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On your reading hunt again?
Let me guess. You’ve come here for an action-packed book series that would make you turn pages as if your fingers were on fire and keep sipping your coffee, all while you chew your nails to discover what comes next.
Right?
In that case, reading the Jack Carr novels in order is a must for you. His books are a thrill ride. He holds you at gunpoint from Page 1, ready to blow you away.
And then, when you expect it the least, he pulls the trigger and fills you with adrenaline that stirs all your senses.
Take a moment to get acquainted with the author (if you haven’t done it yet) or go straight to the list of Jack Carr books in order and take pleasure in his cliff-hanging plots, believable characters, and stylish prose.
Life Facts and Total Number of Books by Jack Carr
How did Jack Carr become a writer? How many novels has he written so far? Learn all that and more before you jump to the collection of novels by Jack Carr in order.
Top 7 Facts About Jack Carr
A relative “newbie” among thriller authors, Jack Carr always had writing at the back of his head. He mapped it out already in childhood that he would write. Now, his books stay atop the charts of NYT bestsellers.
Let’s hit some bullet points in his biography:
- Fact #1. His mother was a librarian, so he grew up surrounded by books and a love for reading.
- Fact #2. He never took any journalism or writing classes learning everything he needed from books. He read John Campbell’s books The Hero with a Thousand Faces and The Power of Myth at the age of 11 or 12. He also got inspiration from Stephen Hunter, Tom Clancy, J. C. Pollock, Marc Olden, Nelson DeMille, A. J. Quinnell, and Louis L’Amour.
- Fact #2. He began his writer’s career in 2015 with a children’s story Gracie Dwarf and the Storm Elves inspired by his daughter Grace.
- Fact #3. He has 20+ years of experience as a sniper and troop commander in the US Navy SEALs. He is also said to have participated in the successful operation against Osama bin Laden in 2011. Although, the names of the mission’s executors, SEAL Team Six, are not open to the public.
- Fact #4. He hosts the Danger Close podcast.
- Fact #5. He is an outdoorsman and a connoisseur of sharp objects, bombs, and guns.
- Fact #7. All his novels go through an in-depth review process by the US Department of Defense. Despite a 30-day review window, some of his novels (like Savage Son and True Believer) took the department as many as seven months to perform an inspection. In some sections of Savage Son, for example, the government censors blacked out particular phrases and sentences.
How Many Jack Carr’s Books Are There?
As of 2023, Jack Carr has released six thrillers for adults + one short story for children.
As you already know, his adventurous book for kids was published in 2015. All other titles belong to The Terminal List series following James Reece, Lieutenant Commander of Navy SEALs.
Here they are:
- The Terminal List (2018)
- True Believer (2019)
- Savage Son (2020)
- The Devil’s Hand (2021)
- In the Blood (2022)
- Only the Dead (2023)
Btw, here’s an awesome treat for Jack Carr’s fans: his seventh novel for the adult market is already in the works! It’s a non-fiction book on the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. The writer teased his readership with this piece of news on Instagram and Twitter.
While you’re in the waiting phase, you can start your reading adventure together with Jack Carr and his main hero James Reece from the debut novel The Terminal List. Book by book, move down the list, and get a glimpse of what you should expect from each.
Summary of Jack Carr Terminal List Books in Order
Get summaries for every Jack Carr book to help you stay on track with all of them.
Terminal List Book Number One: The Terminal List
Year: 2018
Goodreads rating: 4.27
Page count: 408
This is a novel of revenge.
With these words, Jack Carr christened his book right from the preface. And it is indeed a well-conceived novel that brings vengeance to its utmost level. You’ll understand why once you read it.
A high-stakes military mission under the guidance of James Reece, a Navy SEAL leader, turns into a disaster. He’s the only survivor and he needs answers. Was it sabotaged? Who is behind the failure and deaths of his teammates?
When he returns home, he finds his life in smithereens. It’s a heavy, cold shower of losses, betrayals, and government conspiracies. Together with Katie Buranek, an investigative reporter, he clears things up soon. And when he does so, blind rage is the only natural response.
See who appears on his list for repayment – grab your copy.
Terminal List Book Number Two: True Believer
Year: 2019
Goodreads rating: 4.34
Page count: 496
Can a man turned into a killing machine find purpose and peace after leaving military service? Can he channel his knowledge and experience into wisdom and move on?
You’ll be able to watch James Reece’s transformations in the second novel of the Jack Carr books in order. It is called by the author a novel of redemption.
Here’s a brief intro:
The deadliest terror attacks in history have rocked Europe during joyful Christmas festivities… The US government gives James Reece a chance to atone for his deeds and target the terrorists standing behind massive killings.
True Believer is among the top 20 best sellers in the Terrorism and Political Thrillers categories on Amazon. It is a highly intense and tactically-oriented novel with the fundamental accuracy of military operations. With all his experience in the elite army forces, Jack Carr makes the scenes wonderfully authentic, straightforward, and sometimes even brutal.
Check Amazon’s price for this grippingly suspenseful spine-chiller.
Terminal List Book Number Three: Savage Son
Year: 2020
Goodreads rating: 4.49
Page count: 416
Again, Jack Carr sets the atmosphere for you from the first lines as you open the book. And this time, it’s a novel of hunting.
One hunting game begins in the wild woods of Russia with a woman trapped… The other one is yet to start.
A student of war, just like his creator, James Reece tries to put together the pieces of life left to him. His ex-SEAL friend and the journalist you’re already familiar with from the previous books help him out.
Little does he know what awaits him: a six-month hunt for the bad guys. One of them is a treacherous agent from the Central Intelligence Agency who has been dreaming to kill Reece.
I couldn’t put down this techno- and detail-filled thriller, supercharged emotionally, with twists and turns you would never think of. This is actually the plot Jack Carr kept in his head since he was a school kid. You’ll be amazed at how twisty and witty it is.
Terminal List Book Number Four: The Devil’s Hand
Year: 2021
Goodreads rating: 4.45
Page count: 524
The fourth book in the chronological order of James Reece novels, it appeared even a more powerful read than I had expected.
It is a novel of asymmetric warfare.
The author brings light on the continuing “war on terror”. Every piece of the struggle with terrorism is like balancing on a tightrope with consequences nobody can foresee and prevent.
On 9/11, America saw its worst terror attack on Twin Towers by a group of men linked to al Qaeda. Twenty years later, in 2021, the enemies have learned, adapted, and prepared another weapon. But the newly elected US president Alec Christensen and ex-SEAL James Reece both have got reasons to enforce a major counter-terrorism plan…
In this story, the writer went deep down the rabbit hole into biodefense and bioweapons. Besides, the time of the book’s release was amidst the coronavirus crisis featured in the novel too.
Here’s the link to it.
Terminal List Book Number Five: In the Blood
Year: 2022
Goodreads rating: 4.50
Page count: 460
One of the most chilling conspiracy thrillers, it’s a novel of violent resolutions.
As the author warms you into the plot, you meet Alyia Galin, a world-class assassin working for two governments. Planning to leave the African heat behind, she boards the flight. In just a glimpse of an eye, her plane is targeted by a rocket.
When James Reece sees her name among the victims on the news, it evokes flashbacks from 2008 when he met Alyia in Iraq. In the pursuit of justice, Reece rolls out his mission to annihilate the world’s most threatening terrorist behind the attack. The action takes place in several countries including Russia, Israel, and Italy.
Jack Carr also digs deep into artificial intelligence and quantum computing topics, specifically into the military and intelligence aspects of those two. And after he finishes his research, he accelerates his novel’s pace to excessive speed.
Get your copy of In the Blood and put your seatbelts on! The ending will definitely give you goosebumps if not the shaking-from-head-to-toe experience.
Terminal List Book Number Six: Only the Dead
Year: 2023
Goodreads rating: 4.63
Page count: 562
The last of the Jack Carr James Reece books in order, Only the Dead is the summer’s best-ever thriller you can find in 2023. I grabbed it right after its publication, and OMG, it’s a mind-blower.
It’s also a novel of truth and consequences. As you reach the last pages, there’s a whole revelation.
But first, as you open the book, it throws you back to Rhode Island in the late 1970s. The author absorbs you into the novel with the mystery behind the assassination of a senator. He also weaves an ongoing enigma tangled with Reece’s father into it.
In the present time, the story starts unfolding where Jack Carr left James Reece in the previous novel In the Blood. Reece is now in prison, in a seven-by-twelve-foot cell. He has got a lot to think about in solitary confinement, but there isn’t really much time for that. The multi-national secret society is plotting another scheme to use the situation with the incarcerated Reece, weak America, and the world falling apart to their benefit.
Standing on the edge of World War III, the stakes are too high for James Reece to lose this battle. But who has jailed him, anyway? And how can he fight now, especially if there’s nobody out there to trust?
Find out the answers in the book. It’s available on Amazon.
Do You Need To Read Jack Carr Books in Order?
I’d certainly recommend reading the James Reece series chronologically by the date of release (see my explanation after the list).
Below you can see an ultimate list of James Reece books in order of publication year:
- 2018: The Terminal List
- 2019: True Believer
- 2020: Savage Son
- 2021: The Devil’s Hand
- 2022: In the Blood
- 2023: Only the Dead
If you read those as standalone novels, you lose all the background of relationship building between the characters. Not to mention that you can’t trace the thread of Reece’s character development crucial for the overall perception of each book in the series. The changes he experiences are profound and life-altering. They illustrate so many aspects from the perspective of a veteran having to make a transition from military to civilian life, cope with grief and loss, find one’s purpose in life, and other significant things Jack Carr is sort of writing out through James Reece.
Moreover, the romantic line is no less captivating
Awards and Adaptations of James Reece Books
Awards
All six books from the series have been NYT bestsellers: from audio to hardbacks to e-copies. Some of the books by Jack Carr received nominations. Check the titles below.
The Terminal List (2018)
Nominee for the Goodreads Choice Award (Best Debut Author 2018)
Finalist for the Thriller Award (Best First Novel 2019)
Finalist for the Barry Award (Best Thriller 2019)
True Believer (2019)
Finalist for the Barry Award (Best Thriller 2019)
The Devil’s Hand (2021)
Finalist for the Barry Award (Best Thriller 2022)
In the Blood (2022)
Finalist for the Barry Award (Best Thriller 2023)
Movie adaptations
The debut novel The Terminal List landed on Amazon as the same-name TV series with Chris Pratt starring as James Reece. Season One is eight episodes long. It premiered on Amazon Prime Video in July 2022.
The release date of Season Two has not been disclosed yet.
Full List of Books by Jack Carr in Order
Just like bullets from Jack Carr’s gun, his stories hit your mind accurately and quickly making an irreversible impact. And when his six-shot revolver is at your temple, you can’t but read all of the following stories one by one:
How many titles by Jack Carr have already whizzed into your library? Let us know in the comments.
P.S.: Just a slight warning to everyone who doesn’t like lengthy reads. You may have noticed that all novels by Jack Carr are 400+ pages long. So, if you’d like to take a break in between, you might want to consider books under 200 pages or even < 50 for a quick read.