THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER From the world's number one thriller writer, twenty pulse-pounding short stories are collected for the first time in one edition, complete with an introduction from the author. 'It's Lee Child. Why would you not read it?' KARIN SLAUGHTER 'An enticing snack-like book, full of jaunty tales, twists and violence.' INDEPENDENT ******** I was the guy who always found a way. I was the guy that couldn't be stopped. A drug-dealing hit man unburdens his fears to a stranger. An overlooked rookie cop is assigned to the department's file room. A ruthless killer only kills bad guys. A methodical bodyguard quits his job when he's outsmarted. A military mission is planned to perfection. . . Meticulously plotted and utterly compelling, these are intimate portraits of humanity at its best and worst. Each story is entirely distinct. And with their economical prose and unexpected twists, each could only have been written by the creator of Jack Reacher. INCLUDES A BONUS SHORT STORY FROM LEE CHILD AND TESS GERRITSEN, STARRING JACK REACHER AND MAGGIE BIRD. ******* 'I don't know another author so skilled at making me turn the page, at putting me in the thick of it all.' THE TIMES 'Best thriller writer on the planet.' SUSAN HILL 'One of the genre's finest practitioners.' INDEPENDENT 'I always seize the latest Lee Child with pleasure.' PHILIP PULLMAN ********* The stories included in this collection are: The Bodyguard * The Greatest Trick of All * Ten Keys * Safe Enough * Natural in Every Way * The .50 Solution * Publica Transportation * Me and Mr. Rafferty * Section 7 (a) (Operational) * Addicted to Sweetness * The Bone-Headed League * I Heard a Romantic Story * My First Drug Trial * Wet with Rain * The Truth About What Happened * Pierre, Lucien & Me * New Blank Document * Shorty and the Briefcase * Dying for a Cigarette * The Snake-Eater by the Numbers plus an exclusive brand new short story featuring Jack Reacher and Maggie Bird from Lee Child and Tess Gerritsen And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW*** Lee Child, Sunday Times bestselling author, September 2024 Lee Child, No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author, October 2024 Lee Child, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, October 2024 Lee Child, No.1 bestseller, Australia October 2024