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.
One Shot
One Shot
“Pure, escapist gold . . . Mr. Child’s tough talk and thoughtful plotting make an ingenious combination.”—The New York Times
Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me.
And sure enough, ex—military investigator Jack Reacher is coming. He knows this shooter–a trained military sniper who never should have missed a shot. Reacher is certain something is not right–and soon the slam-dunk case explodes.
Now Reacher is teamed with a beautiful young defense lawyer, moving closer to the unseen enemy who is pulling the strings. Reacher knows that no two opponents are created equal. This one has come to the heartland from his own kind of hell. And Reacher knows that the only way to take him down is to match his ruthlessness and cunning–and then beat him shot for shot.