Killing Floor

Is there anything good to say about it at all? Well, yes it's pacey - which meant I finished it quickly!!


The first I read   September 30, 2005
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

I have been waiting for a hero like Jack Reacher for so long. I found this tattered and well read quite by accident at the back of our book shelf, left by one of my sister's boyfriends. It was the only book in the house I hadn't read and telly was extraordinarily boring that night. I started it, and now 2 months and all of Lee Child's novels later this one still holds a special place in my heart as the first (hey don't they always). I was intrigued by the loner character Child created and find him thoroughly endearing with no bs. I love he can get away with stuff I can't and has skills to call upon so he can wade in and make everything better. Yes, I know he does take leaps of imagination every so often but I'm so enamoured with his storytelling I'll allow that. Others will give you the synopsis I'll just tell you to try him - Jack Reacher is my new comfort food...


Great Action and Imaginative Plot for a Unique Hero   August 18, 2005
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Jack Reacher has spent the six months after being "downsized" out of the army avoiding work and shunning "official" society. He buys his clothes to wear for a few days, buys more and discards the old ones. It's a new definition of traveling light.

Near Atlanta, he remembers a story about the death of Blind Blake, the guitar player, which Reacher's brother had written about. In a sudden impulse, Reacher persuades the bus driver to drop him off near Margrave, Georgia, the site of Blake's death.

Coincidences quickly multiply as Reacher becomes the "usual suspect" for a brutal murder that occurs just before he arrives in the area. Wheels move within wheels as his fellow prisoner tells him that there's a dangerous conspiracy going on . . . and that it most be broken by Sunday.

Reacher uses his skills as a former MP to keep himself and others safe, and finds himself tasked to the limits of his abilities.

The book has some of the best hand-to-hand action you can imagine in a thriller. The plot has some marvelous concepts floating around in it. Above all, the book is fun to read. Reacher will appeal to readers who like lonely rebels and vigilantes who right wrongs.

The novel has some rough patches in the story. Some of the coincidences are a bit far-fetched. If you are good at suspending disbelief, you will probably rate this book higher than I did. Some of the imagery is a trifle on the gruesome side, so the book isn't for those with squeamish tastes. The ending doesn't quite work, but it didn't harm my enjoyment of the story too much.

Pay attention to the Blind Blake story line. It's one of the stronger elements in the book.

Make a difference!


Excellent   June 6, 2005
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

This was recommended to me by a friend and is truly a brilliantly written book. Contains clever twists, logic and great writing ability. Can't wait to start the next book.


average thriller   March 25, 2004
 3 out of 11 found this review helpful

Not having read any of Lee Child's other books, I decided to read this particular one solely on the basis of the recommendations here. However while the book is set a great pace and I was always hungry to read more, I found the lead character unlikeable and the plot threads far too convenient to be consistently credible. I found myself constantly asking, 'what about' or 'why didn't and that ultimately detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Also the violence particularly in the descriptions of the victims' murder scenes was by terms excessively graphic and absurdly humourous - think the chief's wife's final meal. This is the first of his books I have read and I doubt I will go on to read any more.