The success of the Jack Reacher series suggests he has a long road yet to run

He describes Tom Cruise as ‘a dog for work’, but Lee Child is no slouch himself. He has published a book per year since his award-winning debut, Killing Floor, in 1997, thus creating an iconic character of contemporary fiction. His latest, Never Go Back, is the 18th novel about the hulking loner, Jack Reacher, the ex-military policeman who prowls the highways and byways of America, talking soft and carrying a big stick as he faces down the bad guys.

Reacher sales are in excess of 40m: Child is aware how long Reacher has been on the road, and how implausible his journey becomes with each story. “Technically, I’m probably better at it than I was when I started out, so it won’t be for a lack of ability,” he says when I ask how long he can continue with Reacher. “But, yeah, I am somewhat floored by the absurdity of it all by now — I mean, how many books can you write about the same guy? And that’s something that’s on my mind, at the moment. I do not want to be the guy who sticks around one year too long.”