Lee Child’s The Midnight Line , released last week, starts with Jack Reacher reading a note on his pillow from Michelle Chang where she compares him to New York City—“I love to visit but I could never live there.” Chang was with Reacher as they uncovered the horrific secrets of Make Me . Reacher gets on a bus, uncharacteristically thinking of what Chang would be doing. A stroll during a rest stop brings Reacher to a pawnshop window and a West Point ring. Curious of the circumstances that would lead to the ring coming to a pawn shop, Reacher sets off on a quest that sees the ex-MP at his most contemplative and melancholic yet. He does, however, bash up a gang of bikers and threaten to put a bad guy in the washing machine on the spin cycle. In an email interview Child talks of Reacher’s genes, the importance of research and Tom Cruise. Excerpts.
The Midnight Line has mythic elements of the two sisters, one who has to be freed from a dragon, a ring and Reacher as the knight errant…
I think the whole series depends on myth and legend, to a greater or lesser degree. Certainly Reacher can be seen as a classic knight errant, yes.
Make Me was a different book in many ways — Reacher hurts his head and seems more involved with Chang. Also the heart of the book was truly horrific. The Midnight Line seems a gentler novel. Has Make Me changed Reacher?
I think it has, a little. The events of Make Me were terrible, and the events of The Midnight Line were melancholy. But I expect he’ll recover fast enough.
Will Chang's questions about Reacher's lifestyle and the West Point General's question of "if it is a fitting way for a West Pointer to live” make Reacher rethink his lifestyle?
I think he’ll ask himself questions about it, but I don’t expect him to change.
Do you feel Tom Cruise has taken over Jack Reacher?
Not as far as the books are concerned – they are mine. The movies are Tom’s.
By definitely stating Reacher's age, are you writing yourself into a corner?
There have been three prequels in the series and several sequences of back-to-back stories, so we don’t have to assume Reacher gets a year older every 12 months. But yes, eventually it will be a problem … although I’m older than Reacher, so presumably I’ll run out of gas before he does.
Would there be more novels set during Reacher's Army days?
I don’t have an overarching plan for the series, so I can’t say for sure, but I enjoy doing them, so I expect the answer is yes.
Do you feel the pressure of creating a bigger Jack Reacher adventure than the previous one?
I don’t focus on making the stories “bigger” each time – after 22 books that would have led to absurd inflation. I just try to make each one as good as the last, whatever the storyline.
How much do fans influence you?
I can’t react to everyone – happily, I have too many readers for that. But certainly I try to keep them satisfied. They’re the only reason I’m doing this.
Reacher is not a Luddite, why then does he shun technology? A smart phone would make him a digital nomad. Or is he against consumerism?
Partly he is indifferent to consumerism, but mostly it is practical – he doesn’t have a fixed address, or a credit card, so a relationship with a telecoms corporation would be very difficult.
How can Reacher eat so much junk and stay so healthy?
Good genes, I suppose!
Where do you get your plot ideas from?
Ideas are easy – every day the news has a dozen stories that could be used. The trick is to choose one (or a combination of a few) that will be interesting throughout a whole novel.
How important is research? Does it help or hinder the plot?
I think recent, undigested research is unhelpful. I try to rely on things I have known for a few years, so my perspective is clear about which parts are important, and which parts aren’t.
Do you have a favourite Jack Reacher novel?
I liked Gone Tomorrow , and I’m very pleased with the latest, The Midnight Line – I think it came out very well.
Has Reacher ever come to India during his MP days?
I don’t know – I’ll ask him!
