According to which bit of hype you read, there’s a copy of one of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher thrillers sold somewhere in the world every four seconds, or every seven, or every nine. It’s a cute statistic and (as Child wryly notes), there’s an element of Barnum & Bailey hucksterism to it. Sam talks to Lee Child in this episode of Spectator Books about what makes his books so successful, how he writes, and why he wanted Goliath to win. Sam writes about it in this week's magazine.

Presented by Sam Leith