Lee Child

Lee Child Biography

Lee Child (James Dover Grant) was born on October 29th, 1954 and is currently 68 years old. Lee Child was born in Coventry, England. Child attended University of Sheffield where he received a Bachelor of Laws and University of Sheffield where he received an Honorary Doctor of Letters.

Lee Child is the author of the Jack Reacher series which currently consists of 28 novels. The Jack Reacher series started in 1997 with the novel Killing Floor. The most recently released novel in the Jack Reacher series was No Plan B which was released in 2022. There is an upcoming novel for the Jack Reacher series entitled The Secret which is being released on October 24th, 2023.

Lee Child has a brother who is also an author, Andrew Grant. Lee Child has co-authored 4 novels with Andrew Child they are: The Sentinel, Better Off Dead, No Plan B and The Secret.

The name "Lee Child" was born out of a family gag about the mispronunciation when talking about the Renault Le Car. He pronounced it "Lee Car" and it was a running gag that stuck.

The name "Jack Reacher" was born when Lee was in a grocery store with his wife reaching for something on a high shelf as he is tall. His wife remarked to him that if writing doesn't pan out he could always get a job as a "reacher in a supermarket" and Jack Reacher was named.

Lee's website won the 2002 "Best Crime Fiction Website" award at the Gumshoe awards that year.

Lee Child was shortlisted for the 2016 Dead Reader Award in The Tess Gerritsen Award for Best Series category for the Jack Reacher series.

Lee won the 2018 Dead Reader Award in The Wringer Award for the Character Who’s Been Put Through It All category for his character Jack Reacher.

Lee Child is a member of The Nielsen Bestseller Award's 21st Century Platinum Hall of Fame.

No Plan B was ranked as one of the Best Thrillers of 2022 by The Real Book Spy website listing it among the top 15 Action, Political, Military, and Spy Thrillers.

Lee Child Awards & Accolades

Lee Child has won multiple awards including: The Theakston's Old Peculier, Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction, in 2017, , International Thriller Writers Award, Thrillermaster, in 2017, and the British Book Awards, Author of the Year, in 2019. Lee Child was also nominated for the Crime Thriller Awards, The Bestseller Dagger, in 2011.

Lee Child have won many awards including:

• Killing Floor won the Barry Award, Best First Novel, in 1998 as well as the Anthony Award - Best First Mystery in 1998, Nielsen Awards - Platinum Bestseller in 2018.
• The Enemy won the Nero Award, Best Mystery Novel, in 2005 as well as the BookBrowse Awards - Ruby Award in 2005 and the Barry Award - Best Novel in 2005.
• 61 Hours won the Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year, in 2011.
• A Wanted Man won the British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year, in 2012.
• Running Blind / The Visitor won the Nielsen Awards, Gold Bestseller, in 2017.
• Never Go Back won the The Dead Good Reader Award, The Page to Screen Award for Best Adapted Book, in 2017.
• Personal won the Nielsen Awards, Gold Bestseller, in 2017.
• Make Me won the Nielsen Awards, Gold Bestseller, in 2017.
• Night School won the Nielsen Awards, Silver Bestseller, in 2018.
• How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America won the Agatha Award, Best Non-fiction, in 2021 as well as the Anthony Award - Best Non-Fiction Book in 2022.

The following novels by Lee Child were also nominated for these awards:

• Killing Floor: Macavity Award, Best First Mystery (1998). Dilys Award, Best Mystery Novel (1998).
• Running Blind / The Visitor: Barry Award, Best Novel (2000).
• Without Fail: Barry Award, Best Novel (2002). Crime Writer's Association Award, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award (2002). Dilys Award, Best Mystery Novel (2003).
• Persuader: Crime Writer's Association Award, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award (2003).
• The Enemy: Dilys Award, Best Mystery Novel (2005). Audie Award, Best Male Narrator (2005).
• One Shot: Audie Award, Best Male Narrator (2006). Macavity Award, Best Mystery Novel (2006).
• Bad Luck and Trouble: Anthony Award, Best Mystery Novel (2008). British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2008). Crime Thriller Awards, Author of the Year (2008). Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2009).
• 61 Hours: Crime Writer's Association Award, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award (2010).
• Worth Dying For: British Book Awards, Fiction Book of the Year (2010).
• The Affair: Goodreads Awards, Best Mystery and Thriller (2011).
• The Itinerary: Anthony Award, Best Short Story (2012).
• A Wanted Man: Goodreads Awards, Best Mystery and Thriller (2012).
• Never Go Back: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2013). Goodreads Awards, Best Mystery and Thriller (2013). International Thriller Writers Award, Best Hardcover Novel (2014).
• Personal: Goodreads Awards, Best Mystery and Thriller (2014). British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2014). The Dead Good Reader Award, The Reichenbach Falls Award for Most Epic Ending (2015).
• FaceOff: Anthony Award, Best Anthology / Collection (2015).
• Make Me: Crime Writer's Association Award, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award (2016).
• Night School: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2017).
• In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper: Anthony Award, Best Anthology / Collection (2017).
• The Midnight Line: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2018).
• Second Son: Crime Writer's Association Award, Short Story Award (2018).
• Too Much Time: International Thriller Writers Award, Best Short Story (2018).
• Blue Moon: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2020).
• The Sentinel: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2021).
• Better Off Dead: The Dead Good Reader Award, The Race-Against-Time Award for Best Action Thriller (2022).

Lee Child: TV/Movies Based on Books

Child has multiple books that have been adapted for the screen: In February 2022, the Jack Reacher TV series was released on Amazon Prime. It starred Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher. The first season of the show was based on the novel Killing Floor, which is the first book in the Jack Reacher series. It had 8 episodes.

The novel One Shot was made into a movie starring Tom Cruise, and co-starring Rosamund pike and Robert Duvall. This was directed by Christopher McQuarrie and was released in 2012. In 2016, a sequel was released entitled Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and was loosely based on the novel Never Go Back. It co-starred Cobie Smulders.

Lee Child F.A.Q

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Dave W.

1 year ago

Absolutely my favorite series of all time. I like a book where you know the good guy is going to prevail and so on and you can put full trust in him.

I think Persuader is probably the best book although they are all very good.

I tried the audiobooks for the later ones but it was weird. The narrator just didn’t sound like Reacher in my head so I went back to physical reading.

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Dave W.

Reply to  Dave W.

1 year ago

Meant to say – watched the movies and also hated Tom Cruise lol.

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Graeme

Admin

Reply to  Dave W.

22 days ago

Have you watched the TV show on Prime? Probably enjoying that a lot more 🙂

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Kyler F

1 year ago

Like a lot of people, I was introduced to Jack Reacher through the Tom Cruise movies, so I picked up a couple of the books to try them out. Imagine my surprise when I got to the description of Reacher; quite the difference from the actor who portrayed him I’d say. Despite that I was made a quick fan of the series, and have read several of them by this point. Reacher’s stolid demeanor and quick thinking make for an interesting combo, and helps keep him alive in some thrilling and dangerous encounters. The books shifting from 1st to 3rd person perspective keeps the series installments different enough from each other so that you’re sure to remember each one.

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Austin D.

1 year ago

I’ve read most of the “Jack Reacher” books at least twice and some even more than that. I always look forward to the new book coming out because that means Reacher’s going on a new adventure for me to enjoy.

It’s great seeing this character be such a tough and imposing figure in one instance, and such a brilliant detective the next, and, in the end, putting the clues together.

Another great aspect is Reacher’s dry sense of humor, and his ability to deliver excellent comebacks.

It’s hard to pick a favorite, but “Persuader”, “The Hard Way”, and “One Shot”, “Tripwire” would have to be up near the top.

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Edgar A.

1 year ago

Lee Child and his Jack Reacher series of novels have been some of my favorite thriller and mystery works that I have read and reread multiple times over the years.
It was this series that also got me interested in movie and TV adaptations of popular books. Tom Cruise really is the best at being Jack Reacher and I am certain he got a ton of people interested in the series.
Unlike most detectives Reacher starts out as a drifter and becomes one of the most brilliant and memorable detectives ever written.
Its not easy to pick my favorite of the Jack Reacher series since they are all so good. But if I absolutely had to choose it would probably be One Shot, probably because I love the movie too much.

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Andrew M.

1 year ago

I like a scenario where the bad guys get what they deserve and the Lee Child does just that.
He’s among the world’s best thriller writers I know.
Jack Reacher is a compelling and page turning mystery series.
Lee’s books are utterly addictive and you can’t stop reading them once you start.
As a lover of action and suspense stories, I like how the author creates smart, confident and fascinating characters.
The books work out my mind trying to figure out what Reacher is thinking and doing and the reason behind it.
Thanks for this list of books by Lee Child; I’ll be able to read the entire Jack Reacher series in order.
I’m looking forward to completing the series in two months –time.

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Teddy B.

1 year ago

Lee Child’s series Jack Reacher series is often found in the list of favorites of readers across the world. This series as well as its film adaptations featuring Tom Cruise in the lead role are incredibly popular.

This series has helped Lee Child win prestigious literary awards and accolades.

My favorite Jack Reacher book is the 18th installment called Never Go Back because the movie based on this book features two of my most favorite actors, Cobie Smulders and Tom Cruise.

Another reason for liking this book is that it shows Jack Reacher’s modest and humane nature as well as his soft-heartedness and not just his tough outer personality as an ex-military officer.

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Michael K.

1 year ago

Lee Child came very close to giving me a heart attack when he gave that Guardian interview in which he admitted that he spent several years thinking about all the ways he could kill Reacher off.

That cannot happen. Seriously, I wouldn’t take it well. Admittedly, I wasn’t a fan of Child’s decision to pass the series on to his brother. I opposed the idea more vehemently back when I thought that Andrew Grant was just some random author Child had groomed to replace him.

Knowing that Child and Grant are brothers puts me at ease. Nonetheless, if I had my way, Child would write these novels forever, or at least until I died. But if he’s tired of writing this series, Grant is as good a replacement as any.

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