Book Review – Lee Child’s “Killing Floor”
Back in 1997 the literary world was introduced to a new author named Lee Child (a pen name for Jim Grant).
He presented us with Killing Floor, an action-packed thriller starring Jack Reacher, a former United States Army MP who can think on his feet and deliver lethal blows to any enemy. This is the first Jack Reacher story out of (at this point in time) a series of eighteen books.
Written completely in the first-person point-of-view, Killing Floor begins as Jack Reacher decides to disembark from a Greyhound bus in the fictional town of Margrave, Georgia. Margrave is a small town south of downtown Atlanta and towards the western side of the state. Once a thriving small town, Margrave slowly shrank in size once Interstate 75 was completed and traffic simply bypassed the town.
For the past five months, Jack Reacher has simply been wandering around the U.S. He’s recently retired from the U.S. Army and his previous profession of working as a military policeman. Reacher had been living overseas for most of his life, and he’s never really seen his home country. Now that he’s finished with his military service, Reacher is taking his time and visiting a variety of cities and states, all while using cash and trying to remain anonymous in the crowds. Essentially he’s a ghost.
Jack Reacher’s life changes though once he steps into a diner in Margrave, Georgia. It was a quick decision to disembark in Margrave. Jack’s older brother, Joe, a man whom Jack had not spoken to in a number of years, had recommended that Jack visit the town and try to find the grave site of that belonging to Blind Blake, a legendary musician from the 1930s.
However, when Jack is trying to enjoy a meal in the diner, he’s quickly arrested by a team of local police officers. In the town’s jail he learns that he’s booked for the murder of a man recently discovered at the edge of town. But how could Jack be the murderer when he has never set foot in this town and he first arrived hours ago, yet the murder allegedly took place the previous night?
Inside the jail, Reacher meets a police detective named Finlay. A transplant from Boston, Finlay questions Reacher about the murder and soon realizes that he may be innocent. However, the town’s police chief, a man named Morrison, insists that he saw Reacher at the scene of the crime. Until Reacher’s whereabouts are confirmed, he’s going to have to temporarily be placed in custody.
While he’s in custody, Finlay shows Reacher a small piece of paper that was found hidden on the dead body. It only has a phone number on it. When they call the number, they discover that it belongs to Paul Hubble, a banker who lives there in Margrave. Hubble is quickly brought in for questioning. When he’s pressed by Chief Morrison, Hubble admits to committing the murder, though he won’t go into any details. However, Reacher doesn’t believe that the banker was capable of committing such a heinous act. Read more…
Categories: book reviews Tags: book review, Jack Reacher, Lee Child