Lee Child was born in 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence, he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an 18-year career as a presentation director during British TV’s “golden age.”

During his tenure, his company made Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect and Cracker. But he was fired in 1995 at the age of 40 as a result of corporate restructuring. Always a voracious reader, he decided to see an opportunity where others might have seen a crisis and bought six dollars’ worth of paper and pencils and sat down to write a book, Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series.

Killing Floor was an immediate success, winning both the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best First Novel. Child's debut novel launched a series, which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The Jack Reacher now has 22 (soon to be 23) installments and has been adapted into a series of successful films starring Tom Cruise.

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