Lee Child - Killing Floor

A recent bout of sickness left me temporarily unable to concentrate on books, so I watched the first Reacher series. I chose it precisely because what it seemed to offer was what my brain needed - a strong story line, simple plot and plenty of bad guys being punched by the good guys. Having watched it, I decided to read the book it is based on, the first Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child, Killing Floor.

Reading Killing Floor directly after watching the televised version is an interesting experience. Like the series, the book propels the reader along. There's plenty of action - every few pages a new plot device keeps the reader interested - which creates this feeling in the reader that they need to keep reading. Killing Floor is set in the fictional Georgia (US) town of Margrave. Reacher gets off the bus in order to visit the site of the death of a favoured Blue Singer. His brother has told him about the town, which is the plot device that drags Reacher into the action.

The setup is rather good. Margrave is an extremely pretty, clean and unfeasible wealthy place. Reacher is quickly arrested, framed for the town's first murder in thirty years, and then released. Because of the place of his brother in this weird setup, Reacher essentially gets dragged into the police investigation to find the killer. Quickly more bodies pile up, and there are some very dubious events.

It is all highly improbable. But the reader keeps reading, and Reacher keeps finding out new information. No surprise that Margrave isn't the idyllic location it looks like at first glance. Instead it turns out to be a hot bed of international crime.

Reacher punches, kicks and shoots his way to retribution. Everything is neatly completed and packaged up by the end of the book. Its very like the series - if you enjoyed one while ill with the flu, you'll like the other. I was slightly surprised by the first person format. Perhaps that changes. Either way, its a good thriller that does what it says on the tin.