"Totally distinctive voice": Lee Child on the writing of the first Neagley novels

For the first time, a novel in the Reacherverse will not be about Reacher himself. 

Frances Neagley is getting her time in the spotlight, with both a new spinoff television show, and two new thrillers focused on her. 

Author Lee Child is thrilled by the success and popularity the screen adaptation of his work has found – especially since it's now getting a spinoff. 

"I'm so pleased about the spinoff because Maria [Sten] is just fantastic," Child told Mike Hosking. 

"She's a great actor, but she's a lovely person as well." 

In fact, it was Sten's performance and the writing of the character in the show that led to the new series being written at all, as it filled in the gaps in Neagley's character Child was struggling with. 

"I never really developed her as a character, you know, to me she lived in the present. I had no idea of her past, I had no idea of her future," he told Hosking.  

"They answered the questions that I couldn't answer for myself," 

The first book, 'Zero Margin', is being co-written with Yasmin Angoe, a critically acclaimed thriller author, in order to give the Neagley series a distinctive voice from Reacher.  

"I've seen the first draft, it's great, and I know that the final draft is even better ... so I'm looking forward to reading it."  

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