A Book Review: Killing Floor by Lee Child (Jack Reacher #1)

I finally read a Jack Reacher novel.

Jack Reacher, is the famous creation of Lee Child. A few years ago, Hollywood made a movie adaptation. Starring Tom Cruise, the 2 hours crime thriller did not impress me. It killed my interest for exploring Jack Reacher books. Then came the “thrill” seeking month of March 2017. I went to the library. I saw a Jack Reacher book standing on the shelf. I decided to give it a go, and I borrowed it.

Which book is this? It is called Killing Floor. This is also the first installment in the series, Lee Child's debut. From the library I came home with the book tugged under my arm. I opened it, read the first chapter, and I was hooked.

The story began, in a small Georgian town washed by the morning rain. The town is called Margrave. It was September and the sun was just rising to cook the day. A quiet restaurant squats over the town's street. Inside the diner sat a man eating his breakfast - scrambled eggs. This man; tall, blond, and powerfully built, pierced the window with his cold blue eyes into a hazy world. Without a warning, the restaurant’s door banged wide open. Three policemen hushed into the diner. They arrested the tall man and read his rights to him. The man stayed silent. He uttered no word. The police said this man is a murderer, and they were taking him to the jail.

The cops interrogated the man at the station. The man said he is Jack Reacher, and he committed no murder. Jack said he jumped off the bus and walked 14 miles in the rain to reach the town, because he is looking for a dead guitar player. The cops didn't believe him. This is the first homicide in 30 years and Jack is the only stranger in town. They wanted to make Jack take the fall. But later on it became obvious they picked the wrong guy; dead bodies were piling up under the summer sky, turning the town into a killing floor.

From there, Jack's misadventure in Margrave twisted and turned for 500 pages. This is the best damn thriller I've read in awhile!

Some people say Killing Floor reads like an action flick from the 80s, starring good old Arnie. But I tell you, that is painting the wrong picture for this book. By my estimation, only 30 out of 525 pages in this book narrated action scenes. The rest of it focused on characters, suspense, deductions, and the story. Killing Floor told a ripping yarn! In this book, Lee Child mounted suspense in the story. He hid the central mystery away from the readers. Then Jack peeled back the mystery's curtain as he pieced the puzzles together, revealing one surprise after another. This book is a fine example of a masterfully plotted crime thriller.

Thriller novels don't usually have good characterization. Killing Floor is one of those exceptions where the characterization is intricate and memorable. Lee Child fleshed out Jack Reacher's character, so well. While Jack didn't speak much in this book, but Lee Child's first person narratives shot us right into Jack's head. We could see how Jack calculated his every move, this guy is brilliant. Jack Reacher may be an action hero, but he is also Sherlock Holmes. That is not all. Lee Child created Jack as the “strong silent type”. Yet, through Lee Child's vivid depictions of Jack, we saw those inner feelings, and the thoughts, of this Clint Eastwood like hero.

Speaking of depictions. Some readers say it takes time to adjusting to Lee Child's writing style. It is true if you are used to reading long sentences. Lee Child's style is rather hardboiled. He uses short sentences, and often without verbs. Personally, I like his style because it suits the atmosphere of an action crime thriller. It is punchy and descriptive, it renders Killing Floor an addictive read.

My regret is I didn't read Killing Floor sooner. My initial impression about Jack Reacher, based on the movie, is wrong. Killing Floor offers so much more than a simple action romp. This book impresses a reader with a memorable protagonist. It entertains with a well executed plot, and it grips a reader with nail-biting suspense. After I read the last chapter in Killing Floor, I risked a rainy storm, made haste to the library and borrowed 4 more Jack Reacher books. If you are craving for thrillers, then you can't go wrong with Killing Floor.

Until the next time, happy reading!