Running Blind Characters: Full List & Analysis

Who drives the story

Main characters

Jack Reacher

Ex-Army military policeman turned drifter, hauled in as the FBI's prime suspect because the killer's profile fits him perfectly. He clears his name by solving deaths with no visible cause, kills the killer by accident, and chooses wandering over love.

Appears in:: Part 1: Dinner, Thugs, and a Pair of Handcuffs; Part 2: The Bathtub Pattern; Part 3: One Murder Wearing Five; Part 4: One Last Month
Themes:: Knowledge as power; The suspect who must solve it himself; Murder without a trace; The wandering life versus love

Julia Lamarr

FBI profiler leading the hunt, who uses hypnosis to make victims suffocate themselves, hiding one murder inside a serial pattern. Reacher catches her mid-killing and breaks her neck.

Appears in:: Part 1: Dinner, Thugs, and a Pair of Handcuffs; Part 2: The Bathtub Pattern; Part 3: One Murder Wearing Five

Jodie Garber-Jacob

Reacher's girlfriend, a lawyer who secures his release and is implicitly threatened by the FBI. She makes partner, gets posted to London, and agrees to one last month with Reacher.

Appears in:: Part 1: Dinner, Thugs, and a Pair of Handcuffs; Part 2: The Bathtub Pattern; Part 4: One Last Month
Themes:: The suspect who must solve it himself; The wandering life versus love

Lisa Harper

FBI agent assigned as Reacher's constant companion, a honey trap he spots instantly. Mutual attraction stays professional as she becomes his partner in catching Lamarr.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Bathtub Pattern; Part 3: One Murder Wearing Five

Also in the story

Supporting characters

Nelson Blake and Tony Poulton

The FBI agents who bring Reacher the third victim and keep the pressure on. They represent the bureau's grip that Reacher deliberately breaks.

Appears in:: Part 1: Dinner, Thugs, and a Pair of Handcuffs

Alison Lamarr

Julia's stepsister, an ex-soldier who filed a harassment complaint and fit the victim profile. Her murder is the one the whole killing spree was built to hide.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Bathtub Pattern

Colonel John Trent

Fort Dix officer who helps Reacher slip out a window while Harper waits outside, enabling the New York trip that destroys the FBI's leverage.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Bathtub Pattern

How they are connected

Key relationships

Julia Lamarr Jack Reacher
Reacher catches her mid-killing and breaks her neck.
Jodie Garber-Jacob Jack Reacher
Reacher's girlfriend, a lawyer who secures his release and is implicitly threatened by the FBI.
Lisa Harper Jack Reacher
FBI agent assigned as Reacher's constant companion, a honey trap he spots instantly.
Nelson Blake and Tony Poulton Jack Reacher
The FBI agents who bring Reacher the third victim and keep the pressure on.
Alison Lamarr Julia Lamarr
Julia's stepsister, an ex-soldier who filed a harassment complaint and fit the victim profile.
Colonel John Trent Jack Reacher
Fort Dix officer who helps Reacher slip out a window while Harper waits outside, enabling the New York trip that destroys the FBI's leverage.
Colonel John Trent Lisa Harper
Fort Dix officer who helps Reacher slip out a window while Harper waits outside, enabling the New York trip that destroys the FBI's leverage.

Go deeper

Running Blind themes & symbols

Knowledge as power · The suspect who must solve it himself · Murder without a trace · The wandering life versus love

Themes explained

Read the full Running Blind summary

The full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.

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