Predicting Reacher Season 3’s Story: 5 Books Amazon’s TV Show Could Adapt

Now the second season is drawing to a close, viewers are wondering which novel Reacher season 3 will cover; here are five great books it could adapt.

Warning: Spoilers for Reacher season 2’s finale below!

SUMMARY

 There are many great novels Reacher season 3 could adapt like “Die Trying,” which begins with Reacher being kidnapped for unknown reasons.
 Another strong candidate for adaptation is “Personal,” which takes Reacher on a globetrotting mission to stop a sniper.
 “Worth Dying For” would provide Reacher with some great villains to overcome.

Now that the second season is wrapping up, which book could Reacher season 3 adapt? The Jack Reacher novels were created by author Lee Child after he got fired from his previous job, and he designed the character to be the opposite of the solemn, self-pitying fictional detectives that were in vogue during the ’90s.

Reacher has appeared in close to 30 novels since his debut in Killing Floor, and thanks to the success of both the Tom Cruise movies and Amazon’s TV adaptation, he’s more popular than ever.

Reacher season 2 adapted Bad Luck and Trouble, the 11th novel in the series. This confirmed Amazon’s show wouldn’t be tackling Child’s novels in order, making it tricky to predict which book the forthcoming Reacher season 3 will adapt.

According to star Alan Ritchson, the third series will cover one of his personal favorite stories from Child’s books. The next series will almost certainly back away from pulling the titular avenger into the story due to personal reasons, like the death of a loved one, as the first two outings have.

5. Die Trying

The second Reacher story immediately puts Jack in danger

Die Trying is one of Ritchson’s favorite Reacher books and the second novel in Child’s series. The story opens with Reacher trying to help a woman with some laundry – before they’re both kidnapped and bungled into a van for reasons unknown.

Die Trying starts small, before blossoming into a wider-scale story. This novel found Child starting to zero in on the formula of his series, and developing the Jack Reacher character readers came to know and love.

Both Ritchson and fans of Reacher love Die Trying, and an adaptation would break the show’s tendency thus far to give Reacher a personal stake in the plot. He’s truly in the dark when the story begins, and it unfolds in surprising ways.

Die Trying also features a great female character in Holly Johnson, the FBI agent whose kidnapping kicks the narrative in motion. After skipping it for season 2, it would also be fun to see the showrunners circle back to Die Trying for the next adventure.

4. Personal

Personal takes Jack on an international mission

An easter egg reference to Lee Child’s One Shot – which was adapted for the Tom Cruise Jack Reacher movie – made during season 2 likely means Amazon’s show will never cover that book.

That’s a smart choice, considering there’s no way to adapt it without Cruise’s divisive take being compared to Ritchson’s Reacher, which sounds like needless drama. That said, the show can do its own version of One Shot, with the 19th book Personal covering similar ground.

Personal involves Reacher going on a globe-hopping mission to stop a sniper from assassinating the President of France; the same sniper has a vendetta against Reacher too. Adapting Personal would give season 3 a broader scope, as it takes Reacher out of America and sends him to France and London.

If the show wanted to bring back the likes of Neagley, Dixon or even introduce James Barr from One Shot – a sniper who was framed for several murders – then their links to Reacher’s army past would make that a little easier too.

The only mark against Personal is that despite being a solid thriller, it wouldn’t be considered a top-tier novel either. There are plenty of other stories readers would love to see covered first and some elements – such as Personal’s finale being set inside an oversized house – border on the ridiculous.

3. Worth Dying For

The 15th novel features Reacher’s most disturbing villains

One thing Amazon’s Reacher has lacked so far is really memorable villains. Kliner (Chris Webster) from season 1 – which adapted Killing Floor – or Robert Patrick’s Langston from series 2 have been effectively nasty, but they’re also one note and lacking any real depth.

Reacher season 3 should try to correct this, and Worth Dying For could be the perfect book to do that. Worth Dying For finds Jack in Nebraska, where he makes enemies of the brutal Duncan clan while uncovering their horrifying crime ring.

The Duncans are considered some of the best foes Reacher has faced while stranding him in rural Nebraska with no backup and few places to hide.

Christopher McQuarrie actually wanted to adapt Worth Dying For for Jack Reacher 2, feeling the sequel should be more intense and R-rated. That plan obviously didn’t work out, but Worth Dying For is still one of the darkest, most intense tales from Child’s series, and would give Reacher himself a genuine challenge to overcome.

2. Tripwire

The third Jack Reacher novel is arguably the best of the entire series

Tripwire is the third book and one that’s almost considered a sacred text among readers. This opens with Reacher working as a bouncer in Key West before learning a hook-handed loan shark is looking to kill him. Like most of Child’s work, Tripwire is a murder mystery where Reacher uses his powers of deduction and a careful application of his fists and firearms to solve the case.

Tripwire was the first Jack Reacher novel to perfect the series formula and features a hall-of-fame villain in “Hook” Hobie, a sociopath with a love of torture.

The source material would need to be updated for Amazon’s show, and it might be boring to see Reacher return to New York again so soon after season 2. Still, Tripwire tends to top any fan’s list of favorite books, and it would be great to pair Ritchson’s Reacher against another great performer as Hobie.

1. 61 Hours

This literally chilling story strands Reacher in a snowy town

The 14th novel 61 Hours places Reacher in a unique environment, as he squares off against a vicious biker gang in a snowy town. Not only would this setting make for a great visual contrast between Reacher season 3 and the first two series, but the story itself is full of great action and suspense.

Adapting this tale would add another recurring supporting player to Amazon’s series too, with Reacher’s replacement as head of the 110th Unit, Susan Turner, playing an important role.

Susan Turner was played by Cobie Smulders in Tom Cruise sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.

Adapting 61 Hours could do something unique for Amazon’s Reacher, as it would set up the next book Worth Dying For as the fourth season, which is set almost immediately afterward.

The setting and scope would make 61 Hours the most ambitious season yet and would underline the showrunner’s commitment to keeping it fresh. Of course, after the antics of the second season, they might be looking for a smaller-scale book to cover so audiences don’t expect each new series to top the one that came before.