Jack Reacher author Lee Child: ‘More sex is medically implausible and I’m as rich and famous as I need to be’

The thriller writer on being a fearless Brummie, how he came to own a Renoir and his six-decade love affair with smoking

Born in the West Midlands, Lee Child, 70, studied law before working in television. After losing his job following a corporate restructuring, he published Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series, in 1997. His novels have been adapted into two films, starring Tom Cruise, and an Amazon Prime series. He now writes with his brother Andrew and they headline Theakston Old Peculier crime writing festival in Harrogate next month. The 30th Reacher thriller, Exit Strategy, is out in November. He is married with a daughter, and lives in the north of England.

When were you happiest?
In 1993, making love on the beach of a deserted island in the Bahamas.