Created by Colin CampbellÂ
Sheesh! Apparently Jack Reacher‘s massive success has not been lost on writers who are not named Lee Child.
Colin Campbell’s JIM GRANT is yet another cheeky parody/tribute/homage/rip-off. And I do mean cheeky — Jim Grant is Lee Child’s real name.
Not that that’s the only connection. When we first meet him in Jamaica Plain (2013), the very Reacher-like Grant (so tough he doesn’t carry a gun) is a British cop out of Yorkshire sent to  Boston on a temporary assignment, to question a prisoner. He’s been told to keep a low profile, but things soon go tits up. There are explosions, brawls and a very public standoff with a crazed gunman that finds Grant splashed across the newspapers and television, tagged with a new nickname: “Resurrection Man.”
His new-found notoriety gives him a certain reputation as a can-do kinda guy, and it sure helps him pick up assorted odd jobs as he — yes — wanders around America, trying to stay out of trouble but of course somehow always finding it.
Sound familiar?
At least he’s not as commitment-phobic as Reacher. And he does travel with more than a toothbrush. He even returns to Boston and temporarily joins the Boston PD in Beacon Hill (2018), while some of the books and stories flash back to his days as a Yorkshire cop… just as some of Child’s books flashback on his days as a MP.
But the cheekiest bit of all? The constant comparisons to Reacher are tiresome enough, but Child himself blurbed the first book, calling it “very real, very good.”
According to his Amazon bio, the author is a retired cop and former scenes of crime officer, who served with the West Yorkshire Police for 30 years. He’s also “ex-Army.” Of course.
If you like this kind of thing, be sure to check out Diane Capri’s Hunt for Jack Reacher series. And stick around for the Grant and McNulty series, which teams Jim withVince McNulty, an ex-cop turned technical consultant for the movies.
UNDER OATH
- “Grim and gritty and packed with action and crackling dialogue.”
― Kirkus Reviews - “The Resurrection Man series is a blast.”
— Nick Petrie
NOVELS
- Jamaica Plain (2013)Â |Â Buy this book
- Montecito Heights (2014)Â |Â Buy this bookÂ
- Adobe Flats (2014)Â |Â Buy this bookÂ
- Snake Pass (2015)Â |Â Buy this bookÂ
- Beacon Hill (2017)Â |Â Buy this bookÂ
- Shelter Cove (2018)Â |Â Buy this bookÂ
- Catawba Point (2020)Â |Â Kindle it!Â
GRANT & MCNULTY NOVELS
- Forced Perspective (2021) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
- Double Exposure (2023) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
SHORTÂ STORIES
- “Chasing Tail”
- “Granted”
- “Bosquillas Crossing”
- “East Village Down”
COLLECTIONS
- Jim Grant Short Stories Two (2014)Â |Â KIndle it!Â
- Jim Grant Short Stories Two (2015)Â |Â KIndle it!Â
FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS
- The Jack Reacher Industrial Complex
So this big guy walks into a bar…
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
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