A short addition too the Reacher universe. Two take place on Christmas and national security comes up in some in an incidental way. ( )

The New, the Old and the Lost Jack Reacher

This May 2017 audiobook collects 3 Reacher novellas and 6 Reacher short stories, and along with "Three Jack Reacher Novellas: Deep Down, Second Son, High Heat" makes up the balance to the May 2017 print/ebook edition "No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories" I think the latter collects all of the Reacher short fiction except for the Nick Heller/Joseph Finder crossover short story "God and Valuable Consideration: Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller"

Often, nothing particularly dramatic happens in these stories. Reacher isn't required to play out 'the single vigilante vs. some sort of conspiracy' plot of the full-length novels. Still, this is my favourite type of Reacher, i.e. the wandering loner equipped with only an expired passport, an ATM card and a toothbrush, wearing this week's outfit of disposable clothing. Instead, Reacher enters the lives of other people for a short time, solves or explains some sort of puzzle or mystery, and then moves on down the road.

The "New" here refers to 1. "Too Much Time" (May 2017), a novella which apparently is also the lead-in to November 2017's expected full-length "The Midnight Line". Reacher plays solid citizen and when agreeing to be a testifying witness to a purse-snatching finds himself framed for another crime entirely. This is a good return to form as I've been disappointed with the recent novels of army prequels and/or international conspiracies. "Too Much Time" is the good old Reacher.

The rest of the book is organized chronologically in Reacher-time, regardless of time of publication. These are what I call the "Old" and, unless you are a Reacher fan of wide-ranging newspaper and magazine tastes, the "Lost", as it is unlikely that most readers would have seen all of the original print editions of the balance of the stories here.

So we have:
2. "Small Wars" (2015): An army prequel where Reacher investigates the murder of a strategic war planner.
3. "James Penney's New Identity" (1999): Novella length short-story where army-time Reacher makes a late appearance. First appeared in the anthology "Fresh Blood III" (2000).
4. "Everyone Talks" (2012): Short story told from a newbie police detective's point-of-view. Wandering Reacher is again a witness. First appeared in the June 2012 Esquire magazine.
5. "Not a Drill" (2014): Reacher meets some Canadians in the woods. Novella.
6. "Maybe They Have A Tradition" (2016): Reacher hopes for Christmas dinner. First appeared in the December 2016 Country Living magazine.
7. "Guy Walks into a Bar..." (2009): Reacher walks into a bar ... Short-story prequel which is the direct lead-in to the full-length "Gone Tomorrow". First appeared in the June 6, 2009 New York Times (and is actually still available online as of May 2017 at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/opinion/07child.html).
8. "No Room at the Motel" (2014): Another Reacher Christmas, searching for shelter during a winter storm. First appeared in December 2014 Stylist magazine.
9. "The Picture of the Lonely Diner" (2015): Reacher discusses Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" painting with an FBI agent (Yes, there is a crime as well ;). First appeared in "Manhattan Mayhem: New Crime Stories from Mystery Writers of America" (2015). ( )