the following books by Lee Child:

★ ''Killing Floor''

★ ''Die Trying''

★ ''Tripwire''

★ ''Running Blind/The Visitor'' (published as ''The Visitor'' in the UK)

★ ''Echo Burning''

★ ''Without Fail''

★ ''Persuader''

★ ''The Enemy''

★ ''One Shot''

★ ''The Hard Way''

★ ''Bad Luck and Trouble''
He can also be seen in the short story "James Penney's New Identity" from ''Fresh Blood 3'', a compilation of short mystery stories edited by Mike Ripley and Maxim Jakubowski.

See Also

★ Lee Child

★ Military Brat

External links

Author's website