Sunday, October 25, 2009

The Killing Floor by Lee Child



About the book: Welcome to Margrave, Georgia—but don't get too attached to the townsfolk, who are either in on a giant conspiracy, or hurtling toward violent deaths, or both. There's not much of a welcome for Jack Reacher, a casualty of the Army's peace dividend who's drifted into town idly looking for traces of a long dead black jazzman. Not only do the local cops arrest him for murder, but the chief of police turns eyewitness to place him on the scene, even though Reacher was getting on a bus in Tampa at the time. Two surprises follow: The murdered man wasn't the only victim, and he was Reacher's brother whom he hadn't seen in seven years. So Reacher, who so far hasn't had anything personal against the crooks who set him up for a weekend in the state pen at Warburton, clicks into overdrive. Banking on the help of the only two people in Margrave he can trust—a Harvard-educated chief of detectives who hasn't been on the job long enough to be on the take, and a smart, scrappy officer who's taken him to her bed— he sets out methodically in his brother's footsteps, trying to figure out why his cellmate in Warburton, a panicky banker whose cell-phone number turned up in Joe's shoe, confessed to a murder he obviously didn't commit; trying to figure out why all the out-of-towners on Joe's list of recent contacts were as dead as he was; and trying to stop the local carnage or at least direct it in more positive ways. Though the testosterone flows as freely as printer's ink, Reacher is an unobtrusively sharp detective in his quieter moments—not that there are many of them to judge by.

My Thoughts: I've read two or three of the Reacher novels but this is the first one written. I enjoyed it, it was a simple straight forward murder mystery/thriller/adventure. It was perfect to listen to because there weren't an over abundance of characters or plot lines. Jack himself is a mystery and I've wondered about him in each novel I've read. Mainly I wonder how he can travel about without even a change of clothes to his name. I'd think he would have at least a backpack. But I worry about unimportant things. I like Jack, even if he doesn't carry a change of clothes with him, he is a strong character and always a good guy. If you like murder mysteries, you'll like this.

1 comment:

Jo, a retired teacher said...

I think I'll find it; I like the other Reacher stories I've read. I enjoy protagonists who have intelligence and a strong sense of what is right.

Have you read any novels by Dick Francis? Try one.