Lee Child
Lee Child (James Dover Grant) was born on October 29th, 1954 and is currently 70 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 30 novels. The Jack Reacher series started in 1997 with the novel Killing Floor. The most recently released novel in the Jack Reacher series was In Too Deep which was released in 2024. There is an upcoming novel for the Jack Reacher series entitled Exit Strategy which is being released on November 4th, 2025.
Lee Child (James Dover Grant) has also written the Jack Reacher Short Stories & Novellas series which has 13 books including Guy Walks Into a Bar and Second Son.
Lee Child has a brother who is also an author, Andrew Grant. Lee Child has co-authored 6 novels with Andrew Child they are: The Sentinel, Better Off Dead, No Plan B, The Secret, In Too Deep and Exit Strategy.
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 Crime Writer's Association Award, Diamond Dagger Award, in 2013, International Thriller Writers Award, Thrillermaster, in 2017, Theakston's Old Peculier, Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction, 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 has 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 Barry Award - Best Novel in 2005 and the BookBrowse Awards - Ruby Award in 2005.
- 61 Hours won Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year, in 2011.
- The Affair won the CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award, in 2012.
- 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 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.
- Blue Moon won the CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award, in 2020.
- 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: Crime Writer's Association Award, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award (2002). Barry Award, Best Novel (2002). Dilys Award, Best Mystery Novel (2003).
- Persuader: Crime Writer's Association Award, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award (2003). Gumshoe Award, Best Novel (2004).
- 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).
- The Hard Way: Gumshoe Award, Best Thriller Novel (2007).
- Bad Luck and Trouble: Anthony Award, Best Mystery Novel (2008). British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2008). Gumshoe Award, Best Thriller Novel (2008). Crime Thriller Awards, Author of the Year (2008). CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (2008). Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2009).
- Gone Tomorrow: CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (2010).
- 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). CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (2011).
- 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). CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (2015).
- FaceOff: Anthony Award, Best Anthology / Collection (2015).
- Make Me: CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (2016). Crime Writer's Association Award, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award (2016).
- Night School: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2017). CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (2017).
- In Sunlight or In Shadow: Anthony Award, Best Anthology / Collection (2017).
- Second Son: Crime Writer's Association Award, Short Story Award (2018).
- Too Much Time: International Thriller Writers Award, Best Short Story (2018).
- The Midnight Line: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2018). CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (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). CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (2021).
- Better Off Dead: CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (2022). The Dead Good Reader Award, The Race-Against-Time Award for Best Action Thriller (2022).
- Safe Enough: And Other Stories: Crime Writer's Association Award, Short Story Award (2024).
Lee Child: Lists & Other Mentions
- Nothing to Lose was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2008.
- Gone Tomorrow was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2009.
- 61 Hours was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2010.
- Worth Dying For was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2010.
- The Affair was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2011.
- A Wanted Man was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2012.
- Never Go Back was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2013.
- Personal was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2014.
- Make Me was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2015.
- Night School was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2016.
- The Midnight Line was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2017.
- Past Tense was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2018.
- Blue Moon was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2019.
- The Sentinel was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2020.
- Better Off Dead was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2021.
- The Secret was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2023.
- In Too Deep was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2024.
Lee Child: TV/Movies Based on Books
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 second series of Reacher premiered on December 15th. It is based on the novel Bad Luck and Trouble, and features the likes of Maria Sten playing Frances Neagley, as part of the Special Investigators.
The series has been renewed for a third season, and will be based on Persuader.
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.
Related Authors
The most common authors followed by users who also follow Lee Child are:
- David Baldacci, author of the Amos Decker Series.
- Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.
- John Grisham, author of the Jake Brigance Series.
- James Patterson, author of the Alex Cross Series.
- Harlan Coben, author of the Myron Bolitar Series.
Lee Child: F.A.Q
When was Lee Child Born? How old is Lee Child?
Lee Child was born on October 29th, 1954. Lee Child is currently 70 years old.
Where was Lee Child Born?
Lee Child was born in Coventry, England and is English.
What awards has Lee Child won?
Lee Child has won the following awards: Diamond Dagger Award at the Crime Writer's Association Award (2013), Thrillermaster at the International Thriller Writers Award (2017), Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction at Theakston's Old Peculier (2017) and the Author of the Year at the British Book Awards (2019).
What book awards has Lee Child won?
What was the first book Lee Child wrote?
The first book written by Lee Child was Killing Floor, published in 1997.
What was the most recent book Lee Child wrote?
His most recently released work was Eleven Numbers on February 1st, 2025.
Will there be any more books by Lee Child?
Lee Child has two new books coming out: Reacher: The Stories Behind the Stories will be released on September 9th, 2025. Exit Strategy will be released on November 4th, 2025.
How many books has Lee Child written?
Lee Child has written 56 books across 17 series, excluding contributions to anthologies.
- 30 books in the Jack Reacher Series
- 11 Jack Reacher Short Stories & Novellas
- 1 Jack Reacher Collections
- 1 book in the Jack Reacher Miscellaneous Series
- 3 Short Stories/Novellas
- 3 Non-Fiction Books
- 1 Short Story Collections
- 1 book in the Akashic Drug Chronicles Series
- 2 books in the Harold Middleton Series
- 1 book in the Mysterious Profiles Series
- 1 book in The MatchUp Collection Series
- 1 book in the Akashic Noir Series
- 1 book in the MX New Sherlock Holmes Stories Series
What books are the Reacher TV series based on?
The first season of Reacher is based on the first book in the series, Killing Floor. The second season of Reacher is based on Bad Luck and Trouble, the 11th novel in the Jack Reacher series.
Does Lee Child still write the Jack Reacher books?
In interviews following the release of The Secret, Lee and Andrew stated that it was a four book deal with the two of them co-authoring together, and that following that, all future books would be written purely by Andrew.