‘Reacher – The Stories Behind the Stories’ by Lee Child

My Review (4 stars out of 5)

(Audiobook)

Originally written as a series of new introductions to special editions of his books, Lee Child expounds on the ideas and inspirations behind the Jack Reacher novels from Killing Floor to Blue Moon. Like Stephen King, Child is a pantser (an author who doesn’t plot their novels), so there is no forward planning. Child begins with the germ of an idea and then simply starts writing, and in this book, explains where the inspiration for each novel came from. There are several anecdotes relating to book promotions, meeting fans, and how the Internet changed the way he works, and there’s also a Jack Reacher short story, which I loved.

I’ve been a Reacher fan for years and am currently reading Night School (book 21), so the last three accounts (books 22-24) meant nothing to me in terms of the stories and it’s fair to say that if you haven’t read most of the books, this one won’t be terribly interesting. It’s also true, as other reviews have pointed out, that there isn’t much about how Child develops his characters, but overall, this was an enjoyable and informative book and pretty much de rigueur for all Reacher fans.

(The audiobook is read by the author.)

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