I first heard of this book
during the London Book Fair when I had a meeting with Otto Penzler. As a long
time reader of Lee Child’s
Jack Reacher novels - I quizzed him about this book during last May’s Crimefest
event in Bristol.
The book I am referring to is ‘Reacher: The Stories behind the Stories’
– a book that I was highly anticipating.
So, what are my thoughts once
I had a copy in my hands?
This interesting book will not only appeal to readers of
the Jack Reacher novels, but also to readers [and writers] who wish to uncover
the physical mechanics behind the writing process; the dynamics that powered
one of the world’s best-selling thriller series.
Written in a series of short chapters [which were initially
short introductions to the limited print run special editions of each Jack
Reacher novel solely written by Lee Child] from the first [Killing Floor] to
the twenty fourth [Blue Moon], this book is so very interesting.
It opens - On Monday September 5th, 1994, at home, at the dining
room table, I sat down to write. An hour later, I gave the first chapter to my
wife. I asked, “Should I continue?”
“Yes,” she said. “I like it.”
Child’s self-deprecating, modest and amusing style at times
raising a smile, while at others forcing the reader to pause for thought and
ponder upon the hand of fate. The combination of the author’s work ethic,
built-in self-reliance, positive [and generous] nature - collided many times
with the hand of fate as he watched the cards fall, not always in his favour –
but he always seemed to play the best possible hand. Case in point – the
circumstances of the purchase of his Property in Southern France, as well as
its subsequent sale.
Read the full review HERE
After completing this slim
tome, including the new Jack Reacher short story “A Better Place” which closes this interesting book – I had a few
questions, and thanks to publisher Otto Penzler, who spoke with Lee – I got my
answers, which are presented below for our readers.
I closed my review –
“This is the most informative and entertaining book I’ve
read so far in 2025. Reacher: The Stories behind the Stories helped recall how
much pleasure reading the Lee Child novels had on me, enriching my own life by distracting me
from my own [at times] Bad Luck and Trouble.”
I understand the importance of
literature - good writing – and the power of stories in helping manage the
randomness of life and its challenges.
Stephen King summed this
importance in his book “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft”.
“Life isn't a support-system for art. It's
the other way around”
I managed my life through my
love of books and reading, so over to a story teller that helped me overcome
the challenges that life presented me from 1997’s ‘Killing Floor’ to 2019
and ‘Blue Moon’ – Mr. Lee Child.
Ali: I first heard about ‘Reacher: The Stories
behind the Stories’ in March, from Otto Penzler during the London Book Fair.
Would you tell us about the book’s genesis and was it your idea or that of
Penzler’s Mysterious Press?
Lee: Entirely Otto's idea - both originally and
contemporaneously. Otto did very limited
editions of the Reacher books for his collectors, 126 printed per title, and
asked for added-value forewords for each, year by year. I did them as diaries, really - where I was,
what I was thinking, etc, while I was writing each book. Then he wanted to publish them in a single
widely-available volume. Which felt
weird, frankly. I knew collectors rarely
even open the book - they shelve them reverentially and worry about cracking
their spines. So I thought no one would
read this stuff, so I made the intros quite personal and unguarded. Transworld picked it up as a subsidiary deal
for the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
AK: I see there will be an audio release,
will you be narrating / reading it or will Jeff Harding do the honours again?
AND what’s your take on the growth of Audio Books, and the Reacher novels in
particular?
LC: I narrated the
main part of the audio myself, because it feels a bit autobiographical, like a
memoir. That was the first time ever for
me. Jeff Harding did the non-me parts,
including a brand new Reacher short story we put in as bonus content. Audio is getting huge now - inevitably, I
think, because for most of our evolution storytelling has been oral, and we
seem to be hardwired for it. I'm all in favour
- I'm a storyteller rather than a writer, so I'm happy for people to get the
story any way they want.
LC: I'm sure I'll do short stories now and then. There's always someone asking. If I'm around long enough, there could be
enough to make another collection.
AK: As a fellow
bibliophile - I was amused when you mentioned about renovating the manor house
in Sussex, including building a library “…for
the first time in my life, I had more shelves than books….though that moment
did not last long…” So tell us about your own book collecting over the
years, and what is the state of your book collection currently?
LC: I'm not a collector per
se - I have probably ten thousand books here and there, but fewer than
twenty are actual valuable volumes. I
have a Kelmscott Chaucer - folio size, hand-printed by William Morris,
illustrated by Edward Burne-Jones, often called the most beautiful book in the
world, and a first edition, first printing of The Catcher in the Rye, and a signed first of The
Silence of the Lambs. Plus a couple of
James Bonds. Stuff like that. But most of my books have little resale
value, except they're much loved by me.
AK: Naturally, there is little mention of the
Amazon series REACHER due to the time frame [Killing Floor to Blue Moon] – so
what can you tell us about Season Four – and is it based on your novel “Gone
Tomorrow”? And what about the spin off series “Neagely”?
LC: Yes, the TV seasons post-date the forewords in the
book. Reacher season four is almost done
- yes, Gone Tomorrow - and the Neagley spin-off is almost through
post-production.
All good. I'm
enjoying the process.
LC: Like the memoir book [Reacher: The Stories behind the
Stories], the archive is another thing I never expected. UEA is very much "the writers'
university", a bit like Iowa State in the U.S., and I know Henry Sutton,
who teaches there. He asked for my
archive. I wasn't sure I had one, as
such - just a bunch of old boxes with all kinds of stuff thrown in. But they have made wonderful sense of it - it
has turned out to be beautifully curated and quite impressive. I started long enough ago that plenty of it
is on physical paper, not just electronic.
AK: And tell us a little about why you enjoy attending festivals
that celebrate writing, as you [and Brother & Co-Writer] Andrew attended both
Crimefest and Theakston’s Harrogate and you are a guest
author at the the inaugural Whitby Literature
Festival this November.
LC: I love festivals, and go to as many as I can fit
in. Readers and writers are like my
family, and it's great to see them periodically. I like to meet the new writers - such
passion, energy, and ideas - and such great books! And yes, I'll be there on
November 8th, at 7pm at Whitby in November.
Now I'm back in the UK, I decided to do stuff I had to miss
before. I like Whitby - I had a nice holiday
there once. And it's a new festival, so
I wanted to help launch it.
AK: Mike Stotter and I attended Bouchercon 2025 in New
Orleans, and enjoyed a film on Saturday Night following the
Anthony Awards entitled “If Jack Reacher Could Sing” featuring a band
called Naked Blue – would you are to comment?
LC: By an outrageous coincidence, unknown to each other, I
was their fan and they were mine, and eventually we met. Obviously we immediately pledged to make an
album together - I would write the lyrics, they would write
the music. It took us fifteen
years to get it done, but we did it. A
real high point in my life. Total fun,
with two lovely people.
AK: Thank you for your time, and the trip
down memory lane with Reacher: The Stories behind the Stories. Your work has
always been important to so many readers.
LC: My pleasure as ever.
Shots Magazine would like to pass our thanks to Otto
Penzler of The Mysterious Press / Penzler Publishers and Patsy Irwin of
PenguinRandomHouse for helping organise this short interview and of course to
Lee Child for his time.
5 Min video Below: Lee Child and Andrew Grant at Crimefest May 2025 Bristol UK recorded in Gonzo-Vision.
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