Killing Floor by Lee Child

Killing Floor by Lee Child

Series: Book 1, Jack Reacher (followed by Die Trying)|Genre: Thriller|Published: 1997|Pages: 524 (ISBN: 0515141429)

Set In: Georgia, USA

Opens With: ”I was arrested in Eno’s Diner”

Started On: 09 May ’12|Finished Reading: 14 May ’12

Description:

When Jack Reacher makes a spontaneous decision to get down from the bus at Margrave, Georgia, he’s just doing so because his brother once mentioned that the blues guitarist, Blind Blake died there. But half hour later Jack finds himself sitting in a diner with four cops pointing their guns at him. He is arrested for a murder that he knows he sure as hell didn’t commit. For Jack hadn’t killed anyone. “Not for a long time anyway”.

Right away Jack gets sucked into the midst of a murder conspiracy and is carted off to prison for holding for the weekend. For the one day that Jack has to spend behind the prison, he has to use his brawns and brains to come out of it alive, since dangerous, violent convicts seek to have a go at him. Jack believes that his story will come through and once the cops in Margrave get his background right he will be back on the road, crusing along into oblivion, into nothingness.

But his setting foot in Margrave is hardly a coincidence. Soon, Jack will find himself having his own privagte agenda. As he attempts to solve the mystery behind the murder, the body count keeps rising. Believing that most people in Margrave are corrupt, Jack sets out to set the record straight, hunting down the villians and dealing out justice.

What to Look For:

Very difficult to put down a description for a thriller without the spoilers. So that is as generic as I can get. If you haven’t already read it, you should do so now. It’s one of the good books I’ve come across in this genre.

Action: The story is fast-paced and packed with action. There were times when things seemed to slow down and settle into a comfortable pace but right then a twist would emerge. It will keep your reading through the night.

Writing: While not perfect, this was Lee Child’s first novel, and thus I give him credit for the work he’s done. There are flaws in the book, especially with the character sketches, but for the most part the story keeps you hooked so you wouldn’t abandon the book. I’m hoping that the books get better with the series and his writing improve as well.

Why Keep Away Instead:

Graphic Imagery: Let me warn you though. This book is graphic and violent in parts. Not as horrifying as some other books I’ve read, but not your regular thriller type either. If vivid descriptions of violence and aggresion make you squirmy, you would do well to keep away from this one. I’m guessing the other books in the series don’t cut down on the imagery.

Suspense: While there are many twists to the plot, I got the drift of the story and not much suspense was left in it me after a point. There were always a set of convinient coincidences and perfect opportunities. I continued to enjoy it though for there was no knowing how Jack Reacher, winner though he would emerge, would mete out revenge on all the villians.

Romance: As is ususal in such books, romance is like a side dish. Not much build-up there, just throw-myself-all-over-the-only-female-cop-in-town, bunk in with her and then proceed to a clean break-up.

Characters: All characters look like rough sketches on a drawing booard. They are strictly black or white and no one has any redeeming quality. The good guys are too good and the bad ones are simply maniacs who believe in the free flow of blood and gore. Jack Reacher himself seems to have no flaw. An excellent physique, the immense power to destroy anyone, perhaps every woman’s he-man… oh wait… Lee Child has already shown that to be true.

The Verdict:★★★★

Recommended to Fans of… Action/Crime/Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Ditch It If You Can’t Handle… Gore/Violence

#1… ordinary words

Lover:

It signifies something crude to me. Like an act of desperation. Like an emotion unabated. Like a thrill sought in a cheap motel.

#1… in a sentence

I recognized one set of limbs as they were my husband’s, but the other pair, that were entwined with his so intimately and obscenely, belonged to a woman who certainly wasn’t me.