Tripwire characters

Appears from the start

A brutal figure guarding an old secret on which his freedom, standing, and fortune rest. Two distant alarms signal a threat, and he decides to remain and defend what he has concealed for nearly thirty years.

Appears from the start

Living anonymously in Key West, he avoids confirming his identity when an unidentified older man finds him and asks whether he is Jack Reacher.

First appears in chapter 2

A former police officer working as a private detective. He tracks Reacher to Key West on behalf of a client he calls Mrs. Jacob, but cannot persuade Reacher to acknowledge his identity or explain why she wants him found.

First appears in chapter 3

A dancer at Reacher's Key West workplace and an acquaintance familiar with his local routine. She recognizes that a visitor had been asking for him.

First appears in chapter 3

The chief executive of a struggling family manufacturing company. With ordinary financing exhausted, he needs a large short-term loan to keep the business operating and accepts a meeting with an apparently respectable lender.

First appears in chapter 4

Two unnamed men in suits who arrive at Reacher's Key West workplace looking for him. They become violent when he refuses to help them, but he forces both men outside.

First appears in chapter 6

The third-generation owner of a failing family manufacturing company. He believes a large short-term loan can save the business and prepares to seek emergency financing from Hook Hobie.

First appears in chapter 6

Chester Stone's loyal wife, who recognizes that the family could remain financially secure without the company. Chester has not told her the full extent of the business crisis as he prepares to seek emergency funding.

First appears in chapter 9

Hook Hobie’s unnamed receptionist is a confidant who knows about his escape plan and questions his decision to delay leaving.

First appears in chapter 9

Costello's unnamed secretary, whom Hook Hobie's operatives are ordered to locate.

First appears in chapter 13

A name from Reacher's Army past. Reacher finds the Garber name at a Garrison address where a funeral attended by Army officers is taking place.

Also known as Mrs. Jacob

First appears in chapter 14

Leon Garber's only child, who is divorced and retains her former married surname professionally. At her father's funeral, she greets Reacher and confirms that she is Mrs. Jacob.

First appears in chapter 19

Leon Garber’s cardiologist. He tells Jack Reacher and Jodie Garber that Garber had become absorbed in a new task and made a medically risky trip to Hawaii.

First appears in chapter 19

An older man known to Leon Garber through the cardiology clinic. Garber had assisted him and his wife with documents and photographs.

First appears in chapter 19

An older woman known to Leon Garber through the cardiology clinic. Garber had assisted her and her husband with documents and photographs.

First appears in chapter 20

Hook Hobie’s receptionist and operational aide. He confirms the dates of Leon Garber’s trip to Honolulu for Hobie.

First appears in chapter 21

The real-estate agent Marilyn Stone selects when she quietly lists the family home.

First appears in chapter 24

The remaining member of the suited pair sent after Reacher and Jodie Garber. Acting on Hook Hobie's order, he kills his partner and removes the dead man's right hand as proof.

First appears in chapter 30

Tom Hobie's elderly wife. She and Tom expected Reacher because of Leon Garber and ask him to hear the case Garber had pursued for them.

First appears in chapter 30

An elderly, frail parent whom Reacher visits with his wife, Mary. The couple expected Reacher because of Leon Garber and invite him to hear their case.

Also known as Vic

First appears in chapter 31

The sole child of Tom and Mary Hobie. A capable student, he joined the Army, qualified near the head of his helicopter class, and deployed to Vietnam.

First appears in chapter 32

An investigator paid by the Hobies to search for evidence of their missing son. He supplies a recent photograph that supposedly shows Victor in a secret prison camp and proposes a costly mission to bring him home.

First appears in chapter 33

The owner of Stevens Hardware and a friend of Victor since childhood. His memories give Reacher another view of Victor's temperament and dedication to Army service.

First appears in chapter 43

A senior lawyer at Forster and Abelstein who represents Chester Stone. Sheryl contacts his firm from the hospital after following Marilyn's instructions.

First appears in chapter 43

The National Personnel Records Center supervisor who gives Reacher and Jodie access to military files connected with their investigation.

First appears in chapter 44

Victor Hobie's regular co-pilot during much of his second Vietnam tour. His service record and official finding of death after the final helicopter crash become important to Reacher's inquiry.

Also known as A. A. DeWitt

First appears in chapter 44

A former helicopter pilot whom Victor Hobie's service file identifies as his former trainer and flying partner. That history makes the general a potentially important witness concerning the anomaly in Victor's official record.

First appears in chapter 46

An NYPD officer investigating Sheryl's severe facial injuries. Working with Sark, O'Hallinan questions her implausible account and uses hospital evidence to begin tracing the vehicle that delivered her.

First appears in chapter 46

An NYPD officer partnered with O'Hallinan on the investigation into Sheryl's assault. The officers pursue the large black vehicle seen at the hospital despite Sheryl's refusal to identify whoever injured her.

First appears in chapter 48

A retired NYPD detective now working as a private investigator. David Forster hires him to attend the planned Stone stock meeting under Forster's identity, with Curry's experience and concealed presence intended to discourage violence.

First appears in chapter 54

An Army specialist who examines remains at the Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii. Newman previously taught Reacher and knew Leon Garber.

First appears in chapter 54

The Army lieutenant who directs the laboratory where Nash Newman conducts forensic identification work.

First appears in chapter 55

A Military Police officer traveling with Zabrinski on Victor Hobie's final flight. He was part of a special mission involving an arrested serviceman and is identified among the seven recovered crash victims.

First appears in chapter 55

One of two Military Police officers aboard Victor Hobie's final helicopter flight. Recovery evidence identifies Zabrinski among the seven people who died when the aircraft crashed during a special prisoner-transport mission.

First appears in chapter 55

An arrested serviceman transported by Military Police officers Zabrinski and Gunston on Victor Hobie’s final helicopter flight. Recovery records initially identify Allen among the seven people who died in the crash.

First appears in chapter 67

The hook-handed man known as Hook Hobie, unmasked as the arrested serviceman Carl Allen. He survived the helicopter crash, exchanged identification tags with the dead Victor Hobie, and lived for decades under Victor’s identity.

First appears in chapter 71

A Department of the Army representative who approaches Reacher after the Carl Allen confrontation. He seeks discretion about the classified history and negotiates terms for the Army's public treatment of Victor Hobie's record.