More than 300,000 readers have enjoyed Don’t Know Jack and the Hunt for Jack Reacher Series books that followed in two languages. People are wondering what happens next. Maybe you’re one of them.
Have you joined the Hunt for Jack Reacher yet?
Jack Reacher is a trouble magnet. He doesn’t go looking for trouble. Instead, trouble finds him wherever he goes. But as long as you don’t piss him off, he seems harmless enough. Or, as one of my readers asked last week,
“Why are we hunting for Jack Reacher? Seems a decent enough kinda guy, not too hard on the environment, always shares a ride, digs pools by hand etc. so what has he done wrong?”
FBI Special Agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar aren’t irrationally obsessed with hunting for Lee Child’s Jack Reacher in my Hunt for Reacher Series. Simply put Otto and Gaspar are investigating Reacher because it’s their job.
In Don’t Know Jack, the first book in the Series, Otto and Gaspar are told to catch a plane to Atlanta, no questions asked. On the plane, Otto discovers her orders:
“The assignment seemed straightforward enough: Complete background investigation on potential candidate Jack-none-Reacher.”
–Don’t Know Jack
Simple as that, right? Otto and Gaspar aim to please the boss. Trying to make a living. In Gaspar’s case, trying to feed a pregnant wife and four kids, too.
But what DO they know about why they’re hunting for Jack Reacher? Not nearly enough.
They do know that Reacher is being considered for a top secret assignment. Details are classified. Agents Otto and Gaspar, they are told, have no need to know the details. The job is to investigate Reacher’s life since he left the Army. Find out whether Reacher is mentally, emotionally, financially, and physically up to the job.
But what IS the job Reacher’s being considered for?
If Otto and Gaspar’s assignment sounds like a stretch beyond reality, think again. Civilians are investigated by the U.S. government every day. Civilians are hired by the government for specialized projects every day, too. Sometimes, those projects go awry. Think Edward Snowden.
Take Rushan Abbas, for example. She is a civilian with a unique resume who was hired to assist in interrogating Guantanamo prisoners because she spoke a language that the government didn’t have an interpreter for. The language was Uighur – an obscure language spoken only in parts of central Asia.
When the U.S. government needed someone to interpret English for Uighur-speaking prisoners in Guantanamo, they turned to Ms. Abbas, who, believe it or not, worked at a sales job in California before the U.S. government asked her to help the Defense Department. Someone like Otto and Gaspar investigated her background before the request was made.
The point is, the assignment with which Otto and Gaspar are tasked does happen in real life. The government seeks out highly skilled people who are perfect for the very specific, very important job they need done. Before those people are hired, they are investigated.
We should ask not why Otto and Gaspar are hunting for Reacher, but what is the job Reacher is being vetted for and why were Otto and Gaspar chosen as the perfect pair for the hunt?
Do you have questions about the Hunt for Jack Reacher Series? Leave your questions by clicking the “Comment” button below, and I’ll do my best to answer them. After all, your inquisitive minds are part of the reason you are the best readers in the world!
Diane Capri, what a wonderful revelation you are! I’m in my late 70’s, Scottish born now living in Australia and i’ve been reading fiction for 60 years. Mostly mystery, crime thrillers with a definite liking for American authors. I’ve read everything that Robert B Parker wrote, and I’m up to date with Bill Pronzini (nameless detective), Robert Crais (Cole), and Lee Child (huge favourite). I’m always looking for new authors (mainly in Fantastic Fiction), found a few and now I’m buying in the Kindle Store. I’d heard of you but didn’t pay much attention. there are so many female crime writers now. I noticed your “Hunt for Reacher Books” and that got my attention. I’m just finishing reading Don’t Know Jack and I can’t put it down. Where have you been hiding from me, Diane? What a great writer you are. I’ve read 1967 books (I keep note of what I read) and you are right up there with the best of the authors. I like your “no messing about: style, you get right to the plot, chapters flow, holds my attention completely. Similar to Lee Child in fact. The great thing for me is I now have a very large number of your books to catch up on and at my age it’s wonderful to discover something new and refreshing like that. Thanks you’ve become an overnight treasure to me. Kind regards, Alan Johnstone
It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alan, and thank you for the kind words. I’m thrilled to be included in your very impressive reading list and so very pleased that you’re enjoying my books.
Jack has a unique frame of mind..quit is not part of his vocabulary. He has a sense of justice, he dosen’t like bullies. He has a unique set of skills acquired from the military. Like Silvas Gabriel Allon or Scott Mariani’s Ben Hope. Simply put,he’s a bad ass.
All true, Dennis. Which is why it takes a brave woman to go after him, don’t you think? 🙂
Diane, I don’t know if my earlier email went through. I Couldn’t agree with you more. Imagine Jack teamed up with Russell Blake’s jet or joanna Penn’s Dr. Morgan Sierra!! What a dynamic set of characters!!! Have a great day, and happy reading and writing!! Dennis
I am sort bemused. I do not think “Jack Reacher is a trouble magnate.” I don’t think he has sufficient capital or in-kind service to become a major of the trouble industry. I do believe, however, that he is not a trouble magnet. He tries to stay the hell hidden from trouble. PEOPLE keep bring trouble to him. He walks down a street in Boston and sees a guy he shot to death. He looks at his bank balance and gets an MP code. He gets a ride from a state patrol guy and is put in the middle of a kiddie porn/killing ring.
So, I sorta got to disagree all the way around. But then, I am just sorta lookin’ in from the outside. I am just a poor scrivener of hard sci-fi and wacky urban fantasy…what the hell do I know from the Jersey Devil and the pairing of a Djinn and a Dragarion…
Bill Wright
NYC
Cleverly done, Bill. Nice job! But I am old school on this. Nobody is simply minding his own business and ends up in that much trouble. To my way of thinking, Jack is a trouble magnet, and he might be The King of Trouble, which would then make him a magnate as well, hmmmm?? 🙂
Thanks for writing, and for reading.
Diane…I do love the Hunting for Reacher series…I was just having a bit of fun…around here puns and wordplay are a way of life…
As to whether a King can be a magnate…”midas’k” yourself if a guy who looks like a condom full of walnuts has the touch??? Maybe—in a labyrinth sort of way.
And Bill — you did a great job! I thought your original comment was fun, too. 🙂 “A condom full of walnuts”?!! LOVE that! 🙂
Thanks Diane, that was almost as good as a new hunting for reacher book.
Keep well.
I’m working on a new one, David. Writing as fast as I can, I promise. Thanks for the comment. 🙂