The great recurring characters in the mystery series we love become like old friends. Our favourite cops and sleuths earn our respect and we follow their antics with baited breath from one instalment to the next. But where do some of the most fascinating detectives in the mystery and thriller world really come from?

What was the real-life location that inspired Michael Connelly to make Harry Bosch a former Vietnam tunnel rat? Why is Jack Reacher such a giant of a guy, and why did Lee Child make him a drifter? How did a brief encounter in Botswana inspire Alexander McCall Smith to create the kind but no-nonsense Precious Ramotswe? In The Lineup, some of today s top mystery writers reveal the genesis of their unforgettable characters.