If you plan on reading all Jack Carr books in order, you’ve come to the right page. In this article, you’ll find all you need to know about the author’s Terminal List series and how to read it in the correct order!
Jack Carr is an author who has mastered the art of writing high-octane thrillers, and the popularity of his books is testament to how much readers love his work. His main series, The Terminal List, focuses on an ex-Navy SEAL named James Reece who feels like his life is over after his team’s death. However, he is pushed to seek revenge after he learns who is behind the deaths.
The first book in this series, The Terminal List, was published in 2018, with the most recent released in 2024. It made the New York Times best-seller list and has been a finalist for several awards over the past few years. Even more impressive is that Jack Carr’s first novel was made into a show on Amazon Prime starring Chris Pratt and Constance Wu. While it got mixed reviews, it has been renewed for a second season.
This book series has something in common with the author, Jack Carr. Like the main character in his book, Jack is a former Navy SEAL. He is no longer one but has served many years. Now, Jack Carr is focused on writing his remarkably successful thriller novels.
Taking a break from telling the story of James Reece, Jack Carr is bringing a new series that will focus on Tom Reece, James’s father, with the first book, Cry Havoc, which will be released in October 2025!
So, let’s look at the best order to read Jack Carr’s books and discover what made his books some of the best thriller novels of all time!
All Jack Carr Books in Order of Release Date:
Here’s the list featuring all of Jack Carr’s books—The Terminal List series and Tom Reece series—according to their release dates:
The Terminal List Series:
- The Terminal List (2018)
- True Believer (2019)
- Savage Son (2020)
- The Devil’s Hand (2021)
- In The Blood (2022)
- Only The Dead (2023)
- Red Sky Mourning (2024)
Tom Reece Series:
Although all the books by Jack Carr listed above can be read as standalone novels, it is recommended that you read them in the publication order, as they all focus on the former Navy SEAL named James Reece.
So, while not necessary, reading Jack Carr’s books in the order of their release will help you understand the chronology of events and not be confused by the story.
How to Read Jack Carr’s Terminal List Series in Order?
1. The Terminal List (2018)
Before losing his team, James Reece was an outstanding and decorated Navy SEAL. However, he is devastated when a mission goes wrong, killing everyone on his team and leaving him as the only survivor.
He is unsure of what to do with himself and wonders why he was left alive out of everyone. When Reece discovers that the one behind the attack was the Government, he decides to get revenge on them. For someone as well-trained as him, there is no doubt that James Reece will be able to avenge everyone on his team who has been unfairly killed.
This book is an excellent start to what has proven to be a successful and thrilling series. Once you finish this first book, you’ll be dying for more, and soon, you’ll start reading the second book, too!
2. True Believer (2019)
In this novel, James Reece finally manages to let everyone he has lost rest peacefully. He goes into hiding and is helped by people he thought had written him off.
Now, all Reece wants is to be left alone. One thing he wants nothing to do with is the United States Government, but this changes after an Iraqi commando is found to be behind numerous terrorist attacks. The United States Government seeks Reece out, knowing that if anyone can find this Iraqi commando who has vanished in Europe, it’s James Reece.
James only agrees because the Government offers to pardon him and his friends. Now, he finds himself working for the very people he wanted nothing to do with ever again.
3. Savage Son (2020)
James Reece, a former Navy SEAL, saw his entire team killed before seeking revenge. He avenged their deaths and then worked with the United States government to help take down terrorists. In exchange, he got immunity for himself and his friend.
Despite a target no longer being on his back, James Reece can’t rest. He is in the middle of recovering from a profoundly severe surgery. Thankfully, he is not alone, as he has two people, Katie Buranek and Raife Hastings, by his side to make sure he recovers.
However, after a CIA officer betrays the US government and becomes an ally of the Russian Mafia, he is at the top of the list.
He has to try to avoid being killed by the Russian Mafia after having just gotten brain surgery. It’s certainly not going to be easy, but James Reece has no choice.
4. The Devil’s Hand (2021)
This fourth entry in Jack Carr’s book series reminds readers that 9/11 happened two decades ago, and the war resulting from that attack was a disaster. With a new President taking the reins of the American Government, only time will tell what will happen.
Like with the United States, things are also going wrong across the ocean. A person known as the Supreme Leader has decided they have had enough and that it’s time to get revenge against the United States. This person’s animosity for them cannot be rivaled.
To make matters even worse, a graduate student has gained knowledge of the existence of bioweapons. This would not be a problem if he had not been picked to destroy what had become his second home.
If you add all these three things together, you know things will get chaotic, and James Reece will get busy once again!
5. In the Blood (2022)
Not only did James Reece violently lose his team, but he also had his life on the line several times, much to his dismay.
When James Reece learns that a plane that was boarded in Burkina Faso has been shot down, he is shaken. After seeing the pictures of the victims, he recognizes one of them in particular. She is a woman whom he remembered had ties to the CIA and Mossad at the same time.
He had thought of the woman for years and never expected to see her again. Now, he is determined to find out who killed her. With the help of his friends, Reece will stop at nothing to avenge her death.
6. Only The Dead (2023)
The United States is not having a particularly good time right now. They face threats from every direction and, as the years pass, find themselves not being the superpower they once were. A secret group that wants to control the world is thrilled that this is happening. This will allow them to do whatever is needed to get the control they desire.
While this is happening, James Reece finds himself in solitary confinement, so as far as everyone is concerned, he has nothing to worry about. Reece seems to be in an impossible situation, but if anyone can get themselves out of such a challenging situation, it will be James Reece.
Once he does, he is determined to take down anyone else who has wronged him. The odds might be stacked against him, but James is still determined.
7. Red Sky Mourning (2024)
The United States is not doing so well these days, and now that a Chinese submarine has gone rogue and is heading towards the US with all its nuclear missiles engaged, it is alarming.
Meanwhile, a tech mogul is at the forefront of a revolution focusing on quantum computing and AI; no one knows where this rising tech star’s allegiances lie. And then there’s a politician controlled by a foreign entity close to grabbing the highest position in the United States.
All these seemingly unconnected events are about to ignite a power frenzy that will shift the balance of the world. But there’s still hope!
A quantum computer that has gone dark after its inception has been staying in hiding, in the deepest levels of the internet, and learning everything it can. She is known as “Alice” and can be the country’s greatest defender or worst enemy. The only connection that “Alice” has to the outside world is James Reece!
Jack Carr’s Tom Reece Series:
1. Cry Havoc (2025)
1968. A time of division. A time of civil unrest. A time of war.
Just before the Tet Offensive changes the dynamic in Vietnam, before President Johnson announces he will not run for reelection, before the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, as riots and protests rage across the nation, a spy ship, the USS Pueblo, is captured by communist forces off the coast of North Korea. The crew thought they had destroyed everything of intelligence value. They were wrong.
As a KGB “illegal” elicits information from a high-ranking CIA official, and teams of special operators infiltrating into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam disappear without a trace, an ambitious Soviet advisor launches an ingenious plan with consequences that reach far beyond the battlefields of Southeast Asia.
Tom Reece, a SEAL operator attached to the highly classified and shadowy MACV-SOG, is about to be thrust into a bloody battle to discover the truth!
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