Jack Reacher's Creator Has Officially Left The Series, And His Successor Should Concern Fans

After 30 novels, a short story collection, and ensuring fans finally got a book-accurate on-screen Jack Reacher, Lee Child is officially stepping away from his hugely popular book series. The author and creator of the titular ex-military policeman will now hand over writing duties to his younger brother, Andrew Child (real name Andrew Grant), who has co-written the last five Jack Reacher books. Unfortunately, his contributions to the series thus far haven't gone down well with all fans, making this a controversial development.

If there's anything fans of the Reacher novels have proved in the last decade or so, it's that they really, really care about Jack Reacher. When Paramount cast Tom Cruise in 2012's "Jack Reacher," readers were up in arms. An article in the LA Times quotes one reader as reacting to the news of Cruise's casting thusly: 

"I can not [sic] believe they actually used an arrogant overexposed short IMBECILE to create such an awesome character. I will not see it, and it literally RUINED the whole character for me. HOW COULD THEY DO THIS?" 

This was not a one-off, either. Numerous fans registered their disdain for the casting choice, and that disdain remained for the two Cruise-led films.

So powerful was the force of this Cruise backlash that even Child himself had to acknowledge it. After 2016's "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back," the author told Reader's Digest, "I love Tom Cruise, I think he's a great actor, and he's certainly a great guy [...] but ultimately the readers felt he was not an accurate representation of Reacher and I've got to defer to the readers." How, then, will he respond to what is sure to be a significant backlash now that Andrew Child is overseeing the book series that started it all?

Jack Reacher debuted in the pages of 1997's "Killing Floor" (one of the best Jack Reacher novels, which was adapted for season 1 of Prime Video's hit "Reacher" series) as a hulking ex-military policeman with an unshakable belief in justice and an insatiable need to endlessly travel the United States. With his past as a U.S. Army vet and his embrace of a life free of any authority but his own, the character occupied a sweet spot whereby fans of every sort could find something to love. He simultaneously represented authority and a rejection of its shortcomings, ensuring he became an instant hit.

Across a further 29 novels, Reacher faced off against pretty much every threat imaginable. From small-town fraudsters to big-time arms traffickers and everything in between, the character proved that nobody was a match for his 250-pound frame and relentless spirit. Then there was the Jack Reacher book with the most bonkers reveal in the whole series, which featured none other than Bin Laden as the main antagonist. Essentially, then, nothing can stop Jack Reacher. Nothing, that is, except perhaps a change of authorship.

Lee Child, who had a brief cameo in "Reacher" season 1, started the long process of handing the baton to his younger brother, Andrew Child, with 2020's "The Sentinel." The pair co-wrote what was the 25th installment in the book series before collaborating on the next four: "Better Off Dead" (2021), "No Plan B" (2022), "The Secret" (2023), and "In Too Deep" (2024). Now, with the 30th novel, "Exit Strategy," Andrew has become the official sole author of the series, with Lee Child telling USA Today, "It's all his now."

According to USA Today, "In Too Deep" was the first book entirely written by Andrew Child, so "Exit Strategy" is his second. Still, it represents a more official passing of the torch. The elder Child told USA Today, "I had a great run, a quarter of a century essentially, and that is beyond anybody's wildest dreams. So I'm quite happy to sit back and say, yeah, now somebody else can have the fun." According to the author, his "entire ambition was to give the character away" eventually, and his latest comments seem to make that transition much more official.

The Jack Reacher author spoke to /Film in 2025 about Alan Ritchson's performance, and when asked about reader reaction to Andrew's authorship, described it as "fairly seamless." He added, "There's always a few clever dicks who want to point out that, yeah, it's changed. But you get negative comments about anything. The amount is how many negative comments, and there's been very few. And I think it's worked very well." Still, many fans remain disappointed in the change. Reddit threads on the topic range from disappointed fans to those who admit the books aren't as good but still read them. Others are downright hostile to Andrew's prose, though there are some who believe the novels were going downhill before the younger Child's involvement.

Either way, it's safe to say the recent trajectory of Jack Reacher novels doesn't bode well for the series' future, and considering there have been 30 books now, it might be time to wrap things up. Then again, if there's one thing fans know, it's that nothing can stop Reacher, so maybe he's doomed to wander the United States forever in some peripatetic purgatory.