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Critic's Corner
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If you've never read a Lee Child
thriller Lee Child was born in Coventry, England, but currently owns homes in New York City, and in France. After working 18 years with Granada Television in Manchester, England, he was fired in 1995 at the age of 40 as a result of corporate restructuring. Always a voracious reader, he decided to see an opportunity where others might have seen a crisis and sat down to write a book, "Killing Floor," the first in his Jack Reacher series. Currently Child has written 10 Reacher thrillers with 11th due out in May 2007. "Killing Floor" introduces readers to Jack Reacher, who left home at 18, graduated from West Point, performed 13 years of service in the military and mustered out as a Major in 1997. Reacher stands 6'5" and weighs between 220 and 250 pounds. "I was born in Berlin. Never even saw the States until I was nine years old. Father was a military man so round and round the world we went. Longest I was ever anywhere was four years at West Point. Then I joined the army and it started all over again. Round and round the world." After leaving the military, Reacher remains restless and determined to see the States he missed growing up. We first meet him in a small diner in Georgia. He's just finishing breakfast when a group of police officers rush in and arrest him for murder. From there the story runs at breakneck speed to the surprising and satisfying ending. All Jack knows is he didn't kill anybody. Not in their town, and not for a long time. . . From beginning to end, "Killing Floor" is a complex thriller, with layer upon layer of mystery and violence and intrigue. Each character introduced plays an integral role and is totally believable. As one critic puts it, "Reacher handles the maze of clues and criminal unfortunates with a flair that would make Sam Spade proud." Shades of Dashiell Hammett! Quite simply, "Killing Floor" is irresistible and so is Jack Reacher. "The Hard Way," opens with Jack alone, just as he likes it, in New York City. With no particular interest he watches a man cross the street to a parked Mercedes and drive it away. No way he can know that he'll soon be embroiled in a kidnap plot that will lead him into a life threatening situation with vicious kidnappers and a man desperate to get him family back. Before Jack realizes it, he finds himself drawn into Edward Lane's web of deception. Lane's got some deeply buried secrets, and Jack is determined to unravel the mystery of Lane's hidden agenda. And if he has to do it the hard way, he will! Once again, "The Hard Way," kept me reading into the night until I finally came to the high-octane conclusion. Now, I'm sure you'll pardon me, for I'm off to read the next Lee Child breathtaking adventure. Be sure and watch for Bad Luck and Trouble, due to be out in May 2007. Copyright 2007, Patricia Ann Jones Purchase Killing Floor Jones is a published writer and book reviewer for Tulsa World newspaper. To comment on this review you may email pattij777@aol.com |
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, then you've missed one of
the most exciting writers working today. I confess that having been a
book reviewer for over fifteen years I'd never reviewed a Child novel.
Then, a close friend handed me a paperback edition of Child's "Killing
Floor," published in 1997. After two chapters I was hooked. A visit to Amazon.com and a local used book store netted me five more of Child's
novels which I'm in the process of reading now.
