Jack Carr is an American author who writes books based on his experiences in the Navy. He spent 20 years working in Naval Special Warfare which included roles such as leading assault sniper, platoon commander, troop commander, and task unit commander.
He served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Philippines. Jack Carr is now a New York Times bestselling author. His first book, The Terminal List, was published in 2018. There are now 6 books in the series, with the latest one due to be published in May 2023.
His books are generally classified as thrillers and have won awards for this genre. They also include a lot of action and an element of mystery. Jack Carr’s first book, The Terminal List, was adapted into a television series starring Christ Pratt.
The television series aired in July 2022 on Amazon. It has been confirmed that a second season will be made, possibly based on further books in the series. Jack Carr is currently living in Utah with his wife and children.
He hosts a very successful podcast called ‘Danger Close’, which takes fans beyond the books. He shares his own experiences in the Navy as well as interviewing soldiers, historians, military experts, politicians, and many more guests.
About The Jack Carr Book Series
Jack Carr has written 6 books that focus on the lead character – James Reece, a Navy SEAL.
The series begins with Reece finding out that the ambush that killed his teammates was part of a government plan, a plan that also involved killing Reece’s family. He must use his Navy experience to avenge his friends and family and stop the plot against him.
As the series continues, Reese flees the states but is recruited by the CIA whilst in hiding. As a reluctant CIA agent, he faces lots of challenges – fighting terrorists, sustaining serious injuries, outsmarting the Russian mafia, and tracking down killers.
Each book in the series takes James Reece on another adventure full of danger and action-packed fights. These books are thrilling, with gripping storylines that will get your heart racing.
They deal with lots of different themes including crime, terrorism, military tactics, and espionage. Jack Carr has extensive Navy experience and various different contacts, so he is able to create a realistic world for readers to immerse themselves in.
He is considered to be one of the leading authors in the political thriller genre. One of the great things about these books is the journey that James Reece goes on as a character. He begins the first book full of rage and seeking revenge.
His faith in the US government is shaken. He later flees the United States planning to start a new life elsewhere. As the books progress, he gradually regains his sense of duty and is working hard to preserve innocent lives and take down the enemies of the United States.
Another reason why Jack Carr’s work receives so much praise is his ability to explain complex events and ideas in straightforward language. Readers do not get tied down in technical terms or put off by things they don’t understand. Jack Carr’s books are authentic but also accessible.
High-profile fans of the Jack Carr book series include Andy McNab, Chris Pratt, Lee Child, Mark Dawson, Brad Thor, Tom Marcus, and Chris Haughty.
If you want to learn more about the background of the books, you can listen to Jack Carr’s podcasts and read the accompanying gear guides that he releases for each novel.
James is a Navy SEAL whose team was caught in an ambush. He is the only survivor. When James returns home, his nearest and dearest are murdered. He begins to suspect that this is not the work of a foreign foe, but a government conspiracy.
James sets out to avenge the deaths of his family and his teammates. He is no longer bound by the command structure of the military, and with no family, he has nothing to lose.
What he does have is a decade of experience in warfare, giving him the skills he needs to uncover the conspiracy and exact his revenge. James Reece is ruthless as he targets his enemies and makes them pay for their transgressions.
The story unfolds at a heart-racing pace, keeping you hooked right to the end. You quickly gain an understanding of James Reece as a character – his skills, his motivations, and his principles.
The reader gets a real sense of why Reece is willing to go to such extreme lengths to get revenge, and why it is all he can think about until it is done. The story is also a message of warning against going to extreme lengths to achieve absolute power.
It is a very impressive debut novel, with an unrelenting pace that makes it impossible to put the book down.
James Reece flees the United States after exacting his ruthless revenge on high-level members of the government. Even in the wilds of Mozambique, he can’t stay hidden for long. The CIA is hunting him down, but not the reason you might suspect.
The CIA needs Reece’s help after a string of terrorist attacks. The bomb in London was just the beginning, and the body count is steadily rising.
Reece has a contact, an Iraqi commando, that could be the key to cracking the terrorist plot and not only saving lives but preventing the downfall of America’s economy.
Reece reluctantly agrees to help them in exchange for a clean slate and finds himself once again on the same side as the US government.
He must travel far and wide to track down the leaders of terrorist groups and unravel a political conspiracy that has worldwide implications.
In this book, readers get a good insight into how terrorist attacks impact the economy and the market, causing more issues than just death and destruction.
This also helps you to understand why certain targets are chosen, as they will cause the most disruption to the target country. One of the interesting plot points of this book is the deal struck between the CIA and Reece.
At the start of the book, Reece is considered to be the most wanted domestic terrorist in America. He went after members of the US government – regardless of whether his reasons were just or unjust, he took the law into his own hands.
But the tables turn when Reece is the only person who can help the CIA, and the greater good of the United States is at stake.
Pros
James Reece is not only battling terrorists in this novel, but he is also struggling with a terminal brain tumor. This adds an extra layer of tension and emotion to the story that draws readers in and keeps them hooked.
Cons
Some of the financial and economic plot points might be confusing to some readers.
James Reece returns to his childhood home in the wilderness of Montana to recover from a serious brain injury. He needs help putting the pieces of his life back together.
Luckily he has a long-time friend and fellow Navy Seal Raife Hastings to help him, along with investigative journalist Katie Buranek. Meanwhile, a traitorous CIA officer is making a deal with the Russian mafia.
They want Reece dead – for both personal and professional reasons – and are willing to do anything to make that happen, including attacking him on U.S. soil.
Reece cannot trust the CIA to help him as one of their agents has been compromised, and he doesn’t know which one.
He must make his own team – a group of former commandos whose loyalty can be trusted – to help him in his fight against the Russian Mafia. Reece will do what he does best – take down the enemy on their home turf.
The hunters become the hunted as Reece is once again seeking revenge against his enemies. Hunting is definitely a theme of this book – it explores different types of hunters and the techniques they use to catch their prey.
Jack Carr’s experience and knowledge really elevate this novel to another level, creating an authentic reading experience that is totally immersive.
It is frustrating when you come across an inaccuracy in a story that interrupts your ability to get lost in the events and the characters, but you don’t find that in this book.
Pros
This is another pulse-racing, exhilarating read that fans of the Jack Carr book series will love.
Cons
It seems a little far-fetched that Reece would recover so quickly from a serious head injury.
Two decades after the events of 9/11, the enemy is ready to strike again. They have been waiting patiently, building up intel and planning their next attack. But after twenty years, the United States is exhausted with war.
Their new president – a young visionary – could be just what the country needs. But he is not as perfect as he seems, and he is hiding a dark secret. James Reece must take on a top-secret CIA mission- a plan for retribution that has been in the making for years.
But there is more at play than anyone realizes. A Ph.D. student working in an underground lab has been assigned a deadly mission involving secret bioweapons, and an ancient religion has spawned a group of lethal assassins with their sights on America.
Will James Reece be able to protect his country once more, or is the fate of the Western world too much for one man’s shoulders to bear? Several different elements to this story are weaved together expertly in a way that builds tension.
The pace quickens, building to a crescendo where the storylines converge and the connections between the characters and events are revealed. Jack Carr has a lot of knowledge about bioweapons, which you can read more about in the author’s note.
This gives you even more insight into the events of the book and why it played out the way it did.
Pros
You can tell that Jack Carr has drawn on his previous experiences in the Navy to write this book. This makes it an even more entertaining and thought-provoking reading experience.
Cons
The connections to 9/11 might be too upsetting for some readers.
After completing a mission in the African country of Burkina Faso, an Iraqi assassin’s plane is blown out of the sky. As the names and photographs of the victims are shown on the news over 6000 miles away, James Reece recognizes her.
She was a Mossad agent that worked with the CIA years ago. Reece never thought he would see this woman again, but now she is dead. Who killed her? And why? To answer these questions, Reece enlists the help of old friends scattered across the globe.
But as they get closer to tracking down this woman’s killer, he realizes that he has led them all into a deadly trap. A trap set by a master sniper, but he is not working alone.
Will Greece be able to get to the bottom of what is happening in time to save his friends, and to save himself? This book has strong themes of espionage which gets the reader hooked from the outset.
If you want to learn more about the weapons and vehicles mentioned in the book, you can head to Jack Carr’s website and read the Gear Guide which accompanies each novel.
Pros
It has been meticulously researched, which creates an impressive and genuine reading experience, fully immersing the reader into the world of military politics.
Cons
The realities of modern warfare will leave you feeling quite frightened after this book.
In the latest installment of the Jack Carr book series, James Reece is fighting against all odds to complete a mission that has been years in the making.
He is up against a global conspiracy to take down the United States and the rest of the Western World, but James Reece won’t rest until the enemies are taken out, for good. The world is teetering on the edge of war and the United States is struggling.
Political division, economic crisis, and targeted assassinations have left America on her knees, primed for a hostile takeover by a group of global elites. With their most dangerous enemy locked behind bars, their path is clear – or so they thought.
How does the death of a congressman in 1980 relate to the plot to take over the United States today? And what other secrets must be uncovered to reveal the truth and stop the plan in its tracks?
There is only one man who can find out, and he won’t hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his way.
Pros
This is an action-packed exciting read.
Cons
Some of the economic and political plot points are quite heavy.
Summary
The Jack Carr book series about Navy SEAL James Reece is written and published in chronological order. You need to read the books in the correct order to get a full understanding of the characters and the events that are taking place.
Each book is mostly self-contained in that the main storyline is resolved by the end, but the books are tied together with recurring themes and characters. The Jack Carr book series has received a lot of praise and attention from critics.
They have been called riveting, exhilarating, suspenseful, explosive, authentic, well-written, powerful, and thoughtful. Each book in the series is very highly rated by readers on Amazon and the books have a strong fan following.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about the Jack Carr book series.
Was Jack Carr A Navy SEAL?
Jack Carr served in the Navy for 20 years in various positions. He took part in missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Philippines.
Are The Jack Carr Books Based On True Stories?
The Jack Carr book series is inspired by his time in the Navy which makes them authentic. However, the events, the storylines, and the characters are fictional.
Do You Have To Read The Jack Carr Book Series In Order?
It is best to read the Jack Carr book series in chronological order, which is also the order in that the books were published. This will ensure that you have the best reading experience and that the story flows as it is meant to.
Which Jack Carr Book Is The Best?
The first book in the series, The Terminal List, has the highest ratings on Amazon. However, fans have enjoyed every book in the series.
Has The Jack Carr Book Series Been Turned Into A Film?
No films have been created based on the Jack Carr film series. The first book has been adapted into a television series and a second series has been confirmed.
Noah Burton works as a Librarian full time, and is a blogger in his spare time. His goal is to write compelling recommendations for all of the most popular books he can find, from science fiction to romance.
With a passion for books, a drive to find new reads to get stuck into, and a love for sharing book recommendations with others, Noah can help you find the next novel for your bucket list.
