Reacher: Killing Floor (Movie Tie-In) (Jack Reacher)

The world suddenly got a look at a brand new movie hero in 2014 when the movie, "Jack Reacher" came out starring Tom Cruise as the lead character, Jack Reacher. After that movie I started reading "Jack Reacher" books by Lee Child (Note that Lee Child makes a cameo appearance in the movie "Jack Reacher" and plays a Police Desk Sergeant.) Amongsts those that I read was the very first "Jack Reacher" novel so I could get a feeling of the character from the beginning. I was ecstatic to find that in the 2nd Jove Premium Edition, Copyright 2012, Child writes a new Introduction to the book and explains a lot of things about how the Jack Reacher character came to be and what kinds of things shaped him ionto the character as he existed in the beginning and why and how Child tried to create a 'differentiated detective chaaracter.' he did it well and is now one of the largest selling mystery writers alive today.

On "Jack Reacher" Child says several things that are of note to the reader:

1. Lee Child was a John D. MacDonald reader. MacDonald is famous of his over 100 books, but particularly his series starring Travis McGee (All the Travis McGee novels have a color in the title. e.g. "Pale Gry For Guilt" or "That Lovely Lemon Sky") and Child used numerous elements from MacDonald's books, but also he took Reacher down a different path than MacDonald did with McGee). Perhaps one of MacDonald's most famous books was made into the movie "Cape Fear" 2 times, and that the book was titled 'The Executioners.

About McGee, Child says things like, "... I liked cleverness and ingenuity ... intriguing revelations ... " And he disliked smart detectives, that did stupid things 3/4'rs of the way through the book. "I like to see something done spectacularly well.

Child developed some rules for his Reacher books which included the following:

First: Character is King: People remember characters. Second: If you can see a bandwagon, it's too late to get on. Third Conclusion, and the most confounding says Child, "You can't design character too specifically."

Child then strts writing and creating the character of Jack Reacher. A character that follows the rules, those of character building, bandwagon aversion and go with the flow to some extent (i.e. do not lock yourself to tightly to an archetype of the character. Thus, a mystery icon was born. And, a mystery character was molded into aa very interesting and provocative series.

In this book, Jack Reacher was more or less just going through a small town in Georgia, when he is arrested for murder. The details and how Reacher finds them are the crux of the story. But this book set the stage for a long series of Jack Reacher books that are now standard faire in the mystery portion of pretty much any library.

Child is good, imaginative and interesting. While I would not compare his work to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the late, great Sherlock Holmes. But I would consider Child one of the best currently writing mystery writers in America, although he originally came from the UK.

"The Killing Floor" is a very fine book for a first book in a series and I highly recommend it to lovers of mystery novels. The books read quickly and keep your interest. They are not literature in the same was as Doyle, but they are good, solid mystery stories that can be read quickly. I highly recommend this book to lovers of mystery novels.

I've read all of the Reacher series and decided to start over with Killing Floor and see how things evolved from the beginning. This was a great first effort. However, reading through it a second time had me looking for plot implausibilities. Two popped up. One, if a senior Treasury Agent goes missing, then a second, I'm pretty sure the Feds wouldn't be sitting on their hands for a week. Second, If Kliner was the mastermind counterfeiter, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have 40 million singles stacked up like a haystack in a warehouse. Overall, though, it was a great read and it was worth going down the road again to see how Reacher started out on his post-Army adventure.

Since publishing his captivating novel Jack Reacher: Killing Floor, in 1997, Lee Child has written with determination and perseverance, showing the effects of crime, sex, and fraud in the late 20th century. Killing Floor analyzes the causes and effects of the counterfeit business through the likes of the loyal and trustworthy protagonist, Jack Reacher. Because Lee develops Jack into a very well rounded character through strong vocabulary, Child entertains young adults with a suspenseful thriller as well as persuading adults to question everything and not believing everything at face value. At the very beginning of the novel, Jack Reacher is arrested for a murder that he didn’t commit. After being on the road for many months and drenched in rainwater, Jack Reacher only wants to be alone; he carries no luggage, no extra clothes, and no car. However, as trouble has always found its way to him, he is carried into a deep homicide investigation that no one understands. When Jack is being investigated, he says, “Homicidal frenzy is bad enough, but postmortem frenzy is worse” (Child 34). A military man through 36 years of his life and a specialized “agent” in homicide investigation himself, he finds himself questioning the investigators. Soon afterwards, Jack is on the team helping out with the investigation. However, as time draws nearer he must distinguish his friends from his enemies. Through the use of many flashbacks in Jack Reacher’s military life, Child uses real world connections to entertain readers about the thinking skills of highly skilled military men. For example, during the interrogation of Jack Reacher at the police station, he tells Finlay two things, “But the actual evidence points to a minimum of three… [they] wouldn’t like that kind of frenzy. It would embarrass them” (37). On the surface, Finley is interrogating Jack about the mysterious murder, but on the deeper level though Finley can’t figure out how to solve the mystery because he is disobeying orders in order to let Jack tell him what he thinks of the mystery. Reacher’s high order thinking skills taught him how to analyze every part of the crime scene and he starts to find little details in “putting the puzzle pieces together.” Clearly, Reacher’s skills that he learned in the military prove effective. In addition, when Reacher is placed in the holding cell for his “murder”, he starts to think “about somebody who had watched his partner shoot a guy in the head [and] who had watched his partner shoot a guy in the head” (Child 44). Although not said directly, Jack Reacher calmly analyzes the situation at hand, using his real-life experiences in the military to aid him in preparing for his next move. In other words, Reacher’s connections to the military help him stay calm, cool, and collected, even in jail. There in no doubt that Child uses real-world connections to tell more about Jack Reacher. Also, throughout the entirety of the book, there were many suspenseful parts that were described in the utmost detail. For instance, when Jack Reacher was in the prison cell he was cornered by five white guys that “had orange suits, torn-off sleeves, heavy men, slabby fat, and [they] had crude tattoos on their arms and their faces” (99). Using words such as “slabby” and “crude” signify the amount of imagery created in reader’s minds. By including all these descriptive words, readers feel as though they are part of the scene and are inside of Jack Reacher’s shoes. In addition, when Jack Reacher is talking with Hubble in the 6th cell of the prison about his life, he says, “I never leave a paper trail. It’s just a bit of fun. I like anonymity” ( 110). By using words such as “anonymity,” Hubble feels as though he starts to understand Jack Reacher's way of life and why he does what he does. He sees that some people are different in how they view life and the world. Lee Child’s use of anonymity, slabby, and crude demonstrates the wide variety of vocab he shares with readers. Clearly, the most defining thing about Jack Reacher is his full commitment to anything he does, as a strong person and character; furthermore, he demonstrates a well-rounded character. During Jack Reacher’s visit to the lab, he finds out that his brother was one of the victims. He starts thinking to himself that “[he] feels rigid with shock on the counter between the fax machine and the computer terminal and felt like an arctic guy whose whole world changes in a single step” (141). On the surface level, it seems as though Jack is so shocked that his brother is dead, but on the deeper level words such as “changes” signify that he wants revenge on the attacker who killed his only brother. Although he seems rattled, his character gets stronger by committing himself further to the investigation. Moreover, when Jack Reacher is walking by himself on the streets he realizes that “deep down, [he] was always aware that [he] was supposed to stand up for him” (150). By including the phrase “supposed to stand up for him”, he commits himself to do whatever it takes to find out the truth. He realizes that to be a more developed character he must become more committed to the task at hand even if he didn’t want to do it at first; this is a sign of resilience. Overall, Child uses Jack Reacher ups and downs to fully develop his character, even at the roughest times. Through the good and the bad, right and wrong, friends and enemies, Jack Reacher: Killing Floor resembles a suspenseful thriller, developing Jack Reacher through detail and real-world connections. Killing Floor has lots of imagery and attention to detail that make readers jump into Jack’s shoes. This book should be placed in the hands of curious people that want to hop into the world of unknown adventure of adult world. There is no doubt Jack Reacher: Killing Floor is right for you!

If you're like me, you've discovered the Jack Reacher series through seeing the well-made movies starring Tom Cruise. But be warned... The novels are somewhat different. (But in a good way)

Essentially, Jack Reacher is a guy who frequently seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A former Military Policeman in the US Army (Technically, the author screwed this part of Reacher's back story up: He's technically a former investigator of the Criminal Investigation Division, the Army equivalent of NCIS), he's been discharged from service and is now roaming aimlessly around the greater United States, sightseeing and occasionally taking odd jobs for extra income. He carries nothing but the clothes on his back, his Military ID and Passport, an ATM Card, and a travel toothbrush. And he frequently seems to stumble upon something small that turns out to be something big. How many times can one guy "stumble" into something big in his lifetime? According to author Lee Child as of 2020, that number of times runs into the 20's. It's a narrative conceit. But the books are so engrossing that you quickly buy into it.

Then there's Reacher himself. One of the biggest complaints of the book fans about the films is that Tom Cruise looks nothing like Reacher. The book version of Reacher is over 6ft tall, weighs around 250lbs (all muscle), and is blonde haired and blue eyed. Essentially, try and picture actor Dolph Lundgren in his present day form. However, Cruise did capture Reacher's stoic, nonchalant nature. You get the feeling in the books that even when he's knee deep in a mess, at any minute he might shrug his shoulders, say "Screw this," and walk away. But he doesn't because he's conditioned to do the right thing, even to his detriment. And he's not a perfect hero, either. He makes mistakes that can get others hurt or killed. But that just fuels his tough, vigilante-style resolve. He's not above dirty tricks or brutal tactics to get rid of the bad guys. As the tagline of Tom Cruise's film reads: "The law has limits. Jack Reacher doesn't." That sums him up.

One thing a new reader will have to get used to is the fact that each book randomly changes narrative POVs. One book (like this first one) is written in First Person. Others are written in Third Person. It depends on which POV best suits the book.

Now on to the story... Like any first novel, The Killing Floor sets the series tone I previously mentioned of Reacher being in the wrong place at the wrong time and stumbling upon something big. In this case, Reacher is riding a Greyhound Bus through rural Georgia when he decides to get off at a picturesque small town right out of The Andy Griffith Show. While eating breakfast in a diner, he's immediately swarmed by the local police who arrest him for murder. As it turns out, the murder victim is his own brother, Joe, who was working undercover for the US Treasury Department. What was he working on? Why was he killed? And why are the quaint locals afraid to talk? That's the problem that lays ahead of Reacher as he has to dodge the law, the mayor, and violent family who seems to control the town to find out.

Yes... You might be rolling your eyes at the wild coincidence that sets off the story but like I said, it's good enough to suck you in with each novel.

My only real complaint is a failing from a first time author. In this case, Lee Child has a tendency in this book to get repetitive with his descriptions of the town. Usually, an author will describe a location thoroughly so that the logistics are clear in the reader's mind for the rest of the story. FOR EXAMPLE: If you were to describe the route you take from your house to the grocery store, you might thoroughly describe the neighborhood and the streets so that the reader understands the location. If you were to describe that route again later in a book, you might only casually call attention to the neighborhood if the story demands it. Like describing sitting at the red light on Main and Elm Streets. But Child will bore you to tears thoroughly describing each and every single aspect of the route each time it's taken all the way from Point A to Point B again and again and again. It's repetitive in the worst way. Fortunately, he got better at that in later books, describing scenes in the way I mentioned before.

In spite of the first novel failings, it will still make for an interesting read that will make you go out and grab the next book... and the next book... and on and on.

As I understand it, this is a debut novel for Lee Child. It is clearly written and at many points, I found it to be a true “page turner”. I read and listened to the audiobook simultaneously. The audiobook is very accurate and I could also easily follow it without reading. I suppose I would call it an entertaining light fiction.

When I say “light” I don’t mean fun. There are passages of extreme violence. As a parent I would not allow my young children to read this book.

Also as I retired police officer I found the story to be very unrealistic. In real life there is official corruption. I don’t pretend otherwise, but one cannot run amuck indefinitely. Also the death of government employees tends to draw extra scrutiny and the death of law enforcement members always does so. People within these communities want to know what is going on.

I was only a police officer within the United States. We definitely have our faults. However at least within the United States, the omniscient uber predator operating under the cloak of government authority is essentially non existent.

I am glad that I read the book. Thank You for taking the time to read this review.

(Beware, Spoilers) In this first book of the Jack Reacher series, we're introduced to the main character, who's grown up on US military bases around the world, and served for 13 years before coming back to the US and drifting loose for a while as he enjoys the freedom of a life without roots nor purpose. The hero's likeable, with a number of very humane character traits and quirks despite his core skill set, those of a crack soldier and veteran military police investigator. The story has some clumsy twists: while travelling at random in the US, Reacher asks for an unscheduled bus stop, walks a dozen miles to a small rural community because he's hungry, and it so happens to be at that time and in that place that his brother, whom he hasn't seen or heard from in 7 years, is killed while running an investigation for the US government. That's a very poor plot mechanic, there would be so many other ways of bringing the two characters together, no need to resort to such completely unbelievable coincidence. There's also a glaring number of inconsistencies in the plot: for example, corrupt local authorities hire a very competent detective with a PhD in criminology from Harvard, thinking that he's not a good investigator on the basis of 1 single interview, even though a member of the conspirator's circle has been a close friend of that sharp detective for years and knows he's applied for that position, in which he could seriously hamper their ambitious criminal conspiracy. If it weren't for the half-dozen glaring coincidences and inconsistencies, I would have given the book a 4-star rating. The main plot holds water, even if you can't help but think that given the volumes of cash and profits involved, the criminal enterprise would have a lot more resources to pull from than the few thugs that Reacher dispatches with exaggerated ease. Reacher's investigation develops at a good pace, secondary characters are well defined if a little simplistic, action scenes are crisp and graphic. The short-clipped, plain writing style serves well the author's efforts to show that Reacher has an uncommon observation sense and deductive capabilities, everything seems described through the eyes of a sharp visitor. The wrap up seems quite superficial and quickly put together, anyone involved in that type of events (a dozen murders, including police and FBI officials, and the very public blow-up of a multi-billion criminal enterprise) would not be able to walk away scot-free in the US, with his only care that of an adolescent heartache. I was curious to read this first book because I enjoyed the movie with Tom Cruise. Despite the author's success, and despite comments from other reviewers that the following books get better as the author matures, I'm not sure I'll be reading another Jack Reacher for a while, there's just far better books out there, even in that same category.