In the opening scene of Make Me (Delacorte, Sept.), the 20th Jack Reacher novel, someone is digging a grave with a backhoe. "You don't know why or even who it is they're burying," says Lee Child. Even Child didn't know the answer when he started the book. "I write by asking a question at the beginning and then answer it as late in the story as possible. I know it sounds pretentious, but writing is very musical for me—it's like composing a symphony and somewhere in the final movement everything gets resolved in big chords."

While the last book in the series was set in Europe, Reacher is now back in America. "I do try and change it up a little bit. Personal put Reacher into a James Bond kind of role—private jets, Paris, London. This book is set in the middle of a million miles of wheat. I had a lot of fun writing it, as Reacher's happy in this book, and I always enjoy that because people think his character isn't full of humor. It's also very romantic, which is unusual for Reacher as he's usually a love 'em and leave 'em man. There's actually more romance than humor in Make Me even though it's a hardcore Reacher book."

Reacher fans will be relieved to know that once again, he's going low tech and will not be carrying a cellphone or tablet. "He's very annoyed that he even has to carry ID and an ATM card—his main possession is his folding toothbrush." Child readily admits that when it comes to technology, he's a bit like Reacher. "I'm the last but one adopter. I didn't have a cellphone until well into the 21st century and don't own an iPad."

Child, who lives in New York City, will have a quick commute to the Javits Center for his BEA appearances. "I go everywhere on the subway, that's how you take the temperature of what's going on. I don't generally speak to people. I like to observe—I love those little fragments of conversation you overhear." Once he arrives, Child will be a featured speaker at today's Adult Book & Author Breakfast and then head over to the Random House booth (3119), where he'll sign paperback copies of Personal and broadside posters for Make Me. 

This article appeared in the May 28, 2015 edition of PW BEA Show Daily.