Born James Grant in Coventry and raised in Birmingham, Lee Child now lives in New York and Wyoming. His Jack Reacher series was described by Forbes as 'The Strongest Brand in Publishing'. With nearly two hundred million copies of his books available in fifty-one languages, two film adaptations and an Amazon streaming TV series, Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels make up one of the most successful book series in print.
Child, who has been, at various times, a law student, a stage manager and a union organiser, became an author at the age of 40 after an eighteen-year career producing TV in Britain. During his tenure his company made Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect, and Cracker. Lee is the recipient of many awards, most recently Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. He was appointed CBE for services to literature in 2019.
The Jack Reacher series has attracted a global following along with literary prizes and critical acclaim – all of which are testament to Child's skills as an author and his championing of the thriller form.
Unlike many contemporary series that depict the evolving personal life of a protagonist who ages from novel to novel, Child refuses to develop Reacher's biographical narrative arc. A further break from tradition is the peripatetic nature of his series, which sees Reacher rove across the varied topographies of the USA and Europe. Freedom of movement has allowed Child, in his fiction, to document America's often-overlooked hinterland of prairies, small towns, highways, motels, diners, in all their varied iterations. Close attention to place/setting is a striking feature of Child's work, as is the writing itself, with his signature style of precise, assured and rhythmic prose.
