Best Jack Reacher Quotes & Sayings

The shorter the time, the cooler you have got to be. If you've got only one shot, you've got to make it count. You can't afford to miss because you screwed up the planning. — Lee Child

I'd never believed in luck. Never had any cause to. Never relied on it, because I never could. — Lee Child

Two buttons had come adrift on her shirt, meaning she was showing more cleavage than was normal for an officer of the law. I don't know if she had children, or planned to, but they would never starve. — Stephen Arnott

Now they broke my toothbrush, I don't own anything. — Lee Child

People, Reacher was certain about. Dogs were different. People had freedom of choice. If a man or a woman ran snarling toward him, they did so because they chose to. They were asking for whatever they got. His response was their problem. But dogs were different. No free will. Easily misled. It raised an ethical problem. Shooting a dog because it had been induced to do something unwise was not the sort of thing Reacher wanted to do. — Lee Child

No, I'm a man with a rule. People leave me alone, I leave them alone. If they don't, I don't. — Lee Child

I have to warn you. I promised my mother, a long time ago. She said I had to give folks a chance to walk away. — Lee Child

I worked thirteen years, got me nowhere. I feel like I tried it their way, and to hell with them. Now I'm going to try it my way. — Lee Child

I don't care about the little guy. I just hate the big guy. I hate big smug people who think they can get away with things. — Lee Child

Shotguns and children don't mix. — Lee Child

Some old guy once said that the meaning of life is that it ends. — Lee Child

He picked up the wrench and broke the guy's wrist with it, one, and then the other wrist, two, and turned back and did the same to the guy who had held the hammer, three, four. The two men were somebody's weapons, consciously deployed, and no soldier left an enemy's abandoned ordnance on the field in working order.
The doctor's wife was watching from the cabin door, all kinds of terror in her face.
"What?" Reacher asked her. — Lee Child

Imagine the uproar if the Federal government tried to make everyone wear a radio transmitter around their neck so we can keep track of their movements. But people happily carry their cell phones in their purses and pockets. — Lee Child

I had a teacher once, grade school somewhere. Philippines, I think, because she always wore a big white hat. So it was somewhere hot. I was always twice the size of the other kids, and she used to say to me: count to ten before you get mad, Reacher. And I've counted way past ten on this one. Way past. — Lee Child

The door opened. A guy came in. Busy, bustling, sixty-something, medium size, a gray suit, a tight waistband, a warm and friendly face. Pink and round. Lots of energy, and the start of a smile. A guy who got things done, with a lot of charm. Like a salesman. Something complicated. Like a financial instrument, or a Rolls-Royce automobile. "I'm sorry," the guy said. To Sinclair only. "I didn't know you had company." American. An old-time Yankee accent. No one spoke. Then Sinclair said, "Excuse me. Sergeant Frances Neagley and Major Jack Reacher, U.S. Army, meet Mr. Rob Bishop, CIA head of station at the Hamburg consulate." "I just did a drive-by," Bishop said. "On the parallel street. The kid's bedroom. The lamp has moved in the window. — Lee Child

For twenty-four hours, she'd been running on her standard triple A's: ambition, adrenaline, and anxiety. Add two gut-wrenching plane rides on less than two hours sleep and her nerves, like her muscles, were screaming. None of this, she knew was visible even to the keenest observer. And she meant to keep it that way. — Diane Capri

Slippery slope. I carry a spare shirt, pretty soon I'm carrying spare pants. Then I'd need a suitcase. Next thing I know, I've got a house and a car and a savings plan and I'm filling out all kinds of forms. — Lee Child

The grounds had an iron fence set in a stone knee wall, which was just wide enough for a small person to sit on, and Turner was a small person, and Reacher was used to being uncomfortable. — Lee Child

I'm not a vagrant. I'm a hobo. Big difference. — Lee Child

Spread love and understanding," Reacher said. "Use force if necessary. — Lee Child

An unprovoked head butt is like bringing a sawed-off shotgun to a knife fight. — Lee Child

He shook with rage. 'Look what you have done, you vandal. You have destroyed everything!'

'What did you expect me to do? Bend over and wait for the broom-handle? — Stephen Arnott

Needing someone doesn't make you weak, it makes you feel. And feeling is how you know you're alive. -Jack Reacher — M.J. Rose

A handgun at two hundred feet is the same thing as crossing your fingers and making a wish. — Lee Child

Jack Reacher is a brilliant movie — Ken Follett

I'm not afraid of death. Death's afraid of me. — Lee Child

A person less fortunate than yourself deserves the best you can give. Because of duty, and honor, and service. You understand those words? You should do your job right, and you should do it well, simply because you can, without looking for notice or reward. — Lee Child

Political thriller? International thriller? Financial thriller? Whatever you call it, The Ascendant is smart, edgy, fast-paced storytelling at its best. Its unlikely hero, Garrett Reilly, reminded me of a young Jack Reacher as a tech-sa What I said: Political thriller? International thriller? Financial thriller? Whatever you call it, The Ascendant is smart, edgy, fast-paced storytelling at its best. Its unlikely hero, Garrett Reilly, reminded me of a young Jack Reacher as a tech-savvy bond analyst. Drew Chapman is a debut novelist to watch. — Alafair Burke

I went to college. West Point is technically a college. — Lee Child

And then he heard an answer. A voice said, "Yes?" It was a man's voice, from a big chest and a thick neck, but the syllable was snatched at and the full boom was bitten back short, because of breathy haste and enthusiasm. And anticipation. Like a gulp or a gasp. This guy had caller ID, and he wanted Hackett's news, and he wanted it bad, and he wanted it right then. That was clear. So the celebrations could begin, presumably. Reacher said, "This is not Hackett." The voice paused, and said, "I see." "This is Jack Reacher." No answer. "Hackett got McCann, but he didn't get us. In fact we got him. He was good, but not good enough." The voice said, "Where is Hackett now? — Lee Child

I've been approached by a couple of people who've recognized me from 'Jack Reacher.' It's great ... when the feedback's positive. I don't know if I look forward to the day when I can't go out and get a cup of coffee. I kinda hope that day never happens. — Jai Courtney

Reacher was the kind of guy who solved all problems as permanently as possible. — Diane Capri

To fill a small bag means selecting,and choosing, and evaluating. There's no logicial end to that process. Pretty soon I would have a big bag, and then two or three. A month later I'd be like the rest of you. — Lee Child

I'm a rich man. To have everything you need is the definition of affluence. — Lee Child

You see four guys bunched on a corner waiting for you, you either run like hell in the opposite direction without hesitation, or you keep on walking without slowing down or speeding up or breaking stride ... Truth is, it's smarter to run. The best fight is the one you don't have. But I have never claimed to be smart. Just obstinate, and occasionally bad-tempered. Some guys kick cats. I keep walking. - Jack Reacher — Lee Child

Enough, a person might say, if that person lived in the civilized world, the world of movies and television and fair play and decent restraint. But Reacher didn't live there. He lived in a world where you don't start fights but you sure as hell finish them, and you don't lose them either, and he was the inheritor of generations of hard-won wisdom that said the best way to lose them was to assume they were over when they weren't yet. — Lee Child

Details. Evidence gathering. Surveillance. It's the basis of everything. You've got to settle down and watch long enough and hard enough to get what you need. — Lee Child

Printing currency for foreigners to buy is the best racket a government can get into. — Lee Child

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in his shoes. Then when you start criticizing him, you're a mile away and he's got to run after you in his socks." - Jack Reacher — Lee Child

I know I'm smarter than an armadillo — Lee Child