I was having a garage sale, selling most of my books. A guy noticed I love mysteries. He says “You read the Reacher books?” I said no. He came back later and brought me one.

And so began my love affair with Lee Childs’ Jack Reacher.

And that’s why I dread Tom Cruise as Reacher this Christmas.

It isn’t just the pint size diminishment of Reacher. And that is a big problem. Childs laughingly noted you can wait a lifetime before you find a big man in Hollywood.

I know what he means. I used to do movie junkets and I quickly learned that everybody is smaller than they look on the big screen. Many are amazingly tiny people with tiny faces.

Childs point would be that we not only can’t find a 6-5 Reacher, we don’t need to because of the shrinkage of the screen.

Even if I concede that one, and I don’t, there are other concerns.

I noticed in  a movie trailer, Reacher doing some amazing driving. Reacher is not a great driver.

In fact, one of the best things about the character is how he has so many everyman qualities inside a real action guy. He makes mistakes. He isn’t perfect. Will Hollywood and Cruise capture the character we have come to know and love in the books? I think not.

Even an in-shape Russell Crowe would have been a little better.