Lee Child short story collection coming from Transworld in August 2024

Transworld will publish a collection of stand-alone short stories by Lee Child, entitled Safe Enough: And Other Stories, due in August 2024. 

Sarah Adams, fiction and brand publisher, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Child’s long-time agent Darley Anderson. American editor and writer Otto Penzler has curated the collection, which will be published in the US by Penzler Publishers. 

This is the first collection of short stories Child has published that aren’t Jack Reacher stories.

“The world’s number one thriller writer introduces a cast of unforgettable characters in 20 pulse-pounding standalone short stories, collected together for the first time,” Transworld said.

“Here are 20 meticulously plotted, intimate portraits of humanity at its best and worst, featuring assassins, CIA agents, gangsters, and more. A drug-dealing hitman 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…”  

Stories such as "The Bodyguard", "The Greatest Trick of All", "New Blank Document" and "The Snake-Eater by the Numbers" are included.

Adams said: “There is no Jack Reacher in this collection and yet these ingenious, thoroughly entertaining short stories could only have been written by Reacher’s creator. In each one Lee’s iconic, addictive style is brilliantly demonstrated through larger-than-life characters embroiled in trouble, and through his mastery of the unexpected. We are thrilled to be publishing them in one glorious edition and I am sure readers will – as I have – find it hard to choose a favourite.” 

Child said: “I love writing Reacher, but these standalone stories were a real delight for me – trying something different every time. Period, place, nationality, personality, everything. It was liberating. And fun.” 

Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in New York. His books have been published in 50 languages. He has received numerous honours such as most recently Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards and awarded a CBE in the same year.