Reese Witherspoon on how her new book “Gone Before Goodbye” redefines the female action hero

Reese Witherspoon is adding novelist to his resume with the thriller Gone Before Farewell, co-written with bestselling author Harlan Coben, which hits shelves Tuesday.

The collaboration brings together the Oscar-winning actress and book club founder with one of the most successful thriller writers in publishing. This is Witherspoon's first novel and Coben and her co-writer's first work.

Witherspoon said she reached out to Coben despite warnings from friends about his dark subject matter.

“In my opinion, he is the greatest thriller writer of the moment,” she said.

Coben, known for his twist endings, said he rarely collaborates, but was intrigued when Witherspoon came to his New York apartment with her presentation.

“I got a yellow pad right away,” Coben said. “We started discussing ideas for three hours.”

Gone to Goodbye follows Army combat surgeon Maggie McCabe as she navigates an international conspiracy involving spies and deception while dealing with serious personal problems.

“We really wanted this to be a book that you go to bed at eleven o'clock and say, 'Oh, I'll read for 10 minutes,' and the next thing you know it's four o'clock in the morning,” Coben said.

The title character represents Witherspoon's desire to create a female hero comparable to James Bond or Jason Bourne.

“Why don’t any movies have female leads—it’s always the girl in the bikini or the girl stirring the drink,” she said. “But why shouldn’t she become Jason Bourne?”

Witherspoon used her parents' military training to develop McCabe's character. Her father served in the Air Force and her mother in the National Guard, both of whom were medical professionals.

The authors hope to turn the book into a film or television series and plan to create several parts with McCabe's participation.

“My biggest dream is for so many different women to play Maggie McCabe,” Witherspoon said.