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Jack Reacher
Three More Jack Reacher Novellas: Too Much Time, Small Wars, Not a Drill and Bonus Jack Reacher Stories
8 hours, 11 minutes
Lee Child once again demonstrates his mastery of the thriller genre with an unbeatable collection of three Jack Reacher novellas and six short stories, together for the first time in one pulse-pounding collection from the #1 New York Times bestselling author
Too Much Time: In this original novella featuring Jack Reacher after his time in the army, Reacher finds himself in a hollowed-out town in Maine. He witnesses a random bag-snatching but sees much more than a simple crime, in a tale that leads into Lee Child's new Reacher novel, The Midnight Line.
Small Wars: Lee Child goes back to 1989, when Jack Reacher is an MP assigned to solve the cold-blooded murder of a young officer.
The telex is brief and to the point: One active-duty personnel found shot to death ten miles north of Fort Smith. Circumstances unknown. The victim was shot twice in the chest and once in the head. A professional hit. The crime scene suggests an ambush. Military police officer Jack Reacher is given the case. He calls his older brother, Colonel Joe Reacher, at the Pentagon for intel and taps Sergeant Frances Neagley to help him answer the big question: Who would kill a brilliant officer on the fast-track to greatness?
Not a Drill: Jack Reacher is on the road, hitching a ride with some young Canadians who are planning a hike through the dense forests of Maine. They part ways after sharing a hot meal, and Reacher checks out a quiet town surrounded by countryside serene enough to cool even his raging wanderlust. But not for long. First the trail is suddenly closed. Then the military police show up in force. Maybe it's a drill. Or maybe it's trouble--the kind of trouble that always finds Reacher, no matter how far he travels off the beaten path.
And for the first time on audio, additional stories featuring Jack Reacher, including: James Penney's New Identity, Everyone Talks, Maybe They Have a Tradition, Guy Walks into a Bar, No Room at the Motel, and The Picture of the Lonely Diner
Praise for Lee Child
"There's a reason [Lee] Child is considered the best of the best in the thriller genre."--Associated Press
"This series [is] utterly addictive."--Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"Jack Reacher is today's James Bond, a thriller hero we can't get enough of. I read every one as soon as it appears."--Ken Follett
"The Reacher novels are easily the best thriller series going."--NPR
"Reacher's just one of fiction's great mysterious strangers." --Maxim
"Irresistible Reacher remains just about the best butt-kicker in thriller-lit." --Kirkus Reviews
Lee Child once again demonstrates his mastery of the thriller genre with an unbeatable collection of three Jack Reacher novellas and six short stories, together for the first time in one pulse-pounding collection from the #1 New York Times bestselling author
Too Much Time: In this original novella featuring Jack Reacher after his time in the army, Reacher finds himself in a hollowed-out town in Maine. He witnesses a random bag-snatching but sees much more than a simple crime, in a tale that leads into Lee Child's new Reacher novel, The Midnight Line.
Small Wars: Lee Child goes back to 1989, when Jack Reacher is an MP assigned to solve the cold-blooded murder of a young officer.
The telex is brief and to the point: One active-duty personnel found shot to death ten miles north of Fort Smith. Circumstances unknown. The victim was shot twice in the chest and once in the head. A professional hit. The crime scene suggests an ambush. Military police officer Jack Reacher is given the case. He calls his older brother, Colonel Joe Reacher, at the Pentagon for intel and taps Sergeant Frances Neagley to help him answer the big question: Who would kill a brilliant officer on the fast-track to greatness?
Not a Drill: Jack Reacher is on the road, hitching a ride with some young Canadians who are planning a hike through the dense forests of Maine. They part ways after sharing a hot meal, and Reacher checks out a quiet town surrounded by countryside serene enough to cool even his raging wanderlust. But not for long. First the trail is suddenly closed. Then the military police show up in force. Maybe it's a drill. Or maybe it's trouble--the kind of trouble that always finds Reacher, no matter how far he travels off the beaten path.
And for the first time on audio, additional stories featuring Jack Reacher, including: James Penney's New Identity, Everyone Talks, Maybe They Have a Tradition, Guy Walks into a Bar, No Room at the Motel, and The Picture of the Lonely Diner
Praise for Lee Child
"There's a reason [Lee] Child is considered the best of the best in the thriller genre."--Associated Press
"This series [is] utterly addictive."--Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"Jack Reacher is today's James Bond, a thriller hero we can't get enough of. I read every one as soon as it appears."--Ken Follett
"The Reacher novels are easily the best thriller series going."--NPR
"Reacher's just one of fiction's great mysterious strangers." --Maxim
"Irresistible Reacher remains just about the best butt-kicker in thriller-lit." --Kirkus Reviews
Audio CD
Published May 16, 2017
12 people are currently reading
676 people want to read
About the author
Lee Child
442 books34.2k followersLee Child was born October 29th, 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an eighteen-year career as a presentation director during British TV's "golden age." During his tenure his company made Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect, and Cracker. But he was fired in 1995 at the age of 40 as a result of corporate restructuring. Always a voracious reader, he decided to see an opportunity where others might have seen a crisis and bought six dollars' worth of paper and pencils and sat down to write a book, Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series.
Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.
Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.
Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.
Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.
Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.
Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
August 1, 2019
It would be difficult to find fault with a Jack Reacher novel. These novellas are too short!
May 22, 2017
The New, the Old and the Lost Jack Reacher
This May 2017 audiobook collects 3 Reacher novellas and 6 Reacher short stories, and along with Three Jack Reacher Novellas (with bonus Jack Reacher's Rules): Deep Down, Second Son, High Heat, and Jack Reacher's Rules makes up the balance to the May 2017 print/ebook edition No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories. I think the latter collects all of the Reacher short fiction except for the Nick Heller/Joseph Finder crossover short story Good and Valuable Consideration: Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller.
Often, nothing particularly dramatic happens in these stories. Reacher isn't required to play out 'the single vigilante vs. some sort of conspiracy' plot of the full-length novels. Still, this is my favourite type of Reacher, i.e. the wandering loner equipped with only an expired passport, an ATM card and a toothbrush, wearing this week's outfit of disposable clothing. Instead, Reacher enters the lives of other people for a short time, solves or explains some sort of puzzle or mystery, and then moves on down the road.
The "New" here refers to 1. "Too Much Time" (May 2017), a novella which apparently is also the lead-in to November 2017's expected full-length The Midnight Line. Reacher plays solid citizen and when agreeing to be a testifying witness to a purse-snatching finds himself framed for another crime entirely. This is a good return to form as I've been disappointed with the recent novels of army prequels and/or international conspiracies. "Too Much Time" is the good old Reacher.
The rest of the book is organized chronologically in Reacher-time, regardless of time of publication. These are what I call the "Old" and, unless you are a Reacher fan of wide-ranging newspaper and magazine tastes, the "Lost", as it is unlikely that most readers would have seen all of the original print editions of the balance of the stories here.
So we have:
2. Small Wars (2015): An army prequel where Reacher investigates the murder of a strategic war planner.
3. "James Penney's New Identity" (1999): Novella length short-story where army-time Reacher makes a late appearance. First appeared in the anthology Fresh Blood III (2000).
4. Everyone Talks (2012): Short story told from a newbie police detective's point-of-view. Wandering Reacher is again a witness. First appeared in the June 2012 Esquire magazine.
5. Not a Drill (2014): Reacher meets some Canadians in the woods. Novella.
6. Maybe They Have A Tradition (2016): Reacher hopes for Christmas dinner. First appeared in the December 2016 Country Living magazine.
7. Guy Walks into a Bar... (2009): Reacher walks into a bar ... Short-story prequel which is the direct lead-in to the full-length Gone Tomorrow. First appeared in the June 6, 2009 New York Times (and is actually still available online as of May 2017 at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/opi...).
8. "No Room at the Motel" (2014): Another Reacher Christmas, searching for shelter during a winter storm. First appeared in the December 2014 Stylist magazine.
9. "The Picture of the Lonely Diner" (2015): Reacher discusses Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" painting with an FBI agent (Yes, there is a crime as well ;). First appeared in Manhattan Mayhem: New Crime Stories from Mystery Writers of America (2015).
This May 2017 audiobook collects 3 Reacher novellas and 6 Reacher short stories, and along with Three Jack Reacher Novellas (with bonus Jack Reacher's Rules): Deep Down, Second Son, High Heat, and Jack Reacher's Rules makes up the balance to the May 2017 print/ebook edition No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories. I think the latter collects all of the Reacher short fiction except for the Nick Heller/Joseph Finder crossover short story Good and Valuable Consideration: Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller.
Often, nothing particularly dramatic happens in these stories. Reacher isn't required to play out 'the single vigilante vs. some sort of conspiracy' plot of the full-length novels. Still, this is my favourite type of Reacher, i.e. the wandering loner equipped with only an expired passport, an ATM card and a toothbrush, wearing this week's outfit of disposable clothing. Instead, Reacher enters the lives of other people for a short time, solves or explains some sort of puzzle or mystery, and then moves on down the road.
The "New" here refers to 1. "Too Much Time" (May 2017), a novella which apparently is also the lead-in to November 2017's expected full-length The Midnight Line. Reacher plays solid citizen and when agreeing to be a testifying witness to a purse-snatching finds himself framed for another crime entirely. This is a good return to form as I've been disappointed with the recent novels of army prequels and/or international conspiracies. "Too Much Time" is the good old Reacher.
The rest of the book is organized chronologically in Reacher-time, regardless of time of publication. These are what I call the "Old" and, unless you are a Reacher fan of wide-ranging newspaper and magazine tastes, the "Lost", as it is unlikely that most readers would have seen all of the original print editions of the balance of the stories here.
So we have:
2. Small Wars (2015): An army prequel where Reacher investigates the murder of a strategic war planner.
3. "James Penney's New Identity" (1999): Novella length short-story where army-time Reacher makes a late appearance. First appeared in the anthology Fresh Blood III (2000).
4. Everyone Talks (2012): Short story told from a newbie police detective's point-of-view. Wandering Reacher is again a witness. First appeared in the June 2012 Esquire magazine.
5. Not a Drill (2014): Reacher meets some Canadians in the woods. Novella.
6. Maybe They Have A Tradition (2016): Reacher hopes for Christmas dinner. First appeared in the December 2016 Country Living magazine.
7. Guy Walks into a Bar... (2009): Reacher walks into a bar ... Short-story prequel which is the direct lead-in to the full-length Gone Tomorrow. First appeared in the June 6, 2009 New York Times (and is actually still available online as of May 2017 at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/opi...).
8. "No Room at the Motel" (2014): Another Reacher Christmas, searching for shelter during a winter storm. First appeared in the December 2014 Stylist magazine.
9. "The Picture of the Lonely Diner" (2015): Reacher discusses Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" painting with an FBI agent (Yes, there is a crime as well ;). First appeared in Manhattan Mayhem: New Crime Stories from Mystery Writers of America (2015).
May 24, 2021
Read this collection a while back & this time around listened to the audio book version. An interesting range of stories & I found most pretty good & fitting into my idea of Jack Reacher. However I found “Not a drill” & “The picture of the lonely dinner” were not good with what I thought were weak/silly plots/setups. As a result only 3 stars.
July 5, 2020
Three clever Jack Reacher cases, solved in no time. More like short short stories than novellas. Nevertheless, good entertainment with fast, satisfying payoffs. Lee Child manages to do a lot with a little.
November 30, 2018
За пореден път се убедих, че батко Джак няма равни! :) :) :)
January 29, 2024
It is so much fun listening to Jack Reacher stories. I can easily picture what is happening as I listen. Love that!! CathyR
July 22, 2024
Three More Jack Reacher Novellas
Jack Reacher Series
By Lee Child
Warning ⚠️ These reviews in most cases contain plot-sensitive content.
Overview 📝
A collection of mostly mediocre stories—but like the series as a whole—have a few gems hidden in the roughage. “Small Wars” was for me the best story, in case one wants to skip the rest :-)
Too Much Time
Jack Reacher, Book #22.3
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
A simple mugging turns into something a lot more complicated and involved. And of course Reacher is there to stop the mugger and to wiggle himself into the ordeal. A thief rips off a bag from a woman; the bag supposedly contains $30k, but it was empty. The money was to pay off a drug organization that the dirty DA of the town was partnering with. Reacher, being a vagrant, involved himself unnecessarily and thus needed to be “taken care of”. A failed attempt to be shivved in prison and then Reacher escapes at his arraignment only to be tracked down by said DA. Only Reacher is 2 steps ahead. He gambles on whether the main detective will steak out the area in which Reacher expects to be caught. And he got it right.
Final Thoughts 🤔
This novella is exactly like a condensed version of any number of lower quality full-length Reacher novels. There is nothing notable or creative about the story.
2 ⭐️
Small Wars
Jack Reacher, Book #19.5
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
Events in this novel take place in 1989 as the Soviet Union is about to fall and what will take place in its aftermath: small wars in the Middle East, such as the invasion of Iraq into Kuwait.
Someone dressed up like Joe Reacher executes an up-and-coming WarCom Lt. Colonel after the former feigns a stalled car on a backwoods road in GA. Later, back at the GA base, Colonel Joe Reacher enlists the help of his employees and his brother, Major Jack Reacher (who is stationed in SC) to figure out who killed her.
It turns out not all is how it seems and this Lt. Col. may have actually been working for more than one side.
The Good 😊
1. Any Reacher novel with Neagley in it automatically raises my impressions on said novel by a few points. She is such a well constructed character and somehow complements Mr. Know-It-All Reacher by offering differing insights and/or points of view. Honestly she’s more of a sounding board to Reacher’s highly trained assessments, but it works.
2. Love hearing about Reacher’s brother, Joe, whenever he comes up in details, or when the author goes back in time (1989 for this story). His fastidious efficiency in and around bureaucracy is an opposing but believable contrast next to Reacher.
3. The ending was perfect. Both brothers are shown in a ruthless efficiency light and both are of one accord.
Final Thoughts 🤔
No complaints on this novella. 5 ⭐️
James Penney’s New Identity
Jack Reacher, Part I of Book #12.5
“Storycuts” Series
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
A completely mundane story that I only kept reading because it was so short and held the promise of Reacher’s involvement in some fashion… that didn’t come to fruition until the 95% completion mark. The ending was great though, 100% Reacher’s style.
Mr. Penney lost his job, his wife, burned his house down, and left trail blazing in his red Thunder Bird—the only thing he ever loved in the world. Then it was stolen a day later, but the cops were out to arrest him for arson of his Mohave Dessert home. Just when all seemed hopeless, a Mr. Reacher picks him up off the side of the road, and his future suddenly gets a whole lot brighter.
Final Thoughts 🤔
2 ⭐️ (+1 star for the happy ending)
Everyone Talks
Jack Reacher Novella
Free story issued by Penguin Publishing
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
A new police detective relates her interview with Reacher—who is in a hospital bed with gunshot wounds—regarding his role in bringing down a local protection racket.
Final Thoughts 🤔
I enjoyed hearing the story unfold through the police detective’s vantage point. The story itself was told in an upbeat and encouraging way, which helped its pacing. But Reacher didn’t ultimately stick around to provide the final linchpin in the detective’s case (though it wasn’t actually needed), the gunshot wounds suffered were never fully explained, and the story ended rather abruptly with no thought-provoking or surprise ending. Taken as a whole, the story was rather mundane.
Finally, the title of the story brought images of Reacher interrogating a perp harshly. Yet the story barely scratched any semblance of meaning from its title. Boring.
2 ⭐️
Not A Drill
Jack Reacher, Book #18.5
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
A Wendell Berry inspired story that spends a lot of time talking about the vast richness of an unsullied (by human hands) forest region in Northern Maine, in which Reacher hitches a ride to. Most of the short story is consumed by the anticipatory (but otherwise dull) narrative. When anything does occur, it’s in the form of an elaborate conspiracy centering on Canadian prisoners to jump off transport planes to their deaths to gain some posthumous media attention about the conditions of sub-standard prisons (or something like that).
Final Thoughts 🤔
I don’t think I’ve ever given a Reacher novel 1 star but have given lots of 2 and 3 stars. This novella gets the biggest loser award though. A completely boring premise meets a completely preposterous ending. 1 ⭐️
Maybe They Have A Tradition
Jack Reacher Novella
By Lee Child
Illustrated By Steven Mulcahey
Overview 📝
A 20-minute audiobook listen… it ended before it even started. Reacher finds himself stranded in a snowstorm in England on Christmas night. He gains admittance into a home whose daughter is having a baby but without medical assistance. Her mother-in-law refuses to help and also claims that an expensive diamond necklace was stolen. Reacher solves both problems and then is invited by the doctor to eat the family’s Christmas dinner by himself.
Final Thoughts 🤔
The one highlight of this extremely short novella is Reacher monologuing several times his hope that the Brits had a tradition of letting random, ominous-looking strangers into their homes on Christmas night and treating them to a Christmas dinner. Reacher novels are almost never funny but there is humor from time to time. This was one of those times.
3 ⭐️
Guy Walks Into A Bar
Jack Reacher, Part II of Book #12.5
“Storycuts” Series
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
This wasn’t even a short story but like a snippet of one.
Final Thoughts 🤔
How do I give a -1 ⭐️ rating???
No Room at the Motel
Jack Reacher Novella
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
Another partial story. On Christmas Eve, Reacher gives his room at a full motel to a couple whose wife’s baby is almost due to arrive. He then hitches a ride. The end.
Final Thoughts 🤔
I have no idea why this snippet of a story was included. -1 ⭐️
Picture of the Lonely Diner
Jack Reacher Novella
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
A very short story about Reacher and an FBI agent and a Russian spy. And a popular painting showing a picture of the Lonely Diner, whom Reacher portrays: full of secrets and with no one to share them.
Final Thoughts 🤔
Barely a chapter long. Another snippet of a story. 2 ⭐️ (+1 star for the thought-provoking ending)
Jack Reacher Series
By Lee Child
Warning ⚠️ These reviews in most cases contain plot-sensitive content.
Overview 📝
A collection of mostly mediocre stories—but like the series as a whole—have a few gems hidden in the roughage. “Small Wars” was for me the best story, in case one wants to skip the rest :-)
Too Much Time
Jack Reacher, Book #22.3
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
A simple mugging turns into something a lot more complicated and involved. And of course Reacher is there to stop the mugger and to wiggle himself into the ordeal. A thief rips off a bag from a woman; the bag supposedly contains $30k, but it was empty. The money was to pay off a drug organization that the dirty DA of the town was partnering with. Reacher, being a vagrant, involved himself unnecessarily and thus needed to be “taken care of”. A failed attempt to be shivved in prison and then Reacher escapes at his arraignment only to be tracked down by said DA. Only Reacher is 2 steps ahead. He gambles on whether the main detective will steak out the area in which Reacher expects to be caught. And he got it right.
Final Thoughts 🤔
This novella is exactly like a condensed version of any number of lower quality full-length Reacher novels. There is nothing notable or creative about the story.
2 ⭐️
Small Wars
Jack Reacher, Book #19.5
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
Events in this novel take place in 1989 as the Soviet Union is about to fall and what will take place in its aftermath: small wars in the Middle East, such as the invasion of Iraq into Kuwait.
Someone dressed up like Joe Reacher executes an up-and-coming WarCom Lt. Colonel after the former feigns a stalled car on a backwoods road in GA. Later, back at the GA base, Colonel Joe Reacher enlists the help of his employees and his brother, Major Jack Reacher (who is stationed in SC) to figure out who killed her.
It turns out not all is how it seems and this Lt. Col. may have actually been working for more than one side.
The Good 😊
1. Any Reacher novel with Neagley in it automatically raises my impressions on said novel by a few points. She is such a well constructed character and somehow complements Mr. Know-It-All Reacher by offering differing insights and/or points of view. Honestly she’s more of a sounding board to Reacher’s highly trained assessments, but it works.
2. Love hearing about Reacher’s brother, Joe, whenever he comes up in details, or when the author goes back in time (1989 for this story). His fastidious efficiency in and around bureaucracy is an opposing but believable contrast next to Reacher.
3. The ending was perfect. Both brothers are shown in a ruthless efficiency light and both are of one accord.
Final Thoughts 🤔
No complaints on this novella. 5 ⭐️
James Penney’s New Identity
Jack Reacher, Part I of Book #12.5
“Storycuts” Series
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
A completely mundane story that I only kept reading because it was so short and held the promise of Reacher’s involvement in some fashion… that didn’t come to fruition until the 95% completion mark. The ending was great though, 100% Reacher’s style.
Mr. Penney lost his job, his wife, burned his house down, and left trail blazing in his red Thunder Bird—the only thing he ever loved in the world. Then it was stolen a day later, but the cops were out to arrest him for arson of his Mohave Dessert home. Just when all seemed hopeless, a Mr. Reacher picks him up off the side of the road, and his future suddenly gets a whole lot brighter.
Final Thoughts 🤔
2 ⭐️ (+1 star for the happy ending)
Everyone Talks
Jack Reacher Novella
Free story issued by Penguin Publishing
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
A new police detective relates her interview with Reacher—who is in a hospital bed with gunshot wounds—regarding his role in bringing down a local protection racket.
Final Thoughts 🤔
I enjoyed hearing the story unfold through the police detective’s vantage point. The story itself was told in an upbeat and encouraging way, which helped its pacing. But Reacher didn’t ultimately stick around to provide the final linchpin in the detective’s case (though it wasn’t actually needed), the gunshot wounds suffered were never fully explained, and the story ended rather abruptly with no thought-provoking or surprise ending. Taken as a whole, the story was rather mundane.
Finally, the title of the story brought images of Reacher interrogating a perp harshly. Yet the story barely scratched any semblance of meaning from its title. Boring.
2 ⭐️
Not A Drill
Jack Reacher, Book #18.5
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
A Wendell Berry inspired story that spends a lot of time talking about the vast richness of an unsullied (by human hands) forest region in Northern Maine, in which Reacher hitches a ride to. Most of the short story is consumed by the anticipatory (but otherwise dull) narrative. When anything does occur, it’s in the form of an elaborate conspiracy centering on Canadian prisoners to jump off transport planes to their deaths to gain some posthumous media attention about the conditions of sub-standard prisons (or something like that).
Final Thoughts 🤔
I don’t think I’ve ever given a Reacher novel 1 star but have given lots of 2 and 3 stars. This novella gets the biggest loser award though. A completely boring premise meets a completely preposterous ending. 1 ⭐️
Maybe They Have A Tradition
Jack Reacher Novella
By Lee Child
Illustrated By Steven Mulcahey
Overview 📝
A 20-minute audiobook listen… it ended before it even started. Reacher finds himself stranded in a snowstorm in England on Christmas night. He gains admittance into a home whose daughter is having a baby but without medical assistance. Her mother-in-law refuses to help and also claims that an expensive diamond necklace was stolen. Reacher solves both problems and then is invited by the doctor to eat the family’s Christmas dinner by himself.
Final Thoughts 🤔
The one highlight of this extremely short novella is Reacher monologuing several times his hope that the Brits had a tradition of letting random, ominous-looking strangers into their homes on Christmas night and treating them to a Christmas dinner. Reacher novels are almost never funny but there is humor from time to time. This was one of those times.
3 ⭐️
Guy Walks Into A Bar
Jack Reacher, Part II of Book #12.5
“Storycuts” Series
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
This wasn’t even a short story but like a snippet of one.
Final Thoughts 🤔
How do I give a -1 ⭐️ rating???
No Room at the Motel
Jack Reacher Novella
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
Another partial story. On Christmas Eve, Reacher gives his room at a full motel to a couple whose wife’s baby is almost due to arrive. He then hitches a ride. The end.
Final Thoughts 🤔
I have no idea why this snippet of a story was included. -1 ⭐️
Picture of the Lonely Diner
Jack Reacher Novella
By Lee Child
Overview 📝
A very short story about Reacher and an FBI agent and a Russian spy. And a popular painting showing a picture of the Lonely Diner, whom Reacher portrays: full of secrets and with no one to share them.
Final Thoughts 🤔
Barely a chapter long. Another snippet of a story. 2 ⭐️ (+1 star for the thought-provoking ending)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2017
It's always fascinating for me to read these shorter stories featuring Jack Reacher. The novellas were really good and so were most of the short stories. One was too short, I think, but still interesting. I find Child's creations, both Jack Reacher and his world, very appealing even when something is going on in the novel or story which I don't like. It's something I ask of an author, at some level, and Child is able to deliver it. It's a kind of trust I have in his writing and intention - that, no matter what happens, there will be some kind of closure, some kind of resolution, that I can live with. Most authors, especially in this genre, are either incapable of, or loathe to, provide that for their readers.
March 7, 2019
Unfortunately, it turns out that I had already read all of the short stories in this audio edition.
I didn't recall ever reading "Too Much Time" but as I started listening to it, I remembered the plot. As usual in Reacher's world, there are several interesting twists in the action before Reacher figures out what is going on. (4 stars)
How Reacher determines who killed the Lt. Colonel and why was very cleverly done in "Small Wars" (5 stars).
I didn't take the time to listen to the other short stories in this audio book since I had previously read them in former anthologies by Lee Child.
I didn't recall ever reading "Too Much Time" but as I started listening to it, I remembered the plot. As usual in Reacher's world, there are several interesting twists in the action before Reacher figures out what is going on. (4 stars)
How Reacher determines who killed the Lt. Colonel and why was very cleverly done in "Small Wars" (5 stars).
I didn't take the time to listen to the other short stories in this audio book since I had previously read them in former anthologies by Lee Child.
Read
January 8, 2018Some of the stories in this book I've already reviewed. If my feelings haven't changed, I just linked the review below.
Too Much Time - The prequel to the latest Reacher book, The Midnight Line. Reacher is in Maine and witnesses a purse snatch. Naturally, noting is quite as it first seems and Reacher must think fast.
Small Wars - Reviewed here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
James Penney's New Identity - Read this short story when it was first published in Thriller 2006, a compilation of short stories from the Mystery Writers Guild (or some such organization - I can't find the book link on a quick search right now, and haven't time for a long search) about a character from an early Reacher who wound up cut from the book, but was just to good to throw away.
Everyone Talks - The twist of a narrator who is not Reacher, and a perspective that doesn't try sharpen until the very end, when the newly minted detective puts all the pieces back together. Fun!
Not a Drill - Reviewed here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Maybe They Have a Tradition - another holiday offering, about birth and dinner and traditions.
Guy Walks into a Bar (Reacher 12.5) - Sometimes what you see (even when you have Reacher's powers of observation) isn't really what you see.
No Room at the Motel - Christmas short story: Reacher arrives to rare snowfall in the south, just in time to get a room. Context and melodrama.
The Picture of the Lonely Diner - Reacher is deeper than his action packed novels might lead you to believe, but in these novellas, Child has a chance to explore some of those aspects. In this one, the penultimate moment is the conversation about the painting, The Picture of the Lonely Diner.
Too Much Time - The prequel to the latest Reacher book, The Midnight Line. Reacher is in Maine and witnesses a purse snatch. Naturally, noting is quite as it first seems and Reacher must think fast.
Small Wars - Reviewed here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
James Penney's New Identity - Read this short story when it was first published in Thriller 2006, a compilation of short stories from the Mystery Writers Guild (or some such organization - I can't find the book link on a quick search right now, and haven't time for a long search) about a character from an early Reacher who wound up cut from the book, but was just to good to throw away.
Everyone Talks - The twist of a narrator who is not Reacher, and a perspective that doesn't try sharpen until the very end, when the newly minted detective puts all the pieces back together. Fun!
Not a Drill - Reviewed here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Maybe They Have a Tradition - another holiday offering, about birth and dinner and traditions.
Guy Walks into a Bar (Reacher 12.5) - Sometimes what you see (even when you have Reacher's powers of observation) isn't really what you see.
No Room at the Motel - Christmas short story: Reacher arrives to rare snowfall in the south, just in time to get a room. Context and melodrama.
The Picture of the Lonely Diner - Reacher is deeper than his action packed novels might lead you to believe, but in these novellas, Child has a chance to explore some of those aspects. In this one, the penultimate moment is the conversation about the painting, The Picture of the Lonely Diner.
December 19, 2020
I needed a couple audiobooks to listen to during a project and decided to grab a couple Jack Reacher books since I know I have enjoyed them in the past. I thought this one was three short stories but it turned out to have a total of nine stories to include Too Much Time, Small Wars, James Penny's New Identity, Everyone Talks, Not a Drill, Maybe They Have a Tradition, Guy Walks Into a Bar, No Room at the Motel, and The Picture of the Lonely Diner. That meant many were VERY short stories indeed which, I felt, kind of detracted from the usual Jack Reacher story. Still, not a bad set of stories overall.
July 3, 2022
Excitement and tension build from the first sentence in each one of these novellas. Lee Child creates spellbinding adventures that show readers more of Jack Reacher's warped sense of humour and his strange notion of justice. There is never a bad Jack Reacher story. All serve their purpose of filling in another aspect of Reacher's character. I particularly liked the novella about Jack's brother Joe, who is killed in the first book in the series. This story creates a welcome back story for Joe who commits a shocking act in the beginning of the story, which makes readers wonder, whawt is going on and how is sanctimonious Jack Reacher going to deal with Joe's shocking action.
January 8, 2019
Some of these I've read in other collections, but even for a 2nd time, this time in audio, the level of writing allows me to enjoy them again...3 novellas worthy of the "Jack Reacher" series & a few more short stories that amount to character studies that aren't fleshed out enough to reach the level of novella or even short story...but it IS exposure to Reacher through the glorious pen of Child...Excellent Stuff!!!
April 21, 2025
Definitely out of character for me to find myself out of sequence with Reacher, but I felt like finding something easy to read and this was available... It doesn't have the gravity of a full novel, but was enjoyable. A few of the stories were definitely more deep that others, but all of them were definitely "Reacher." It would be interesting to see if they use some of the short stories for little one off clips for the show... wouldn't that be cool?
October 23, 2025
Finished Three More Jack Reacher Novellas: Too Much Time, Small Wars, Not a Drill by Lee Child written in 2017. Lee Child is the pen name of James Dover Grant, a British author of thriller novels and these novellas connect to the long running Jack Reacher series which follow the adventures of a former American military policeman, who wanders the United States. Three good novellas and some bonus stories.
December 24, 2020
3.78 Stars
Anthology:
1 - Too Much Time - 4.25 Stars
2 - Small Wars [reread] - 3.5 Stars
- Penny's New Identity - 4.5 Stars
- Everyone Talks - 3.5 Stars
3 - Not A Drill - 4 Stars
- Maybe They Have a Tradition - 4 Stars
- Guy Walks into a Bar - 3.75 Stars
- No Room at the Motel - 3.5 Stars
- The Picture of the Lonely Diner - 3 Stars
Anthology:
1 - Too Much Time - 4.25 Stars
2 - Small Wars [reread] - 3.5 Stars
- Penny's New Identity - 4.5 Stars
- Everyone Talks - 3.5 Stars
3 - Not A Drill - 4 Stars
- Maybe They Have a Tradition - 4 Stars
- Guy Walks into a Bar - 3.75 Stars
- No Room at the Motel - 3.5 Stars
- The Picture of the Lonely Diner - 3 Stars
July 26, 2023
The three novellas were okay. The six short stories seemed to be the writers equivalent to the scraps left on the cutting room floor in the movie industry. The beginning's to these short stories were rather awkward, the middle's were okay, and they all ended abruptly leaving the reader wanting more or in some cases thinking, "what was that".
May 25, 2017
I've read 2 of these 3 novellas in print, but Dick Hill definitely makes the audio worth a revisit! A couple of the short stories were new to me, also, and this little collection brightened my weekend
August 26, 2017
More Reacher? Why, yes...the answer is always yes. Jack Reacher in short story format works really well. Not a Drill was my favorite in this collection, and would recommend any Reacher fan to pick up this book, for that story alone.
January 30, 2021
always fun to visit with Jack in short form. to me it’s a glimpse into his “everyday” traveling life instead of when he gets stuck in one place for a longer place to kick the bad guy’ ass and save the innocent (or somewhat innocent)
August 7, 2023
A few overlap with other stories read, and a few are new, and really short 1hr stories. They seem to have all that would have been needed to blow them into a more complete story, so interesting to hear more bits of cannon.
February 26, 2025
Mostly feel like unused chapters from longer books. Enjoyable nonetheless. Also feels like writing exercise in perspective, in that one is written from the voice of a female character, another from a male, another from that of Reacher.
April 28, 2025
These are the other eight short stories from "No Middle Name," a collection of Jack Reacher short stories. I rated two stories as 5 stars, four stories as 4 stars, one story as 3 stars, and one story as 2 stars. I really enjoyed the reader of the audiobook!
July 5, 2017
Love anything Jack Reacher.
August 13, 2017
I enjoyed the bulk of the stories, but I enjoy the full stories more. Some of these had my mind wandering.
October 5, 2017
audio book - maybe a 3 star rating but the reader was annoying.
November 29, 2017
Very cool
January 21, 2018
Mixed bag. A couple of really interesting ideas and a couple very bland ones.
March 28, 2018
Most of these stories were good, though Not a Drill was not.
April 17, 2018
Ah Jack, I think I love you! 3 novellas in true Reacher tradition
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