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The Reacher Guy: The Authorised Biography of Lee Child
An exquisitely written and nuanced biography of an exceptional individual and writer who has created the # 1 international bestselling hero Jack Reacher, revered by dedicated and loyal readers worldwide.
Lee Child has a great public persona: he is gracious and generous with readers and fans. But Jim Grant is a reticent and very private man.
This rags-to-riches literary and social biography is based principally on disarmingly frank personal conversations and correspondence with the author since 2016 and privileged access to archival materials. It consists almost entirely of original material, and is the nearest thing the world is likely to get to the autobiography he does not intend to write.
There are a handful of great Lee Child/Reacher stories that have been recycled over and over again. They are so good that no one has bothered to look beyond them. This book revisits (and sometimes revises) those irresistible stories, but goes back further and digs deeper. The emphasis on chronology, accuracy and specificity is unprecedented.
The Lee Child origin myth is much loved. But mostly it sees him springing fully formed from the brow of Granada Television. There are glancing references to Aston Villa and the schoolyard, but no one has examined the social and historical detail or looked closely at where Lee really came from: the people, places and period.
This is the first time someone has described the Lee Child arc: from peaceful obscurity in the Yorkshire Dales and Upstate New York to cult figure, no. 1 in America, rock star, celebrity and publishing institution through to backlash, the changing zeitgeist, and intimations of retirement. The analysis of the emotional power and significance of Lee’s work in the final chapters—the themes of happiness, addiction, dependency, loneliness, and existential absurdity—and the first-hand retrospective accounts of his life and second-act career are all exclusive to this definitive biography.
Lee Child has a great public persona: he is gracious and generous with readers and fans. But Jim Grant is a reticent and very private man.
This rags-to-riches literary and social biography is based principally on disarmingly frank personal conversations and correspondence with the author since 2016 and privileged access to archival materials. It consists almost entirely of original material, and is the nearest thing the world is likely to get to the autobiography he does not intend to write.
There are a handful of great Lee Child/Reacher stories that have been recycled over and over again. They are so good that no one has bothered to look beyond them. This book revisits (and sometimes revises) those irresistible stories, but goes back further and digs deeper. The emphasis on chronology, accuracy and specificity is unprecedented.
The Lee Child origin myth is much loved. But mostly it sees him springing fully formed from the brow of Granada Television. There are glancing references to Aston Villa and the schoolyard, but no one has examined the social and historical detail or looked closely at where Lee really came from: the people, places and period.
This is the first time someone has described the Lee Child arc: from peaceful obscurity in the Yorkshire Dales and Upstate New York to cult figure, no. 1 in America, rock star, celebrity and publishing institution through to backlash, the changing zeitgeist, and intimations of retirement. The analysis of the emotional power and significance of Lee’s work in the final chapters—the themes of happiness, addiction, dependency, loneliness, and existential absurdity—and the first-hand retrospective accounts of his life and second-act career are all exclusive to this definitive biography.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
502 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 29, 2020
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128 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
January 13, 2021
As followers of both series probably know, the character of Jack Reacher was based on that of Travis McGee, protagonist of a 21-book series by John D. MacDonald which ran from 1964 to 1984. Well, true up to a point, but that’s hardly the whole story.
What we soon learn from this well-researched and well-written biography is that Reacher was just as much, if not more based on the man who created him. The man born James Dover Grant in Coventry, Warwickshire on 29th October 1954. Like his fictional creation, James (known henceforth as Jim) was a second son, although, unlike Reacher, he would later have two younger brothers.
As the book runs through Jim’s earlier life: his childhood, first in Coventry, then Birmingham, his time at Sheffield University (where he met his wife Jane) and his subsequent career at Granada TV, we learn through the recollections of friends, teachers, relatives and colleagues of incidents in Jim’s life which would later, after some degree of embellishment, become incidents in Reacher’s adventures.
We are almost two-thirds through the book before we reach the pivotal stage in his life where, as yet another victim of Thatcherite neo-liberalism, Jim is considered “surplus to requirements” at Granada. What to do? The man who’s been an omnivorous book reader all his life decides to write one of his own, spends some of his redundancy money on pencils and paper and then the next nine months at his kitchen table in Kirkby Lonsdale honing his debut novel “Killing Floor”, based around a character who’s also been deemed “surplus to requirements”; this time by the U.S. Army.
I suppose I could say the rest is history, but what a fascinating history it is. I can’t think of any other biography where the relationship between a fictional character and his creator is so clearly defined. An absolute must-read for all Reacher fans.
What we soon learn from this well-researched and well-written biography is that Reacher was just as much, if not more based on the man who created him. The man born James Dover Grant in Coventry, Warwickshire on 29th October 1954. Like his fictional creation, James (known henceforth as Jim) was a second son, although, unlike Reacher, he would later have two younger brothers.
As the book runs through Jim’s earlier life: his childhood, first in Coventry, then Birmingham, his time at Sheffield University (where he met his wife Jane) and his subsequent career at Granada TV, we learn through the recollections of friends, teachers, relatives and colleagues of incidents in Jim’s life which would later, after some degree of embellishment, become incidents in Reacher’s adventures.
We are almost two-thirds through the book before we reach the pivotal stage in his life where, as yet another victim of Thatcherite neo-liberalism, Jim is considered “surplus to requirements” at Granada. What to do? The man who’s been an omnivorous book reader all his life decides to write one of his own, spends some of his redundancy money on pencils and paper and then the next nine months at his kitchen table in Kirkby Lonsdale honing his debut novel “Killing Floor”, based around a character who’s also been deemed “surplus to requirements”; this time by the U.S. Army.
I suppose I could say the rest is history, but what a fascinating history it is. I can’t think of any other biography where the relationship between a fictional character and his creator is so clearly defined. An absolute must-read for all Reacher fans.
November 24, 2020
Before you consider reading this biography of Lee Child, the writing pseudonym for James Dover Grant, and creator of the bestselling “Reacher” novels, you need to be warned. You’ll need to be either a patient reader or one who skims ahead and just focuses on the good parts. For me, I took the longer route and read the entire 500 plus page tome… which brought both frustration and joy.
The frustration was that this was an overly long and distracting read, especially for the first 300 pages. The author, Heather Martin, doesn’t write this as a linear biography in any measure. She jumps around a lot, bouncing from Lee’s grandparents to his parents, to different moments in his life depending on what she wants to emphasize rather than a logical aging perspective. Although this approach is distracting and challenging, I could almost accept it if that were the only problem. However, she makes it worse by writing it as an academic study like a research or thesis paper. The combination of these factors makes the first 300 pages an excruciating read at different points along the way. Although there are some excellent behind the scenes moments of how Lee included his real-life experiences into his writing, those influences are shrouded in a lot of academia literary references…
On the other hand, there was a lot of joy in the last 200 pages. The curtain is pulled back and we get a personal peak at the network job firing that drove Lee to try his hand at writing, his plan and motivation to succeed, and his incredible motivation to become one of the world’s bestselling authors. We witness first-hand how his creation of Reacher grew from a fictional hero to becoming a world-wide legend, including the fans rebellion of Tom Cruise portraying him on the big screen and its impact on Lee. I especially appreciated gaining a better understanding of what drove Lee to want to retire and hand over the reigns to his younger brother Andrew. For me, the last 200 pages was a great payoff for getting through the first 300 pages. I only wish that more time and focus would have been spent on Lee’s writing years and publishing activities because that was the true heart of this biography.
Overall – I was glad to read this book, but it came with a cost. Even with those frustrations that I described, it was worth it to truly get the chance to understand better from an internal perspective as to how Lee created and grew his success with the Reacher novels. Because of Lee’s participation, the sharing of his publishing phenomenon was told in greater depth and detail than ever before. More important, the enduring qualities of an American fictional hero – Jack Reacher - were explored in a fascinating and illuminating light. It brought home to me of all the many reasons that I love the character of Reacher and the universal heroic qualities that he brings to life.
You can either do it the hard way – read the entire book – or the easy way – focus attention on the last 200 pages – it’s your choice. Just pick the approach that works best for you and enjoy it.
The frustration was that this was an overly long and distracting read, especially for the first 300 pages. The author, Heather Martin, doesn’t write this as a linear biography in any measure. She jumps around a lot, bouncing from Lee’s grandparents to his parents, to different moments in his life depending on what she wants to emphasize rather than a logical aging perspective. Although this approach is distracting and challenging, I could almost accept it if that were the only problem. However, she makes it worse by writing it as an academic study like a research or thesis paper. The combination of these factors makes the first 300 pages an excruciating read at different points along the way. Although there are some excellent behind the scenes moments of how Lee included his real-life experiences into his writing, those influences are shrouded in a lot of academia literary references…
On the other hand, there was a lot of joy in the last 200 pages. The curtain is pulled back and we get a personal peak at the network job firing that drove Lee to try his hand at writing, his plan and motivation to succeed, and his incredible motivation to become one of the world’s bestselling authors. We witness first-hand how his creation of Reacher grew from a fictional hero to becoming a world-wide legend, including the fans rebellion of Tom Cruise portraying him on the big screen and its impact on Lee. I especially appreciated gaining a better understanding of what drove Lee to want to retire and hand over the reigns to his younger brother Andrew. For me, the last 200 pages was a great payoff for getting through the first 300 pages. I only wish that more time and focus would have been spent on Lee’s writing years and publishing activities because that was the true heart of this biography.
Overall – I was glad to read this book, but it came with a cost. Even with those frustrations that I described, it was worth it to truly get the chance to understand better from an internal perspective as to how Lee created and grew his success with the Reacher novels. Because of Lee’s participation, the sharing of his publishing phenomenon was told in greater depth and detail than ever before. More important, the enduring qualities of an American fictional hero – Jack Reacher - were explored in a fascinating and illuminating light. It brought home to me of all the many reasons that I love the character of Reacher and the universal heroic qualities that he brings to life.
You can either do it the hard way – read the entire book – or the easy way – focus attention on the last 200 pages – it’s your choice. Just pick the approach that works best for you and enjoy it.
September 30, 2020
With someone as well known as Lee Child many of you will already feel that you know something about him, with some opinions formed purely on the back of his Jack Reacher novels. Let me tell you now that you don't know Jim Grant, Lee Child, nor Jack Reacher until you read his biography!! Heather, and Lee, have delivered an utterly enthralling read topped off with a fantastic selection of photographs of Jim/Lee, family and friends over the years.
Born in Coventry, raised and educated in Birmingham, with Irish and Yorkshire family influencing his childhood, Jim Grant was much like many other kids of his time but it's in these early years that Heather shows us that Jack Reacher was effectively born. There are strong similarities in their characters, and even some of Jim's childhood nicknames would have made Jack smile - "Grievous" being one of them! We see Jim grow up through the eyes of his old school friends, go to university where he met and married his wife, Jane, and then he ends up working in TV as a programme controller for Granada. Faced with redundancy in the late 1990s, Jim decides to give writing a go, and that sees the birth of Reacher with his first novel Killing Floor and the creation of his pen name, Lee Child.
There is so much fascinating information in here, including the skill it takes to write a Reacher novel with Lee's short punchy sentence style. There's Shakespeare (a big influence on the young Jim), The Beatles, being a roadie for Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison's parents buying an old family home, and also how America captured Jim's heart through a picture book, and ultimately led to him emigrating there in 1998.
I could go on but I won't because I want you to get a copy next week and read it for yourselves. I made a lot of personal connections with this book, partly because I'm biased (and honest 😉) but mainly because I come from the same area that Jim grew up in, and because I used to work down the road from his beloved Aston Villa. I like a lot of the same music that he likes, have a love of cars but not the money to buy them so used to work in the motor trade. These were personal overlaps that just added to my enjoyment but I urge you to read it. You'll be pleasantly surprised and will learn so much more than I can, or am willing, to tell you here. I've already said more than I planned to but I think that you can tell that this fan wasn't disappointed! 🤩🤩
Born in Coventry, raised and educated in Birmingham, with Irish and Yorkshire family influencing his childhood, Jim Grant was much like many other kids of his time but it's in these early years that Heather shows us that Jack Reacher was effectively born. There are strong similarities in their characters, and even some of Jim's childhood nicknames would have made Jack smile - "Grievous" being one of them! We see Jim grow up through the eyes of his old school friends, go to university where he met and married his wife, Jane, and then he ends up working in TV as a programme controller for Granada. Faced with redundancy in the late 1990s, Jim decides to give writing a go, and that sees the birth of Reacher with his first novel Killing Floor and the creation of his pen name, Lee Child.
There is so much fascinating information in here, including the skill it takes to write a Reacher novel with Lee's short punchy sentence style. There's Shakespeare (a big influence on the young Jim), The Beatles, being a roadie for Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison's parents buying an old family home, and also how America captured Jim's heart through a picture book, and ultimately led to him emigrating there in 1998.
I could go on but I won't because I want you to get a copy next week and read it for yourselves. I made a lot of personal connections with this book, partly because I'm biased (and honest 😉) but mainly because I come from the same area that Jim grew up in, and because I used to work down the road from his beloved Aston Villa. I like a lot of the same music that he likes, have a love of cars but not the money to buy them so used to work in the motor trade. These were personal overlaps that just added to my enjoyment but I urge you to read it. You'll be pleasantly surprised and will learn so much more than I can, or am willing, to tell you here. I've already said more than I planned to but I think that you can tell that this fan wasn't disappointed! 🤩🤩
December 3, 2020
My wife gave up on this book after 30 pages. I labored through the first 182 – up to the first photo insert – and surrendered any hope of finishing. I love the Jack Reacher thrillers, but why does their author deserve a 503-page biography, especially one that wanders all over the place and devotes almost 200 pages to his childhood in England? Lee Child (pen name of Jim Grant) is a talented author of commercial fiction, but he isn’t a Hemingway or a Steinbeck. As any Reacher reader knows, Child/Grant is a master of short, precise sentences. I counted one sentence of more than 100 words in his biography. Jack Reacher would be embarrassed by the extravagance. The meat of the book starts on Page 345 with Child/Grant, out of work, deciding to write a book. That part was interesting. Then I skipped ahead to his recent retirement and the bequeathing of the Reacher franchise to his younger brother Andrew. I commend the author on her extensive research, but I just didn’t enjoy reading her book.
February 22, 2021
Lee Child or rather James Grant (as he was) is one of my favorites with his annual release of a new Jack Reacher novel eagerly awaited. Now that he has "retired", but passing the mantle to his brother and "assisting" in the first one or two raises the question of how long I will continue the series. I find Lee an interesting person and felt a biography to answer the questions like what was behind his firing from the TV firm her worked at for many years, how did he go about writing the first of the Reacher novels, who are the characters based on, why did he elect to move to the U.S. from his native Britain, etc.? How did he and his wife meet, what were his early family and school experiences like?
Well, the answers are all in here. However, you need a shovel to dig them out. It seems there is an interesting 200 page work buried in this 503 page tome that is full of digressions, repetitions, really poorly organized material that could have benefited from some significant editing. Really tends to bury the interesting facts in piles of superfluous material.
I put the book down several times as it became quite plodding but picked it up a few times until about page 300 when it began to move along somewhat.
Well, the answers are all in here. However, you need a shovel to dig them out. It seems there is an interesting 200 page work buried in this 503 page tome that is full of digressions, repetitions, really poorly organized material that could have benefited from some significant editing. Really tends to bury the interesting facts in piles of superfluous material.
I put the book down several times as it became quite plodding but picked it up a few times until about page 300 when it began to move along somewhat.
November 30, 2020
This one is a must read for any Reacher fan. Now we can add another author to the Reacher universe. We have Lee Child, Scott Blade, Jude Hardin, Diane Capri, Andy Martin, Dan Ames, Heather Martin and now Andrew Child. All those are great contributors to the world of Reacher. This book with the appropriate title The Reacher Guy is a story of how Jim Grant became Lee Child. I have always liked reading about people and since I am a sucker for this character I had to read it and I found it very interesting to get to know Reachers father. I strongly recommend it.
December 30, 2021
I love the Jack Reacher novels (maybe not so much the last two) so I was looking forward to reading his authorised biography. Talk about a letdown. The fact that I took over a month to read this tells you all you need to know. I was determined not to give up on it but did take several breaks from reading it as it is so non engaging, the antithesis of the Reacher stories. Don't bother with it.
December 8, 2020
Two things make THE REACHER GUY an outstanding literary biography. First, the depth of detail about the man himself. At the heart of the book, as with most authorised biographies, is a series of detailed interviews between Lee Child and Heather Martin that bring the writer vividly to life. The last time I felt quite so convincingly in the subject's presence was when I read Boswell's biography of his friend Dr Johnson... Child's version of his early years is cross-referenced with accounts from friends, and the two don't always match. A portrait emerges of a man who is plainspoken and rigorously honest, but also a potent self-mythologiser.
Then there's the literature. Lee Child's propulsive style and the landscapes and hero he has created seem quintessentially American. But here we see how far the values of these books are rooted in the formative experiences of someone born and raised to mature adulthood in the English Midlands and North West, in those decades marked by decline in British industry and international influence following WWII. The picture is complete - no one else could've made this particular American hero.
There's often a pattern to the biographies of successful artists that's hard to avoid. My feeling is that usually the early chapters are the most interesting, followed by those about the first success. Then there's often a long tail. One huge success after another isn't very dramatic, is often very samey - at least when seen from the outside. That's not true here, partly because Lee Child has chosen a different kind of ending to his career, but also because Heather Martin is too good a storyteller herself. There's no part of this book that isn't full of interesting detail and insight about the subject and his milieu.
If you're a Lee Child super fan, you'll get more from this than you bargained for. But so will everyone else.
Then there's the literature. Lee Child's propulsive style and the landscapes and hero he has created seem quintessentially American. But here we see how far the values of these books are rooted in the formative experiences of someone born and raised to mature adulthood in the English Midlands and North West, in those decades marked by decline in British industry and international influence following WWII. The picture is complete - no one else could've made this particular American hero.
There's often a pattern to the biographies of successful artists that's hard to avoid. My feeling is that usually the early chapters are the most interesting, followed by those about the first success. Then there's often a long tail. One huge success after another isn't very dramatic, is often very samey - at least when seen from the outside. That's not true here, partly because Lee Child has chosen a different kind of ending to his career, but also because Heather Martin is too good a storyteller herself. There's no part of this book that isn't full of interesting detail and insight about the subject and his milieu.
If you're a Lee Child super fan, you'll get more from this than you bargained for. But so will everyone else.
December 8, 2020
If you're a writer, read THE REACHER GUY.
If you're obsessed with Reacher, read THE REACHER GUY.
If you think Lee very well could be a genius in his own right, read THE REACHER GUY.
Fitting into all three categories, I decided to read THE REACHER GUY, and it's a captivating book, showing how hard work, sheer necessity, and a keen sense for detail can lead to someone becoming immensely successful and wildly inspirational in the creative world. The research put into Jim Grant/Lee Child's life is magnificent and thorough.
As a side note: Today I had the pleasure of watching a live-stream of Lee Child chatting with James Patterson about his Alex Cross book. We were free to ask questions in the chat, and during a time where everyone seemed to asking James Patterson a question, I decided to get over my fear and ask Lee something that's been on my mind:
"How would you feel about a parody of Jack Reacher (and Baldacci's John Puller)?"
He said he would love it. That Private Eye magazine in the UK has actually done it a little, and that if you believe strongly in your character, you shouldn’t fear a parody. Bring it on, he said.
The reason I asked is because I'm writing a comic-mystery novel about exactly that. And one day I hope to have Lee (and maybe even Baldacci) read the first Joseph Tugger novel.
If you're obsessed with Reacher, read THE REACHER GUY.
If you think Lee very well could be a genius in his own right, read THE REACHER GUY.
Fitting into all three categories, I decided to read THE REACHER GUY, and it's a captivating book, showing how hard work, sheer necessity, and a keen sense for detail can lead to someone becoming immensely successful and wildly inspirational in the creative world. The research put into Jim Grant/Lee Child's life is magnificent and thorough.
As a side note: Today I had the pleasure of watching a live-stream of Lee Child chatting with James Patterson about his Alex Cross book. We were free to ask questions in the chat, and during a time where everyone seemed to asking James Patterson a question, I decided to get over my fear and ask Lee something that's been on my mind:
"How would you feel about a parody of Jack Reacher (and Baldacci's John Puller)?"
He said he would love it. That Private Eye magazine in the UK has actually done it a little, and that if you believe strongly in your character, you shouldn’t fear a parody. Bring it on, he said.
The reason I asked is because I'm writing a comic-mystery novel about exactly that. And one day I hope to have Lee (and maybe even Baldacci) read the first Joseph Tugger novel.
February 19, 2021
I've never read a Lee Child novel so my interest in the Author was not from a fan perspective. In fact, this book was being read by my partner - who is a fan - who suggested I read it because of some of the biographical information about the writer that she felt would be of interest to me. Jim Grant/Lee Child describes his upbringing in the English Midlands and his love for Aston Villa Football Club, two things we share in common.
In the early chapters I sensed a degree of arrogance and I wasn't warming to Lee Child/Jim Grant at all. However, I persevered and gradually started to enjoy Heather Martin's biography of a successful author and his writing process, experience and journey toward becoming a bestseller. In the end I became more balanced in my attitude toward the subject. For anyone interested in the writing craft I strongly recommend reading the book. You do not have to be a Jack Reacher reader to get a lot out of it (although I might just pick one up to see what all the fuss is about)!
In the early chapters I sensed a degree of arrogance and I wasn't warming to Lee Child/Jim Grant at all. However, I persevered and gradually started to enjoy Heather Martin's biography of a successful author and his writing process, experience and journey toward becoming a bestseller. In the end I became more balanced in my attitude toward the subject. For anyone interested in the writing craft I strongly recommend reading the book. You do not have to be a Jack Reacher reader to get a lot out of it (although I might just pick one up to see what all the fuss is about)!
November 16, 2020
An excellent first draft of history - but oddly (necessarily?) lop-sided. Immensely detailed about the author's early years, helpful about the process of getting his first novel into print, but then downright skimpy. The detail's often good and important - after all, it's about the making of Lee Child the author and Jack Reacher, his creation - but almost as often just padding. In one of the more egregious examples: a paragraph that does nothing more than list the synonyms for 'misery' listed in the Oxford English Dictionary. So there's interest here, and insight, but the book could have been a third shorter with no loss of content.
November 12, 2021
I am a huge fan of biographies, I think it's because I'm nosey and I like to know more about people. I find it fascinating to get an insight to how a person becomes who they are, the why, the how, the struggles.
I don't always read about people that I know a lot about, but am always drawn to those who've I've heard of, especially anyone in the book world. I have to admit that I've not read the Reacher books, but I have met Lee Child. I sat next to him at a publisher breakfast a few years ago. He didn't say much!
I'm not sure what I thought of him at that time. It was early, he was chatting to another well-known author and I was just a random person sitting at the same table. I'm not one of those people who interrupt others and I like to think that I respected his space.
Having now read this fascinating and expertly written biography, I'm not really surprised that Child just carried on chatting to his peer and eating his breakfast, it fits with the persona described in this book, and I feel better about that. It wasn't just that he didn't like the look of me!!!
It is obvious that Heather Martin has put a lot of work into this book. It's a long book at around 500 pages, but it's so well researched and so cleverly created that the pages just fly by. It's not the traditional birth to present time structure either, and keeps the reader on their toes throughout.
Many people assume that Lee Child is American and that's not surprising really, given that Reacher is from the US and most of the stories are set there. Child lives in the US and has embraced all things America. He's a Brit though, brought up in the West Midlands and given the name James Dover Grant when he was born. It was many years later that Grant became Child and it's a story that is often as perplexing as any crime thriller. He's a man who know what he wants, he sets out do do something and he does it. A man who was determined to provide well for his family and who decided that he could do this by writing crime thrillers. His sheer determination paid off and has continued to do so since he won award for his first Reacher novel in 1997.
I have huge admiration for Heather Martin, she visited so many places connected to Child. She spoke to so many people that have been in his life and then she had many conversations with the man himself. Piecing these together, especially when some stories are conflicting and producing this fascinating book cannot have been easy, but her absolute passion and belief in the subject matter shines through and it's really a pleasure to read.
I could recount some of the fascinating facts that I've learnt, but that's not my job. I wouldn't give away the plot of a fiction novel, so I'm certainly not prepared to talk about the juicy bits in this book either!
I'm sure that fans of crime fiction will devour this book, those who are fans already will learn more about their hero and those of us who were not so familiar with his works will be tempted to make a start on the Reacher novels.
Expertly written, unusual in style, but totally fascinating.
I don't always read about people that I know a lot about, but am always drawn to those who've I've heard of, especially anyone in the book world. I have to admit that I've not read the Reacher books, but I have met Lee Child. I sat next to him at a publisher breakfast a few years ago. He didn't say much!
I'm not sure what I thought of him at that time. It was early, he was chatting to another well-known author and I was just a random person sitting at the same table. I'm not one of those people who interrupt others and I like to think that I respected his space.
Having now read this fascinating and expertly written biography, I'm not really surprised that Child just carried on chatting to his peer and eating his breakfast, it fits with the persona described in this book, and I feel better about that. It wasn't just that he didn't like the look of me!!!
It is obvious that Heather Martin has put a lot of work into this book. It's a long book at around 500 pages, but it's so well researched and so cleverly created that the pages just fly by. It's not the traditional birth to present time structure either, and keeps the reader on their toes throughout.
Many people assume that Lee Child is American and that's not surprising really, given that Reacher is from the US and most of the stories are set there. Child lives in the US and has embraced all things America. He's a Brit though, brought up in the West Midlands and given the name James Dover Grant when he was born. It was many years later that Grant became Child and it's a story that is often as perplexing as any crime thriller. He's a man who know what he wants, he sets out do do something and he does it. A man who was determined to provide well for his family and who decided that he could do this by writing crime thrillers. His sheer determination paid off and has continued to do so since he won award for his first Reacher novel in 1997.
I have huge admiration for Heather Martin, she visited so many places connected to Child. She spoke to so many people that have been in his life and then she had many conversations with the man himself. Piecing these together, especially when some stories are conflicting and producing this fascinating book cannot have been easy, but her absolute passion and belief in the subject matter shines through and it's really a pleasure to read.
I could recount some of the fascinating facts that I've learnt, but that's not my job. I wouldn't give away the plot of a fiction novel, so I'm certainly not prepared to talk about the juicy bits in this book either!
I'm sure that fans of crime fiction will devour this book, those who are fans already will learn more about their hero and those of us who were not so familiar with his works will be tempted to make a start on the Reacher novels.
Expertly written, unusual in style, but totally fascinating.
November 23, 2025
I’m a big Lee Child/Reacher fan so I thought I would give this one a go. Does contain some interesting stuff but I did find it hard going. At the halfway stage I was tempted to start skimming over the pages, but I persisted and found the second half of the book a lot easier to read.
August 9, 2022
Quite compelling story. I really enjoy the references to his books in the chapters. I would highly recommend this book.
December 30, 2020
Obviously, for Reacher fans only. I hadn't read Lee Child until 2015, when I discovered he would appear at The Rancho Mirage Writers festival, mentioned in this book. I read the first one and spent the year catching up, and have continued to read. I found his early years in post WWII England quite fascinating. It must be particularly interesting to write a biography of someone alive, and the writer seems to have had quite a bit of access to him.
The saddest part for me is Lee is retiring and handing Reacher to his brother. I am actually waiting for that book from the library, possibly tomorrow. I hope I won't be disappointed.
The saddest part for me is Lee is retiring and handing Reacher to his brother. I am actually waiting for that book from the library, possibly tomorrow. I hope I won't be disappointed.
December 2, 2020
Fascinating to read about how Jim Grant became Lee Child. Downside was that the first half of the book often wandered off subject and as such seemed disjointed. Second half read more like a Jack Reacher novel, which was an obvious bonus.
September 11, 2021
I'm not even going to try and lie - I've not really read many Jack Reacher stories. A handful of short stories, I've got copies of some of the books, but. it's one of those times when you look at the sheer scale of the series. realise you are about seventeen years behind (I took a reading hiatus of practically 17 years that spans a huge majority of Reacher's years) and get a little ... hesitant. I have literally no excuse other than fear as I know from the few times I have met Reacher, the books are right up my street. I have, however, been to quite a few literary festivals where Lee Child has been a featured author and as a speaker, an author, I find his story, his style and his attitude very engaging and completely fascinating. Having now read this biography I am even more intrigued and even more certain I really need to fit Jack Reacher into my reading plans very, very soon.
This is the story of James Dover Grant, known to the majority of the world as Lee Child. From his early days, and before, school days, work history and to the Jack Reacher series and beyond, Heather Martin provides readers with a comprehensive history of the people, events and opportunities that shaped his life and led to the creation of one of perhaps the most iconic and well known characters in recent fictional history. Even non readers will likely have heard of Jack Reacher, courtesy of the Tom Cruise film adaptations, but it is readers who have taken Reacher and his author to their hearts and readers who are very likely to eat up the soon to be released TV adaptation. But what of the man behind the all action hero? Well, to be honest, it is easy to see from this biography where a lot of the inspiration for Reacher's character came from, and it is highlighting these similarities, and obvious contrasts, between author and character that Heather Martin's book really drew me in.
This is not a perfectly linear journey from birth to retirement. Incorporating interviews with friends, teachers, and colleagues, Heather Martin charts the life of Lee Child, but not necessarily in order. The book explores the many ways in which Lee Child's family life and upbringing, born in Coventry but absolutely identifying as a Birmingham boy, came to inform his career choices and his singular determination as to how his life would progress. This is not a man who waited for opportunity to find him, he made things happen. Caring for his family was always his priority and making the moves in his career that would elevate his status and therefore security, the only natural thing to do. I'm not convinced he'd win awards for best parent to child guidance, but I'm sure his daughter appreciated his more relaxed approach to the subject.
Following redundancy he decided he was going to write a best selling airport style novel, most decidedly not literary in style, and that's exactly what he did. He also comes across as someone who very much knows his own mind and seldom deviates from his beliefs, but it made for a book that is both serious and humorous in equal measure. The stories of his school days at King Edward's Grammar School in Birmingham read like you would probably expect, giving a good insight into the nature of the boy who would become the man. How much of what we read is exactly true ... well you'll have to judge for yourself. As the book tells us many times, once Jim recounts a story, it becomes true.
The book is well researched and brilliantly presented. There are so many fascinating moments, so many was in which you are able to draw parallels between Jim Grant and his literary creation, that it makes for the perfect read for any Reacher fan. There is a lot of detail on the pre-Reacher years, so if you just want to know about the books, about how Jim Grant came up with the character and the pen name of Lee Child, something that is surprisingly simple but effective in reality, then you will need to bear in mind that this part of the author's life is perhaps not covered in such intense detail. It is all there, the progression from deciding to write, to getting that first deal, to the ongoing challenges of being an author in a world that generally derided genre authors. Even the business like, if somewhat unpopular, calculation of the risks or potential benefits of having Tom Cruise bring his larger (?) than life character to the screen.
But for me, understanding the bigger picture, the love of Aston Villa, his growing love of the USA and waning affections for the UK, made the book all the more interesting and the author himself, all the more human. Hearing the passages in his own voice, the matter of fact style, tinges with cynicism and occasionally weariness, really bring Jim Grant/Lee Child's story to life. I think Heather Martin has done a perfect job of presenting the man in a way that reads almost like a cross between a literary study and a work of fiction, parts of Child's life seeming that incredible. It's a long book - 500 pages - so it's an investment of your time, but it's the kind of book you can easily break down, a chapter at a time, and take your time reading and digesting. For me it was completely worth it. I appreciate both author and subject all the more for it, for the time they have taken and the honesty they've offered on the page. I was truly engaged, thoroughly entertained at times too. And it's made me go out and buy a few more of that Reacher back catalogue too. That can't be a bad thing now can it?
This is the story of James Dover Grant, known to the majority of the world as Lee Child. From his early days, and before, school days, work history and to the Jack Reacher series and beyond, Heather Martin provides readers with a comprehensive history of the people, events and opportunities that shaped his life and led to the creation of one of perhaps the most iconic and well known characters in recent fictional history. Even non readers will likely have heard of Jack Reacher, courtesy of the Tom Cruise film adaptations, but it is readers who have taken Reacher and his author to their hearts and readers who are very likely to eat up the soon to be released TV adaptation. But what of the man behind the all action hero? Well, to be honest, it is easy to see from this biography where a lot of the inspiration for Reacher's character came from, and it is highlighting these similarities, and obvious contrasts, between author and character that Heather Martin's book really drew me in.
This is not a perfectly linear journey from birth to retirement. Incorporating interviews with friends, teachers, and colleagues, Heather Martin charts the life of Lee Child, but not necessarily in order. The book explores the many ways in which Lee Child's family life and upbringing, born in Coventry but absolutely identifying as a Birmingham boy, came to inform his career choices and his singular determination as to how his life would progress. This is not a man who waited for opportunity to find him, he made things happen. Caring for his family was always his priority and making the moves in his career that would elevate his status and therefore security, the only natural thing to do. I'm not convinced he'd win awards for best parent to child guidance, but I'm sure his daughter appreciated his more relaxed approach to the subject.
Following redundancy he decided he was going to write a best selling airport style novel, most decidedly not literary in style, and that's exactly what he did. He also comes across as someone who very much knows his own mind and seldom deviates from his beliefs, but it made for a book that is both serious and humorous in equal measure. The stories of his school days at King Edward's Grammar School in Birmingham read like you would probably expect, giving a good insight into the nature of the boy who would become the man. How much of what we read is exactly true ... well you'll have to judge for yourself. As the book tells us many times, once Jim recounts a story, it becomes true.
The book is well researched and brilliantly presented. There are so many fascinating moments, so many was in which you are able to draw parallels between Jim Grant and his literary creation, that it makes for the perfect read for any Reacher fan. There is a lot of detail on the pre-Reacher years, so if you just want to know about the books, about how Jim Grant came up with the character and the pen name of Lee Child, something that is surprisingly simple but effective in reality, then you will need to bear in mind that this part of the author's life is perhaps not covered in such intense detail. It is all there, the progression from deciding to write, to getting that first deal, to the ongoing challenges of being an author in a world that generally derided genre authors. Even the business like, if somewhat unpopular, calculation of the risks or potential benefits of having Tom Cruise bring his larger (?) than life character to the screen.
But for me, understanding the bigger picture, the love of Aston Villa, his growing love of the USA and waning affections for the UK, made the book all the more interesting and the author himself, all the more human. Hearing the passages in his own voice, the matter of fact style, tinges with cynicism and occasionally weariness, really bring Jim Grant/Lee Child's story to life. I think Heather Martin has done a perfect job of presenting the man in a way that reads almost like a cross between a literary study and a work of fiction, parts of Child's life seeming that incredible. It's a long book - 500 pages - so it's an investment of your time, but it's the kind of book you can easily break down, a chapter at a time, and take your time reading and digesting. For me it was completely worth it. I appreciate both author and subject all the more for it, for the time they have taken and the honesty they've offered on the page. I was truly engaged, thoroughly entertained at times too. And it's made me go out and buy a few more of that Reacher back catalogue too. That can't be a bad thing now can it?
Read
November 13, 2020As much as I love "Lee Child" and Jack Reacher, this bio just didn't do it for me.
December 28, 2020
Have not finished - cannot get into the writer's style - will have to try again at a later date.
April 25, 2021
Too much about the beginning, not enough about the end.
But good, and made me vow to read all the Jack Reacher novels again, in numerical order!
But good, and made me vow to read all the Jack Reacher novels again, in numerical order!
November 2, 2021
Second half of the book better than the first. more on the blog tour
December 18, 2021
This is the story of James Dover Grant, known to the majority of the world as Lee Child. From his early days, and before, school days, work history and to the Jack Reacher series and beyond, Heather Martin provides readers with a comprehensive history of the people, events and opportunities that shaped his life and led to the creation of one of perhaps the most iconic and well known characters in recent fictional history.
Even non-readers will likely have heard of Jack Reacher, courtesy of the Tom Cruise film adaptations, but it is readers who have taken Reacher and his author to their hearts and readers who are very likely to eat up the soon to be released TV adaptation. But what of the man behind the all action hero? Well, to be honest, it is easy to see from this biography where a lot of the inspiration for Reacher's character came from, and it is highlighting these similarities, and obvious contrasts, between author and character that Heather Martin's book really drew me in.
This is not a perfectly linear journey from birth to retirement. Incorporating interviews with friends, teachers, and colleagues, Heather Martin charts the life of Lee Child, but not necessarily in order. The book explores the many ways in which Lee Child's family life and upbringing, born in Coventry but absolutely identifying as a Birmingham boy, came to inform his career choices and his singular determination as to how his life would progress. This is not a man who waited for opportunity to find him, he made things happen. Caring for his family was always his priority and making the moves in his career that would elevate his status and therefore security, the only natural thing to do. I'm not convinced he'd win awards for best parent to child guidance, but I'm sure his daughter appreciated his more relaxed approach to the subject.
Following redundancy he decided he was going to write a best selling airport style novel, most decidedly not literary in style, and that's exactly what he did. He also comes across as someone who very much knows his own mind and seldom deviates from his beliefs, but it made for a book that is both serious and humorous in equal measure. The stories of his school days at King Edward's Grammar School in Birmingham read like you would probably expect, giving a good insight into the nature of the boy who would become the man. How much of what we read is exactly true, you will have to judge for yourself. As the book tells us many times, once Jim recounts a story, it becomes true.
The book is well researched and brilliantly presented. There are so many fascinating moments, so many was in which you are able to draw parallels between Jim Grant and his literary creation, that it makes for the perfect read for any Reacher fan. There is a lot of detail on the pre-Reacher years, so if you just want to know about the books, about how Jim Grant came up with the character and the pen name of Lee Child, something that is surprisingly simple but effective in reality, then you will need to bear in mind that this part of the author's life is perhaps not covered in such intense detail. It is all there, the progression from deciding to write, to getting that first deal, to the ongoing challenges of being an author in a world that generally derided genre authors. Even the business like, if somewhat unpopular, calculation of the risks or potential benefits of having Tom Cruise bring his larger than life character to the screen, which failed in my opinion. For starters, Cruise is too short. Put Cruise next to say...Tom Hardy, and you see where the physicality of Reacher missed the mark.
For me, understanding the bigger picture, the love of Aston Villa, his growing love of the USA and waning affections for the UK, made the book all the more interesting and the author himself, all the more human. Peeling a human onion, I think Heather Martin has done a perfect job of presenting the man in a way that reads almost like a cross between a literary study and a work of fiction, parts of Child's life seeming that incredible. It's a long book - 500 pages - so it's an investment of your time, but it's the kind of book you can easily break down, a chapter at a time, and take your time reading and digesting. For me it was completely worth it. I appreciate both author and subject all the more for it, for the time they have taken and the honesty they've offered on the page. I was truly engaged, thoroughly entertained at times too. I'll skip over the more disturbing aspects for now: the eating disorder, the necessity of always being right, the use of fiction in personal autobiography rather than bald truths, why his wife gardens in England while he moved to Wyoming. So much more.
Even non-readers will likely have heard of Jack Reacher, courtesy of the Tom Cruise film adaptations, but it is readers who have taken Reacher and his author to their hearts and readers who are very likely to eat up the soon to be released TV adaptation. But what of the man behind the all action hero? Well, to be honest, it is easy to see from this biography where a lot of the inspiration for Reacher's character came from, and it is highlighting these similarities, and obvious contrasts, between author and character that Heather Martin's book really drew me in.
This is not a perfectly linear journey from birth to retirement. Incorporating interviews with friends, teachers, and colleagues, Heather Martin charts the life of Lee Child, but not necessarily in order. The book explores the many ways in which Lee Child's family life and upbringing, born in Coventry but absolutely identifying as a Birmingham boy, came to inform his career choices and his singular determination as to how his life would progress. This is not a man who waited for opportunity to find him, he made things happen. Caring for his family was always his priority and making the moves in his career that would elevate his status and therefore security, the only natural thing to do. I'm not convinced he'd win awards for best parent to child guidance, but I'm sure his daughter appreciated his more relaxed approach to the subject.
Following redundancy he decided he was going to write a best selling airport style novel, most decidedly not literary in style, and that's exactly what he did. He also comes across as someone who very much knows his own mind and seldom deviates from his beliefs, but it made for a book that is both serious and humorous in equal measure. The stories of his school days at King Edward's Grammar School in Birmingham read like you would probably expect, giving a good insight into the nature of the boy who would become the man. How much of what we read is exactly true, you will have to judge for yourself. As the book tells us many times, once Jim recounts a story, it becomes true.
The book is well researched and brilliantly presented. There are so many fascinating moments, so many was in which you are able to draw parallels between Jim Grant and his literary creation, that it makes for the perfect read for any Reacher fan. There is a lot of detail on the pre-Reacher years, so if you just want to know about the books, about how Jim Grant came up with the character and the pen name of Lee Child, something that is surprisingly simple but effective in reality, then you will need to bear in mind that this part of the author's life is perhaps not covered in such intense detail. It is all there, the progression from deciding to write, to getting that first deal, to the ongoing challenges of being an author in a world that generally derided genre authors. Even the business like, if somewhat unpopular, calculation of the risks or potential benefits of having Tom Cruise bring his larger than life character to the screen, which failed in my opinion. For starters, Cruise is too short. Put Cruise next to say...Tom Hardy, and you see where the physicality of Reacher missed the mark.
For me, understanding the bigger picture, the love of Aston Villa, his growing love of the USA and waning affections for the UK, made the book all the more interesting and the author himself, all the more human. Peeling a human onion, I think Heather Martin has done a perfect job of presenting the man in a way that reads almost like a cross between a literary study and a work of fiction, parts of Child's life seeming that incredible. It's a long book - 500 pages - so it's an investment of your time, but it's the kind of book you can easily break down, a chapter at a time, and take your time reading and digesting. For me it was completely worth it. I appreciate both author and subject all the more for it, for the time they have taken and the honesty they've offered on the page. I was truly engaged, thoroughly entertained at times too. I'll skip over the more disturbing aspects for now: the eating disorder, the necessity of always being right, the use of fiction in personal autobiography rather than bald truths, why his wife gardens in England while he moved to Wyoming. So much more.
October 31, 2021
A compelling, captivating mix of investigative tour de force and inspirational memoir.
There are three crime authors whose novels somehow ascend to the top of my TBR pile soon after they get published. Lee Child is one of them. I was late getting to the party but hopped aboard the Reacher train back at Echo Burning.
At many literary festivals, I've listened to Lee answer audience questions. While he seemed happy discussing his backstory – sprinkled with anecdotal literary yarns – I always got the impression his private life was private and good luck trying to chip through that six-foot four-inch steely demeanour. It shows the respect he has for Heather Martin that he allowed her to drill deep into his DNA.
It must have taken Ms Martin years to assemble this biography. Her attention to detail is astounding. The research needed in tying actual incidents in Lee's early days to descriptive passages from various Reacher books is a fabulous way of stitching the past and present. It's also a rich insight into how our backgrounds and the people we meet can and do shape us, for better or worse.
From childhood and publishing Killing Floor in 1997 through to Lee telling Transworld executives "I'm done" in 2019, this is a chronicle of Jim Grant’s grit, determination, attitude, hard work, loyalty, perfectionism … and a steadfast confidence in his natural talents.
You think you know Lee Child from soundbites you've heard or read. You don't. But you will after reading Ms Martin's authorised biography. Did you know Lee was approached but passed up the opportunity to pen new adventures for James Bond? No? Me neither. Or that he convinced the US taxman to treat his four New York apartments as a single dwelling? Oh, and big kudos to Lee's wife for planting the hero's name in her husband's brain. On a different day, Reacher could easily be called 10-inch Cyril, but that's another story…
A few of Lee's narratives drive plausibility to the limit, and that's okay. He's a storyteller. I bet there are times he flashes that lopsided, wry grin when he sees a fictitious article reported as fact. But hey, if it adds to the Child/Reacher mystique, all's good.
I also don't believe Lee's a one-draft-per-novel writer or that he's not as invested in Reacher as we think. Pffft. A, the readability of his novels is an art form that isn't easy to capture – definitely not in one draft – and B, readers are shelling out hard-earned money, so there’s no doubt he's totally invested, with an obligation to deliver the best possible Reacher novel every year.
But Ms Martin is no pushover. On the contrary, she questions Lee's embellishments, and like all good journalists, searches for other sources to corroborate or refute the story.
Of particular interest to me was the Killing Floor rewrites and how that famous opening paragraph in Eno's diner changed with each new draft.
Now, twenty-three years and twenty-four Reacher books later (Worth Dying For and 61 Hours got published during 2010), plus anthologies, short stories, spin-offs from at least two other authors, and a dozen wannabe heirs fighting for the Reacher throne, Lee has handed the reins over to his thriller writing brother, Andrew.
Heather Martin's The Reacher Guy is a biography for the ages. It’s not a book to flick through and gulp down in an afternoon, so savour every morsel as you would a meal in your favourite Michelin star restaurant.
Five gold stars from me. Highly recommended.
Footnote.
Today, October 29th 2021, finalising this review of The Reacher Guy, I want to wish Lee a happy birthday and thank him for the approx. 250 incredible hours to date I've spent in Jack Reacher's company. (Nope, I'm not a slow reader; I've read every book twice). Enjoy your day, Sir.
Err, I still think Liam Neeson would've made a brilliant Reacher…
There are three crime authors whose novels somehow ascend to the top of my TBR pile soon after they get published. Lee Child is one of them. I was late getting to the party but hopped aboard the Reacher train back at Echo Burning.
At many literary festivals, I've listened to Lee answer audience questions. While he seemed happy discussing his backstory – sprinkled with anecdotal literary yarns – I always got the impression his private life was private and good luck trying to chip through that six-foot four-inch steely demeanour. It shows the respect he has for Heather Martin that he allowed her to drill deep into his DNA.
It must have taken Ms Martin years to assemble this biography. Her attention to detail is astounding. The research needed in tying actual incidents in Lee's early days to descriptive passages from various Reacher books is a fabulous way of stitching the past and present. It's also a rich insight into how our backgrounds and the people we meet can and do shape us, for better or worse.
From childhood and publishing Killing Floor in 1997 through to Lee telling Transworld executives "I'm done" in 2019, this is a chronicle of Jim Grant’s grit, determination, attitude, hard work, loyalty, perfectionism … and a steadfast confidence in his natural talents.
You think you know Lee Child from soundbites you've heard or read. You don't. But you will after reading Ms Martin's authorised biography. Did you know Lee was approached but passed up the opportunity to pen new adventures for James Bond? No? Me neither. Or that he convinced the US taxman to treat his four New York apartments as a single dwelling? Oh, and big kudos to Lee's wife for planting the hero's name in her husband's brain. On a different day, Reacher could easily be called 10-inch Cyril, but that's another story…
A few of Lee's narratives drive plausibility to the limit, and that's okay. He's a storyteller. I bet there are times he flashes that lopsided, wry grin when he sees a fictitious article reported as fact. But hey, if it adds to the Child/Reacher mystique, all's good.
I also don't believe Lee's a one-draft-per-novel writer or that he's not as invested in Reacher as we think. Pffft. A, the readability of his novels is an art form that isn't easy to capture – definitely not in one draft – and B, readers are shelling out hard-earned money, so there’s no doubt he's totally invested, with an obligation to deliver the best possible Reacher novel every year.
But Ms Martin is no pushover. On the contrary, she questions Lee's embellishments, and like all good journalists, searches for other sources to corroborate or refute the story.
Of particular interest to me was the Killing Floor rewrites and how that famous opening paragraph in Eno's diner changed with each new draft.
Now, twenty-three years and twenty-four Reacher books later (Worth Dying For and 61 Hours got published during 2010), plus anthologies, short stories, spin-offs from at least two other authors, and a dozen wannabe heirs fighting for the Reacher throne, Lee has handed the reins over to his thriller writing brother, Andrew.
Heather Martin's The Reacher Guy is a biography for the ages. It’s not a book to flick through and gulp down in an afternoon, so savour every morsel as you would a meal in your favourite Michelin star restaurant.
Five gold stars from me. Highly recommended.
Footnote.
Today, October 29th 2021, finalising this review of The Reacher Guy, I want to wish Lee a happy birthday and thank him for the approx. 250 incredible hours to date I've spent in Jack Reacher's company. (Nope, I'm not a slow reader; I've read every book twice). Enjoy your day, Sir.
Err, I still think Liam Neeson would've made a brilliant Reacher…
October 29, 2021
It must be a difficult task, writing the biography of a writer who is so beloved of his fans, and also, might hold you up to high scrutiny for putting across the message that the author wishes. I imagine you would have to be pretty strong willed, in order to stamp your own writing with your personality, whilst simultaneously telling the tale of how John Grant became Lee Child, and also, the origins of cultural icon, Jack Reacher.
In 'The Reacher Guy', Heather seamlessly interweaves not only the tale of Lee Child, but also Jack Reacher, whilst clearly delineating between the two. Her scrupulous research into the background of Lee Child comes across so well, without ever being dry. Her love for his work, her connection to, and approval from, the author, to write this book, does not this book a fawning air. She admires the way that Lee is a self invented man, his work ethic and his attention to keeping to his word-punctuality and delivering the goods are non negotiable, it is reflected in his annual habit of starting a new book every September 1st, and his attitude towards his publishing responsibilities, are rock solid.
He takes his success very seriously, and the way that he has grown up is told with such heart, and style, and depth-this is someone who walks the walk, and talks the talk! Where he came from, the influence of both World Wars on his grandfathers and father begin to shape the man he became, as a writer, a husband, a father.
A confession-my husband has been asking me to read the Reacher books and report back to him, and I hummed and obfuscated until the chance to read this biography came, courtesy of the wonderful Anne Cater. As a reader, I am not entirely sold on novels that are so full of action, politics and espionage, but I wanted to try and work out why this was. Having read this quite amazing book, I am now sold on starting the series, from the beginning, and seeing what happens.
There is a constant argument about the sometimes 'necessary' separating of the writer, from their art, that you can have one without the other. The advent of social media makes it feel that writers are accessible, available and contactable-and sometimes you find out a person you previously admired, is so obnoxious in real life that you cannot view their output in the same way, ever again.
And whilst there is probably an angle with this book, unlike many others being published at this time of year, this is the story of a man who has lived a life. He has a legacy. And has remained quite an enigmatic personality, to my mind, anyway. 'The Reacher Guy' pulls back the curtain, and shows you something of what makes Lee Child, and his most famous creation, tick. And unlike in the Wizard of Oz, what is behind the curtain has made this reader warm to both biographer, and subject. It was a pure joy to read, to see a cultural figure in the context of the circumstances which made him, and I imagine when I start reading the Reacher novels, it will add a layer of pathos to the process
In 'The Reacher Guy', Heather seamlessly interweaves not only the tale of Lee Child, but also Jack Reacher, whilst clearly delineating between the two. Her scrupulous research into the background of Lee Child comes across so well, without ever being dry. Her love for his work, her connection to, and approval from, the author, to write this book, does not this book a fawning air. She admires the way that Lee is a self invented man, his work ethic and his attention to keeping to his word-punctuality and delivering the goods are non negotiable, it is reflected in his annual habit of starting a new book every September 1st, and his attitude towards his publishing responsibilities, are rock solid.
He takes his success very seriously, and the way that he has grown up is told with such heart, and style, and depth-this is someone who walks the walk, and talks the talk! Where he came from, the influence of both World Wars on his grandfathers and father begin to shape the man he became, as a writer, a husband, a father.
A confession-my husband has been asking me to read the Reacher books and report back to him, and I hummed and obfuscated until the chance to read this biography came, courtesy of the wonderful Anne Cater. As a reader, I am not entirely sold on novels that are so full of action, politics and espionage, but I wanted to try and work out why this was. Having read this quite amazing book, I am now sold on starting the series, from the beginning, and seeing what happens.
There is a constant argument about the sometimes 'necessary' separating of the writer, from their art, that you can have one without the other. The advent of social media makes it feel that writers are accessible, available and contactable-and sometimes you find out a person you previously admired, is so obnoxious in real life that you cannot view their output in the same way, ever again.
And whilst there is probably an angle with this book, unlike many others being published at this time of year, this is the story of a man who has lived a life. He has a legacy. And has remained quite an enigmatic personality, to my mind, anyway. 'The Reacher Guy' pulls back the curtain, and shows you something of what makes Lee Child, and his most famous creation, tick. And unlike in the Wizard of Oz, what is behind the curtain has made this reader warm to both biographer, and subject. It was a pure joy to read, to see a cultural figure in the context of the circumstances which made him, and I imagine when I start reading the Reacher novels, it will add a layer of pathos to the process
June 1, 2021
“The Reacher Guy” by Heather Martin is a tale of two epochs in Child’s life: one about his early life and work as a producer for Granada Television in the UK; and the other -- the reason many of us might pick up The Reacher Guy – his authorship of the best-selling Jack Reacher thriller series. For me, the “how he became” that comprises the first half the book is much less interesting than the “what he became.” To Martin’s credit, the Reacher Guy is deeply researched and connects a lot of dots. Martin worked closely with Child to paint as detailed a portrait of the author as is likely to be produced. (Child stated he no interest in writing his autobiography, let alone another Reacher novel.) The novel is semi-narrated by Child, intercut throughout with his commentary. Child wrote his final novel, Blue Moon, while Martin was writing her book, and emailed the final paragraph of Blue Moon to Martin when he wrapped.
Martin traces multigenerational roots of Child’s family history, walks the streets of his boyhood, and interviews scores of childhood friends, acquaintances, and Granada TV alumni. Young Jim Grant was more than an avid reader – he seems to have inhaled every book in his local library and continues to consume books like popcorn today. While lacking literary coursework, storytelling was baked into his DNA well before he sat down with his famous No. 2 pencil to write his first novel, Killing Floor. By Child’s own account, young Jim Grant was fast with his fists, and the intricate fight scenes he choreographed in his Reacher stories were drawn directly from his youthful skirmishes. From a young age, Child was fascinated by New York City, where he would eventually live and write most of his novels, and America gave him the expansive and diverse geography he would need to imagine 24 Jack Reacher adventures.
After he was laid off at Granada, Child charted his own literary coursework and plotted an ambitious career path. Literary agent Darley Anderson immediately recognized Child’s extraordinary gifts in an early draft of Killing Floor and would become his publishing industry soulmate, shepherding both Child’s writing and career to stratospheric heights. Martin shares many fascinating personal insights about Child and reveals that some of his most popular tales were those he told about himself.
Getting to the good stuff in The Reacher Guy – Child’s writing career -- was a slog for me. Yes, a good biography should cover the totality of its subject, all the things that contributed to them becoming biography-worthy, but between not-always-necessary background details and Martin’s often florid or academic writing style, it was a trek. Five stars for extra effort.
Martin traces multigenerational roots of Child’s family history, walks the streets of his boyhood, and interviews scores of childhood friends, acquaintances, and Granada TV alumni. Young Jim Grant was more than an avid reader – he seems to have inhaled every book in his local library and continues to consume books like popcorn today. While lacking literary coursework, storytelling was baked into his DNA well before he sat down with his famous No. 2 pencil to write his first novel, Killing Floor. By Child’s own account, young Jim Grant was fast with his fists, and the intricate fight scenes he choreographed in his Reacher stories were drawn directly from his youthful skirmishes. From a young age, Child was fascinated by New York City, where he would eventually live and write most of his novels, and America gave him the expansive and diverse geography he would need to imagine 24 Jack Reacher adventures.
After he was laid off at Granada, Child charted his own literary coursework and plotted an ambitious career path. Literary agent Darley Anderson immediately recognized Child’s extraordinary gifts in an early draft of Killing Floor and would become his publishing industry soulmate, shepherding both Child’s writing and career to stratospheric heights. Martin shares many fascinating personal insights about Child and reveals that some of his most popular tales were those he told about himself.
Getting to the good stuff in The Reacher Guy – Child’s writing career -- was a slog for me. Yes, a good biography should cover the totality of its subject, all the things that contributed to them becoming biography-worthy, but between not-always-necessary background details and Martin’s often florid or academic writing style, it was a trek. Five stars for extra effort.
February 3, 2022
“The Reacher Guy” by Heather Martin is a tale of two epochs in Child’s life: one, his early life and work as a producer for Granada Television in the UK; and the other -- the reason many of us might pick up The Reacher Guy – his authorship of the best-selling Jack Reacher thriller series. For me, the “how he became” that comprises the first half the book is much less interesting than the “what he became.” To Martin’s credit, the Reacher Guy is deeply researched and connects a lot of dots. Martin worked closely with Child to paint as detailed a portrait of the author as is likely to be produced. (Child stated that he no interest in writing his autobiography, let alone another Reacher novel.) The novel is semi-narrated by Child, intercut throughout with his commentary. Child wrote his final novel, Blue Moon, while Martin was writing her book, and emailed the final paragraph of Blue Moon to Martin when he wrapped.
Martin traces multigenerational roots of Child’s family history, walks the streets of his boyhood, and interviews scores of childhood friends, acquaintances, and Granada TV alumni. Young Jim Grant was more than an avid reader – he seems to have inhaled every book in his local library and continues to consume books like popcorn today. While lacking literary coursework, storytelling was baked into his DNA well before he sat down with his famous No. 2 pencil to write his first novel, Killing Floor. By Child’s own account, young Jim Grant was fast with his fists, and the intricate fight scenes he choreographed in his Reacher stories were drawn directly from his youthful skirmishes. From a young age, Child was fascinated by New York City, where he would eventually live and write most of his novels, and America gave him the expansive and diverse geography he would need to design 24 Jack Reacher adventures.
After he was laid off at Granada, Child charted his own literary coursework and plotted an ambitious career path. Literary agent Darley Anderson immediately recognized Child’s extraordinary gifts in an early draft of Killing Floor and would become his publishing industry soulmate, shepherding both Child’s writing and career to stratospheric heights. Martin shares many fascinating personal insights about Child and reveals that some of his most popular tales were those he told about himself.
Getting to the good stuff in The Reacher Guy – Child’s writing career -- was a slog for me. Yes, a good biography should cover the totality of its subject, all the things that made them biography-worthy, but between not-always-necessary background details and Martin’s often florid or academic writing style, it was a journey. Five stars for extra effort.
Martin traces multigenerational roots of Child’s family history, walks the streets of his boyhood, and interviews scores of childhood friends, acquaintances, and Granada TV alumni. Young Jim Grant was more than an avid reader – he seems to have inhaled every book in his local library and continues to consume books like popcorn today. While lacking literary coursework, storytelling was baked into his DNA well before he sat down with his famous No. 2 pencil to write his first novel, Killing Floor. By Child’s own account, young Jim Grant was fast with his fists, and the intricate fight scenes he choreographed in his Reacher stories were drawn directly from his youthful skirmishes. From a young age, Child was fascinated by New York City, where he would eventually live and write most of his novels, and America gave him the expansive and diverse geography he would need to design 24 Jack Reacher adventures.
After he was laid off at Granada, Child charted his own literary coursework and plotted an ambitious career path. Literary agent Darley Anderson immediately recognized Child’s extraordinary gifts in an early draft of Killing Floor and would become his publishing industry soulmate, shepherding both Child’s writing and career to stratospheric heights. Martin shares many fascinating personal insights about Child and reveals that some of his most popular tales were those he told about himself.
Getting to the good stuff in The Reacher Guy – Child’s writing career -- was a slog for me. Yes, a good biography should cover the totality of its subject, all the things that made them biography-worthy, but between not-always-necessary background details and Martin’s often florid or academic writing style, it was a journey. Five stars for extra effort.
November 3, 2021
Welcome to the story of James (Jim) Dover Grant, otherwise known as Lee Child, the man behind the best selling Jack Reacher series.
In this book, Heather Martin takes us on a journey through Child's life, from his roots in northwest England, where his love of reading began, all the way to the fulfilment of his American Dream - charting his family history, his childhood in Birmingham, his student days in Sheffield, his life as a TV executive, and his transformation into a literary household name.
In many ways, this is an unusual biography. The format is rather unconventional, proceeding chronologically whilst also meandering back and forth in time with references to episodes and anecdotes from people connected to Child, interspersed with quotes from Martin's interviews with him. As she puts together the pieces of his life through the recorded facts of his rise to fame, her own experience spending time with him, and the sometimes anachronistic accounts of his friends and colleagues, she paints a many layered picture of a man made up of more than one persona - which is somehow rather fitting, given that he lives a dual existence as both Jim Grant and Lee Child.
Building on the feeling that you are reading the account of a man who it is not easy to get to the truth about, Martin cleverly mixes in references to Child's own enigmatic creation Jack Reacher. Sprinkled throughout the text are quotes and scenes lifted from Child's many books exploring how facets of his own upbringing and character are echoed in Reacher and the way he interacts with those around him, displaying an intimate knowledge with Reacher's many dramatic adventures. This is absolute genius, giving real insight into both author and his brainchild in a way I have never seen before in a biography.
This is a bit of a weighty tome, filled with incredible detail about Child, bringing in a real sense of time and place at each stage of his life, and is so engaging that I found its 500 odd pages slipped by with ease. There are so many fascinating nuggets strewn throughout the pages, especially if you are a fan of the Reacher series and curious about Child's inspiration, writing process, the direction of his career, and how fame and fortune have affected him - and of course, who doesn't want to know what he really thinks about Tom Cruise stepping into Reacher's enormous shoes on the big screen? My lips are sealed, so you will have to grab a copy to find out for yourself!
In this book, Heather Martin takes us on a journey through Child's life, from his roots in northwest England, where his love of reading began, all the way to the fulfilment of his American Dream - charting his family history, his childhood in Birmingham, his student days in Sheffield, his life as a TV executive, and his transformation into a literary household name.
In many ways, this is an unusual biography. The format is rather unconventional, proceeding chronologically whilst also meandering back and forth in time with references to episodes and anecdotes from people connected to Child, interspersed with quotes from Martin's interviews with him. As she puts together the pieces of his life through the recorded facts of his rise to fame, her own experience spending time with him, and the sometimes anachronistic accounts of his friends and colleagues, she paints a many layered picture of a man made up of more than one persona - which is somehow rather fitting, given that he lives a dual existence as both Jim Grant and Lee Child.
Building on the feeling that you are reading the account of a man who it is not easy to get to the truth about, Martin cleverly mixes in references to Child's own enigmatic creation Jack Reacher. Sprinkled throughout the text are quotes and scenes lifted from Child's many books exploring how facets of his own upbringing and character are echoed in Reacher and the way he interacts with those around him, displaying an intimate knowledge with Reacher's many dramatic adventures. This is absolute genius, giving real insight into both author and his brainchild in a way I have never seen before in a biography.
This is a bit of a weighty tome, filled with incredible detail about Child, bringing in a real sense of time and place at each stage of his life, and is so engaging that I found its 500 odd pages slipped by with ease. There are so many fascinating nuggets strewn throughout the pages, especially if you are a fan of the Reacher series and curious about Child's inspiration, writing process, the direction of his career, and how fame and fortune have affected him - and of course, who doesn't want to know what he really thinks about Tom Cruise stepping into Reacher's enormous shoes on the big screen? My lips are sealed, so you will have to grab a copy to find out for yourself!
April 4, 2023
As a Reacher fan, who had enjoyed 'Reacher Said Nothing', I was really looking forward to this, but regret to say that I found it bafflingly disappointing. Martin has clearly done a sterling job of research, but the book's main flaw is her lack of judgement in what to incorporate and what to leave out. She is absolutely forensic in her detail, so that we not only get detailed family histories of both sides of Child's family, but even of some of his friends and colleagues. I understand her desire to be thorough, but she is exhaustive to a fault, and the sad result is that the book is disjointed and often dull. The inordinate focus on his early life is a real drag. Again, I can understand Martin's desire to dig into the lesser known aspects of his life, and there are some nuggets of interest here, but the overall effect is tiresome, and the book could use a serious edit.
This disjointedness is also caused by the narrative jumping around, sometimes inexplicably (e.g.: the CBE is mentioned, briefly discussed, and then a few pages later it's mentioned again, so confusingly that I had to double-check that it wasn't a separate award). The muddled chronology is really frustrating, working against a sense of momentum that is already hampered by the excess of forensic detail.
I don't want to be unduly harsh - the research is impressive, even though far from all of it warrants its inclusion. I wish Martin had had the courage to trust that her research would inform her depiction of Child, without all needing to be on the page. And there is still some interesting stuff here. I found it fascinating to see the difference between Child's self-mythologising of his writing process (I didn't draft, didn't plan; Reacher just came to me, etc...) and the drafting notes that Martin includes here, in which Child very deliberately lists the traits his hero needs to have, and why, mapping them onto what will appeal to audiences.
I wish a good editor would work with Martin on a new edition of this, to bring out the good bits and strip out the stuff that adds nothing. Sadly in its current form this biography is a real drag - and of course, given the famously propulsive nature of Child's novels, this is almost calculated to frustrate Martin's intended audience of Lee child fans.
This disjointedness is also caused by the narrative jumping around, sometimes inexplicably (e.g.: the CBE is mentioned, briefly discussed, and then a few pages later it's mentioned again, so confusingly that I had to double-check that it wasn't a separate award). The muddled chronology is really frustrating, working against a sense of momentum that is already hampered by the excess of forensic detail.
I don't want to be unduly harsh - the research is impressive, even though far from all of it warrants its inclusion. I wish Martin had had the courage to trust that her research would inform her depiction of Child, without all needing to be on the page. And there is still some interesting stuff here. I found it fascinating to see the difference between Child's self-mythologising of his writing process (I didn't draft, didn't plan; Reacher just came to me, etc...) and the drafting notes that Martin includes here, in which Child very deliberately lists the traits his hero needs to have, and why, mapping them onto what will appeal to audiences.
I wish a good editor would work with Martin on a new edition of this, to bring out the good bits and strip out the stuff that adds nothing. Sadly in its current form this biography is a real drag - and of course, given the famously propulsive nature of Child's novels, this is almost calculated to frustrate Martin's intended audience of Lee child fans.
November 11, 2021
I have two confessions to make. Firstly, I don’t tend to read non-fiction and this is the first autobiography I have read. Secondly, I have never read a book by Lee Child. But after seeing him appear at numerous festivals and listening to my husband’s enthuse about his novels I felt curious. I’m happy to say that this is definitely a type of book I would read again and I will also make a determined effort to start reading the Reacher books.
Most of this 500 page book concerns Jim (or Lee) before he became a hugely successful novelist. It is one that fascinated me, and I felt an array of conflicting emotions. There was the letter that is shown early on in the novel that he wrote for an online project ‘Letter to an Unknown Soldier’ on the 100th anniversary for the declaration of war that reduced me to tears. It wasn’t the only occasion when reading this part of the book that I thought that Jim felt guilty to be from a generation that didn’t have to go to war. There were also occasions that made me smile. His determination to stand up to bullies, both in school and the workplace as well as his thoughts regarding many politicians in the UK and USA. And I definitely agreed with him with on the ‘dumbing down’ of the TV station he worked for. 24 hour TV was one of the worst decisions Granada TV ever made.
Jim is obviously an extremely loyal, honest and thoughtful man. He admits throughout feeling detached from his parents but remains close to some family and friends. The loyalty he showed towards his agent and publisher where many would move on at the first opportunity for more fame. And his loyalty towards his many readers. He must have felt pain and bafflement when he received backlash later in the series. He came across as a loner, as someone who has never read the books I thought that this was his only similarity with Reacher.
This isn’t a linear biography, Jim could be a schoolboy and an author years later in the same chapter but once I got used to it I thought it worked well. It’s a remarkable achievement showing the publishing process, the work that goes into promoting an author and his books but more importantly it shows the dedication in publishing a novel yearly from all involved and the impact that had on Jim. I’m glad that he felt happy enough to retire without regrets
Most of this 500 page book concerns Jim (or Lee) before he became a hugely successful novelist. It is one that fascinated me, and I felt an array of conflicting emotions. There was the letter that is shown early on in the novel that he wrote for an online project ‘Letter to an Unknown Soldier’ on the 100th anniversary for the declaration of war that reduced me to tears. It wasn’t the only occasion when reading this part of the book that I thought that Jim felt guilty to be from a generation that didn’t have to go to war. There were also occasions that made me smile. His determination to stand up to bullies, both in school and the workplace as well as his thoughts regarding many politicians in the UK and USA. And I definitely agreed with him with on the ‘dumbing down’ of the TV station he worked for. 24 hour TV was one of the worst decisions Granada TV ever made.
Jim is obviously an extremely loyal, honest and thoughtful man. He admits throughout feeling detached from his parents but remains close to some family and friends. The loyalty he showed towards his agent and publisher where many would move on at the first opportunity for more fame. And his loyalty towards his many readers. He must have felt pain and bafflement when he received backlash later in the series. He came across as a loner, as someone who has never read the books I thought that this was his only similarity with Reacher.
This isn’t a linear biography, Jim could be a schoolboy and an author years later in the same chapter but once I got used to it I thought it worked well. It’s a remarkable achievement showing the publishing process, the work that goes into promoting an author and his books but more importantly it shows the dedication in publishing a novel yearly from all involved and the impact that had on Jim. I’m glad that he felt happy enough to retire without regrets
November 2, 2021
At the beginning of the book we meet three people. Jim Grant, Lee Child and last but definitely not least, Jack Reacher. Although there’s a mass of information on the aforementioned men, I still came to the same conclusion at the end.
Even after putting the book down and going back, I was convinced I was missing something within the pages.
We meet Jim first. But although Lee sort of came before Reacher, he really didn’t! Read the book and you will know what I mean.
One word of warning, if you want a perfectly chronological history in the sense of most starry autobiographies, this is not that book. It explains how all three people/personas were born/brought about, but it’s written in a conversational way. Like any chat between two people, it’s not linear. So bear that in mind.
I did enjoy this book but you will need patience to stick with it if you’re not a fan only because of the tone it’s written in. If you can stick with it there’s lots to learn and enjoy about the amalgamation that is Jim/Lee/Jack. All of this said, I’d still recommend it. Partly for those interested in Lee Child. Partly for those aspiring authors out there, and mostly for those just interested in people, and how they tick. An epic book, but worth the time you’re going to invest in it.
Thanks for the advanced reading copy of this book to Anne Cater the publisher and the author of the book.
Even after putting the book down and going back, I was convinced I was missing something within the pages.
We meet Jim first. But although Lee sort of came before Reacher, he really didn’t! Read the book and you will know what I mean.
One word of warning, if you want a perfectly chronological history in the sense of most starry autobiographies, this is not that book. It explains how all three people/personas were born/brought about, but it’s written in a conversational way. Like any chat between two people, it’s not linear. So bear that in mind.
I did enjoy this book but you will need patience to stick with it if you’re not a fan only because of the tone it’s written in. If you can stick with it there’s lots to learn and enjoy about the amalgamation that is Jim/Lee/Jack. All of this said, I’d still recommend it. Partly for those interested in Lee Child. Partly for those aspiring authors out there, and mostly for those just interested in people, and how they tick. An epic book, but worth the time you’re going to invest in it.
Thanks for the advanced reading copy of this book to Anne Cater the publisher and the author of the book.
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