Lee Child
James Dover Grant (a good writer’s name, really), born 29 October 1954 in Coventry, England, is far better known as Lee Child, phenomenally successful author of a series of thrillers about Jack Reacher, an American who is a former military policeman. This touches close to home for me, because my father was a career U.S. Army military policeman who eventually headed the Criminal Investigation Divison (CID) of the Army, among other notable achievements. He and I talked a lot about the military police and its history, his sometimes dramatic stories from his service, and more often the quiet and methodical daily routines of the work. He was astonished and delighted when Lee Child became such a success with to him what was such an unlikely character.
Grant was a successful and prolific worker in the vineyards of Granada Television, having a role in some their biggest international successes over the years, including productions of Brideshead Revisited and The Jewel in the Crown. Downsized out of this career, he turned to writing with mercenary calculation in his heart — but also with a gift for storytelling and characterization that wins him respect and praise from fellow writers, reviewers, and a devoted world of fans. He is one of our bestselling and most reliable thriller writers. His recent essay for TLS Books (Times Literary Supplement), The Hero, demonstrates his thoughtful background approach on what he pulls off so elegantly.
61 Hours
61 Hours
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • INCLUDES BONUS MATERIAL • “Reacher gets better and better. . . . [This is the] craftiest and most highly evolved of Lee Child’s electrifying Reacher books.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“Child is a superb craftsman of suspense, juggling several plots and keeping his herrings well-rouged. . . . Chances are you’ll want to seek out other Reacher adventures the moment you finish.”—Entertainment Weekly
A bus crashes in a savage snowstorm and lands Jack Reacher in the middle of a deadly confrontation. In nearby Bolton, South Dakota, one brave woman is standing up for justice in a small town threatened by sinister forces. If she’s going to live long enough to testify, she’ll need help. Because a killer is coming to Bolton, a coldly proficient assassin who never misses.
Reacher’s original plan was to keep on moving. But the next 61 hours will change everything. The secrets are deadlier and his enemies are stronger than he could have guessed—but so is the woman he’ll risk his life to save.
“Masterful . . . a tour-de-force of both structure and suspense.”—The Providence Journal
“Child keeps his foot hard on the throttle. . . . This is Child in top form, but isn’t he always?”—Booklist (starred review)
“Compulsively addictive [with] an explosive climax that will have you tearing out your hair until Reacher’s next appearance.”—The Miami Herald