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‘Between real and mythic’: an oral history of Jack Reacher

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Shelf Life: Lee Child

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Lee Child on Jack Reacher: ‘His fear of loneliness will get the better of his love of solitude’

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Reacher: The Stories Behind The Stories

On Monday September 5th, 1994, at home, at the dining room table, I sat down to write. An hour later, I gave the first chapter to my wife. I asked, “Should I continue?” 
 
“Yes,” she said. “I like it.” 
 
From global bestseller and creator of Jack Reacher, comes Lee Child’s first-ever autobiographical collection. 
 
'Essential reading for all Reacher fans.' STEVE CAVANAGH 
 
'Need a Lee Child/Reacher fix? Of course you do . . . This book is perfect for rabid fans and unabashed addicts – like me.' JAMES PATTERSON 
 
From urgently scribbling out his debut Killing Floor in pencil (the stub of which he still owns), to taking a step back with Blue Moon, and everything in between, here are 24 honest, witty and wise personal reflections on his life and work, crafted across decades. 
 
Whether it is through Lee’s moving account of meeting a fan years after her mother brought her to a book signing; facing his first computer and the coming of the internet; writing about New York just before – and just after – 9/11, to later seeing his novels adapted for the big screen, each riveting piece deftly evokes where he was psychologically and physically when he wrote each novel. 
 
Lee has clearly felt unwavering gratitude for his readers since 1997. And these stories were originally designed for fans of Reacher who may be interested in a ‘behind-the-scenes’ – or, in Lee’s words: ‘why the books turned out the way they did’. 
 
But this collection is also so much more. It is the story of a man who once put pencil to paper in an attempt to turn his luck around . . . and who made every word count. 
 
'Whip-smart, gripping and chock-full of wit and charm, just like the author himself.' KARIN SLAUGHTER, No.1 bestselling author of the Will Trent series 
 
'A unique, fascinating insight into the creative and personal journey of one of the world’s finest authors. I loved it.' STEVE CAVANAGH, bestselling author of Fifty Fifty and Thirteen 
 
'A fascinating look at the brilliant mind that created the iconic Jack Reacher. Both inspiring and instructive, this is a must-read for both readers and writers.' TESS GERRITSEN, bestselling author of the Martini Club series 
 
'A terrific accompaniment to the books, and answers so many questions.' JOANNE HARRIS, bestselling author of Chocolat 
 
*** 
 
EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL EDITION AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW!

Lee Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in England's Lake District. It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. His books consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over one hundred million copies. Lee is the recipient of many awards including Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours.

On Monday September 5th, 1994, at home, at the dining room table, I sat down to write. An hour later, I gave the first chapter to my wife. I asked, “Should I continue?” 
 
“Yes,” she said. “I like it.” 
 
From global bestseller and creator of Jack Reacher, comes Lee Child’s first-ever autobiographical collection. 
 
From urgently scribbling out his debut Killing Floor in pencil (the stub of which he still owns), to taking a step back with Blue Moon, and everything in between, here are 24 fascinating personal reflections on his life and work, crafted across decades. 
 
Whether it is through Lee’s moving account of meeting a fan years after her mother brought her to a book signing, to facing his first computer and the coming of the internet, to writing about New York just before – and just after – 9/11, to later seeing his novels adapted for the big screen . . . each riveting piece deftly evokes where he was, psychologically and physically, when he wrote each novel. 
 
Lee has clearly felt unwavering gratitude for his readers since 1997. And these honest, witty and wise reflections were originally designed for fans of Reacher who may be interested in a ‘behind-the-scenes’ – or, in Lee’s words: ‘why the books turned out the way they did’. 
 
But this collection is also so much more. It is the story of a man who once put pencil to paper in an attempt to turn his luck around . . . and who made every word count.

And Other Stories

Safe Enough

'An enticing snack-like book, full of jaunty tales, twists and violence.' INDEPENDENT 
 
I was the guy who always found a way. 
 
I was the guy that couldn't be stopped. 
 
From the world's number one thriller writer, twenty pulse-pounding short stories are collected for the first time in one edition, complete with an introduction from the author. 
 
Here are twenty meticulously plotted, intimate portraits of humanity at its best and worst, featuring assassins, CIA agents, gangsters, and more. A drug-dealing hit man unburdens his fears to a stranger. An overlooked rookie cop is assigned to the department’s file room. A ruthless killer only kills bad guys. A methodical bodyguard quits his job when he’s outsmarted. A military mission is planned to perfection… 
 
Each story is entirely distinct. And with their economical prose and unexpected twists, each could only have been written by the creator of Jack Reacher. 
 
'A great summer read. There is always a twist and always a different one. You’ll romp through them in a happy afternoon.' SPECTATOR 
 
 
The stories included in this collection are: 
 
The Bodyguard * The Greatest Trick of All * Ten Keys * Safe Enough * Natural in Every Way * The .50 Solution * Publica Transportation * Me and Mr. Rafferty * Section 7 (a) (Operational) * Addicted to Sweetness * The Bone-Headed League * I Heard a Romantic Story * My First Drug Trial * Wet with Rain * The Truth About What Happened * Pierre, Lucien & Me * New Blank Document * Shorty and the Briefcase * Dying for a Cigarette * The Snake-Eater by the Numbers

An enticing snack-like book, full of jaunty tales, twists and violence.

A great summer read. There is always a twist and always a different one. You’ll romp through them in a happy afternoon.

Lee Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in England's Lake District. It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. His books consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over one hundred million copies. Lee is the recipient of many awards including Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours.

I was the guy who always found a way. 
 
I was the guy that couldn't be stopped. 
 
From the world's number one thriller writer, twenty pulse-pounding short stories are collected for the first time in one edition, complete with an introduction from the author. 
 
Here are twenty meticulously plotted, intimate portraits of humanity at its best and worst, featuring assassins, CIA agents, gangsters, and more. A drug-dealing hit man unburdens his fears to a stranger. An overlooked rookie cop is assigned to the department’s file room. A ruthless killer only kills bad guys. A methodical bodyguard quits his job when he’s outsmarted. A military mission is planned to perfection… 
 
Each story is entirely distinct. And with their economical prose and unexpected twists, each could only have been written by the creator of Jack Reacher. 
 
 
The stories included in this collection are: 
 
The Bodyguard * The Greatest Trick of All * Ten Keys * Safe Enough * Natural in Every Way * The .50 Solution * Publica Transportation * Me and Mr. Rafferty * Section 7 (a) (Operational) * Addicted to Sweetness * The Bone-Headed League * I Heard a Romantic Story * My First Drug Trial * Wet with Rain * The Truth About What Happened * Pierre, Lucien & Me * New Blank Document * Shorty and the Briefcase * Dying for a Cigarette * The Snake-Eater by the Numbers

(Jack Reacher 7)

Persuader

Jack Reacher is a former major in the US Military Police who, since leaving the army, has drifted round the wide open spaces of America, hitchhiking or on buses, wherever the whim takes him. He has no permanent address, no job, no family ties, no car, no luggage, no mobile phone, no credit card - all he carries with him is a folding toothbrush. 
Reacher is never looking for trouble, but somehow trouble always find him. He is the ultimate hero for our troubled times, with a keen moral compass and sense of justice, even if he is often prepared to take the law into his own hands: he says he doesn't want to put the world to rights, he just doesn't like people who put it to wrongs.

** REACHER SEASON 3: OUT NOW ON PRIME VIDEO** 
 
"Ballsy, dynamic and not for the faint-hearted." (Daily Mail) 
 
Never forgive, never forget. 
 
Jack Reacher lives for the moment. Without a home. Without commitment. But he has a burning desire to right wrongs - and rewrite his own agonizing past. 
 
Never apologize. Never explain. 
 
When Reacher witnesses a brutal kidnap attempt, he takes the law into his own hands. But a cop dies. Has Reacher lost his sense of right and wrong? 
 
INCLUDES A BONUS SHORT STORY BY LEE CHILD AND TESS GERRITSEN. 
_________ 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Persuader is the seventh in the series. 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW***

"Ballsy, dynamic and not for the faint-hearted." (Daily Mail) 
 
Never forgive, never forget. 
 
Jack Reacher lives for the moment. Without a home. Without commitment. But he has a burning desire to right wrongs - and rewrite his own agonizing past. 
 
Never apologize. Never explain. 
 
When Reacher witnesses a brutal kidnap attempt, he takes the law into his own hands. But a cop dies. Has Reacher lost his sense of right and wrong? 
 
_________ 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Persuader is seventh in the series. 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW***

Jack Reacher, Book 28

The Secret

The gripping new Jack Reacher thriller from the No.1 bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child. 
 
 
Chicago. 1992. A hospital patient wakes to find two strangers by his bed. 
 
They show him a list of names and ask a simple but impossible question. Minutes later he falls to his death from his twelfth-floor window - a fall which generates some unexpected attention. 
 
That attention comes from the Secretary of Defense, who calls for an inter-agency task force to investigate. Jack Reacher, recently demoted from Major, is assigned as the Army's representative. If he gets a result, great. If not, he's a convenient fall guy. 
 
Reacher may be an exceptional military investigator, but office politics aren't what gets him up in the morning. As he races to identify a cold-blooded killer and uncover a secret that stretches back 23 years, he must navigate around his new partners. 
 
Will Reacher bring the bad guys to justice the official way . . . or his way? 
 
 
PRAISE FOR THE JACK REACHER SERIES 
 
'There's only one Jack Reacher. Accept no substitutes.' MICK HERRON 
 
'Jack Reacher is today's James Bond, a thriller hero we can't get enough of.' KEN FOLLETT 
 
'Everyone needs to kick some butt sometimes, even if it's just imaginary.' JOJO MOYES 
 
 
Includes a first look of IN TOO DEEP, Jack Reacher's newest adventure *** OUT NOW*** 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, The Secret is the 28th book in the internationally bestselling series. 
 
The Secret was a No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller in October and November 2023.

The Secret is a corker . . . Fast and furious, this is classic Jack Reacher doing what he does best &ndash; busting heads and breaking rules to get to the bottom of a conspiracy

A flow to the fight scenes  . . . some flashes of humour . . . Welcome back, Jack

If there is a more iconic character in modern fiction than Jack Reacher, I&rsquo;d like to meet them

Jack Reacher is on good form . . . Cue classic laconic violence

Chicago. 1992. A hospital patient wakes to find two strangers by his bed. 
 
They show him a list of names and ask a simple but impossible question. Minutes later he falls to his death from his twelfth-floor window - a fall which generates some unexpected attention. 
 
That attention comes from the Secretary of Defense, who calls for an inter-agency task force to investigate. Jack Reacher, recently demoted from Major, is assigned as the Army's representative. If he gets a result, great. If not, he's a convenient fall guy. 
 
Reacher may be an exceptional military investigator, but office politics aren't what gets him up in the morning. As he races to identify a cold-blooded killer and uncover a secret that stretches back 23 years, he must navigate around his new partners. 
 
Will Reacher bring the bad guys to justice the official way . . . or his way?

(Jack Reacher 3)

Tripwire

&lsquo;If the final pages of this story don&rsquo;t make your heart race, then you might want to make sure your heart is still working.&rsquo; KARIN SLAUGHTER 
 
 
For Jack Reacher, being invisible has become a habit. 
 
He spends his days digging swimming pools by hand and his nights as the bouncer in a local strip club in the Florida Keys. 
 
He doesn't want to be found. 
 
But someone has sent a private detective to seek him out. Then Reacher finds the guy beaten to death with his fingertips sliced off. It's time to head north and work out who is trying to find him and why. 
_________ 
 
'Lee Child continues his meteoric rise and mastery of suspense with Tripwire. It's a tightly-drawn and swift thriller that gives new meaning to what a page-turner should be.' MICHAEL CONNELLY 
'A slickly effective thriller which confirms Child's ability to keep the reader guessing - and sweating.' THE TIMES 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Tripwire is 3rd in the series. 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! **PRE-ORDER NOW**

A slickly effective thriller which confirms Child's ability to keep the reader guessing - and sweating

A fast-moving, violent and gripping mystery with a very bad baddie, and a tough, pragmatic hero in Jack Reacher

Lee Child continues his meteoric rise and mastery of suspense with Tripwire. It's a tightly-drawn and swift thriller that gives new meaning to what a page-turner should be

Establishes Child in the premier division.. Taut, with more than a touch of sweet romance, this is dangerously compulsive, so be warned - don't start it at bedtime or you'll be up all night

Good thrillers exist in a class of their own. The point of such a book is total escape and Tripwire fills the bill... includes a bang-up finale which makes the reader sit back and gasp with both wonder and understanding

Page for page, there's probably more fisticuffs in a Lee Child thriller than anywhere else

(Jack Reacher 11)

Bad Luck And Trouble

Coming soon to Prime Video

You do not mess with Reacher, in Lee Child's irresistible number one bestseller.

** REACHER SEASON 2: BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE out now on Prime video ** 
 
"The invincible Reacher is as irresistible as ever." (Sunday Telegraph) 
 
You do not mess with Jack Reacher. 
 
He is as close to untraceable as a person can get. A loner comfortable in his anonymity and solitude. So when a member of his old Army unit finds a way to contact him, he knows this has to be serious. 
 
You do not mess with the Special Investigators. 
 
In the past the elite team always watched each other's backs. Now one of them has shown up dead in the California desert and six more are missing. 
 
Reacher's old buddies are in big trouble, and he can't let that go. 
 
_________ 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Bad Luck and Trouble is the 11th in the series. 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW***

The invicible Reacher is as irresistible as ever

Almost overnight, British author Lee Child created one of the world's most enduring and popular fiction characters in Jack Reacher . . . Child is a great storyteller . . . the reader never feels conned . . . Another sure-fire hit

Jack Reacher has the manliness of John Wayne, the coping skills of Jack Bauer, the fieldcraft of John Rambo and the coolness of Dirty Harry

[Reacher] has long since gained mythical status...storytelling of the highest order: lean, laconic, laced with tension

Reacher is one of those characters who is admired by his male readers and lusted after by his female ones in equal measure . . . Child's tough-as-nails protagonist has become one of the most appealing of contemporary heroes

One of the truly memorable tough-guy heroes in recent fiction

Forget the A-team. If you're in a fix, and you want help, you need Jack Reacher....the twists come thick and fast, the false trails are cleverly laid and the surprise developments are genuinely unexpected...Child, as always, delivers

Perhaps there are action-lit writers more recognizable than Child, but the bet is that none of them will turn in a tighter-plotted, richer-peopled, faster-paced page-turner this year

As always, the action is intense, the pace unrelenting, and the violence unforgiving. Child remains the reigning master at combining breakneck yet brilliantly constructed plotting with characters who continually surprise us with their depth

It's his hero, hyper-tough ex-US army special investigator Jack 
Reacher, who keeps me coming back for more...never a dull moment

You do not mess with Jack Reacher. 
 
He is as close to untraceable as a person can get. A loner comfortable in his anonymity and solitude. So when a member of his old Army unit finds a way to contact him, he knows this has to be serious. 
 
You do not mess with the Special Investigators. 
 
In the past the elite team always watched each other's backs. Now one of them has shown up dead in the California desert and six more are missing. 
 
Reacher's old buddies are in big trouble, and he can't let that go.

Lee Child

Andrew Child

(Jack Reacher 29)

Reacher had no idea where he was. No idea how he had got there. But someone must have brought him. And shackled him. And whoever had done those things was going to rue the day. That was for damn sure. 
 
Jack Reacher wakes up, alone, in the dark, handcuffed to a makeshift bed. His right arm has suffered some major damage. His few possessions are gone. He has no memory of getting there. 
 
The last thing Reacher can recall is the car he hitched a ride in getting run off the road. The driver was killed. 
 
His captors assume Reacher was the driver's accomplice and patch up his wounds as they plan to make him talk. 
 
A plan that will backfire spectacularly . . . 
 
'There's only one Jack Reacher. Accept no substitutes.' MICK HERRON 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, In Too Deep is the 29th book in the internationally bestselling series. 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher no.28, The Secret! ***OUT NOW**

Lee Child

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Jack Reacher30 Books

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Articles featuring Lee Child

‘Between real and mythic’: an oral history of Jack Reacher

Shelf Life: Lee Child

Lee Child on Jack Reacher: ‘His fear of loneliness will get the better of his love of solitude’

6 of our favourite author cameos in films – did you spot them?

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