Past Tense characters

Also known as Reacher

Appears from the start

An itinerant former Army officer travelling from Maine toward San Diego. He changes course for Laconia after recognizing it as the New Hampshire birthplace attributed to his late father, Stan Reacher.

Also known as Patty

Appears from the start

A Canadian sawmill worker travelling with her boyfriend, Shorty Fleck, to sell valuable property in New York. She reads the map during their back-road detour and reaches an isolated motel after their Honda overheats.

Also known as Shorty, Fleck

Appears from the start

A Canadian potato farmer travelling with his girlfriend, Patty Sundstrom. Their plan to sell valuables in New York is interrupted when their aging Honda overheats and they seek help at a remote motel.

Appears from the start

The late father Jack Reacher believes was born in Laconia and left the area at seventeen. The chance discovery of that claimed birthplace prompts Reacher to investigate the family's local history.

First appears in chapter 3

The polished receptionist who appears to lead the group managing the isolated motel. He and three associates present themselves as investors and question Patty and Shorty about their journey.

First appears in chapter 3

One of Mark's three associates at the remote property. He is introduced as a fellow investor when the group hosts Patty and Shorty for dinner.

First appears in chapter 3

One of the men presented as an investor in the isolated motel. He joins Mark, Robert, and Peter at dinner with the stranded Canadian couple.

First appears in chapter 3

A member of Mark's motel group who is presented as one of the property's investors. He is said to handle the quad bikes kept at the site.

Also known as Castle

First appears in chapter 3

A Laconia city-records employee who helps Reacher search for evidence of his father's family. Her initial property search finds no Reacher household in the city during the relevant period.

Also known as Carrington

First appears in chapter 5

A Laconia town attorney and census enthusiast whom Elizabeth Castle recommends when the expected Reacher household cannot be found in local records.

Also known as Chief Shaw, Shaw

First appears in chapter 7

Laconia's chief of detectives. He brings Reacher into the police department's historical-record search for an old report involving the Reacher surname.

Also known as Detective Amos, Amos

First appears in chapter 7

A Laconia detective and former Army MP who assists Reacher with the department's historical files. Their shared military background is apparent when he recognizes her professional experience.

Also known as Mark

First appears in chapter 9

The motel leader previously known as Mark. A police record gives his name as Mark Reacher and identifies him as a young motel renovator involved in a dispute over a delayed permit, creating a possible link to Jack Reacher's family search.

First appears in chapter 10

Stan Reacher's father, found in county census records at rented housing in Ryantown. He worked first as a tin-mill foreman and later grading roads.

First appears in chapter 10

Stan Reacher's mother, recorded with James and Stan in Ryantown rather than Laconia. The censuses list her first as a bedsheet finisher and later without employment.

First appears in chapter 14

A Macedonian mechanic whom Mark contacts about the stranded Honda. Speaking by phone, he promises Patty and Shorty that he will bring the needed repair part within several hours.

First appears in chapter 15

A local resident who keeps archived material about Ryantown, including a newsletter concerning the former settlement and an unsuccessful campaign over alleged groundwater pollution.

Also known as Patrolman Davison

First appears in chapter 22

A Laconia patrolman briefed by Brenda Amos about the threat to Reacher. He recognizes Reacher during an early-morning street encounter and takes him voluntarily to the police station for protection.

Also known as Mr. Mortimer

First appears in chapter 24

An elderly resident of an assisted-living facility whose memories of Ryantown may help Reacher understand his family's years in the vanished mill settlement.

Also known as Reverend Burke, Burke

First appears in chapter 25

The gray-ponytailed former clergyman who drives Reacher to meet Mortimer. He has been between parishes for decades and serves as Reacher's local guide during the Ryantown inquiry.

First appears in chapter 32

The name Peter uses while posing as the front-desk man at the supposedly closed motel. He tells Reacher and Burke that the property is under repair and drives them back to the blocked county road.

Also known as Mark Reacher, Mark

First appears in chapter 41

The motel owner and hunt organizer previously identified as Mark Reacher. After Reacher disarms him on the forest track, he gives his actual surname as Breacher, ending the apparent family connection.

First appears in chapter 43

A living Laconia resident whom Brenda Amos locates during the family inquiry. He agrees to meet Jack Reacher immediately, despite Reacher having long believed that the Stan Reacher he sought was his late father.

Also known as Bill, Stan Reacher

First appears in chapter 44

Jack Reacher's father, first known as Bill. The living Stan Reacher identifies him as a childhood cousin who borrowed Stan's birth certificate after killing a local bully, then enlisted in the Marines under the Reacher identity.