'Jack Reacher' author awarded for lifetime achievement

Lee Child, author of 17 novels including "Killing Floor," "One Shot," and "The Affair," has been awarded the Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in crime fiction.

Lee Child, author of 17 novels including "Killing Floor," "One Shot," and "The Affair," has been awarded the Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in crime fiction.

Lee-Child-s-One-Shot-became-a-Tom-Cruise-blockbuster-film-Photo-AFP

The ex-TV producer joins Frederick Forsyth, Ian Rankin, Ruth Rendell and P.D. James on a list of 27 previous winners.

"Lee is one of the few British crime thriller authors to have become a global brand name; he is also an extremely charming and open person and a tireless promoter of our genre," said CWA Chair Peter James.

The author's prominence increased in 2012 when Tom Cruise took on the role of recurring protagonist Jack Reacher in a film of the same name, based on the story told in "One Shot."

"Never Go Back," Jack Reacher's eighteenth outing, is currently scheduled for publication in August 2013.