Killing Floor

Tight noirish gripping beginning held for a few hours in very detailed page turning?, tension.

Then the book seemed to change to less original more cliched, and increasingly predictable until I lost interest except for plot resolution.

I thought that perhaps a ghost writer took over or an editor said make it much longer and the author lost the mood and his focus.

Anyway, it was interesting for the writing process and the way the characterization was very good and distinct for quite a while.

"Killing Floor" begins with an intriguing, attention grabbing opening. Unfortunately, if you're a logical analytical reader (my downfall), this book has so many frustrating plot gaps and reality disconnects that you'll either have to put part of your brain on a shelf, or be annoyed with both Lee Childs and his editor. If you're disturbed by multiple, one in a million coincidences, and utterly unrealistic individual and institutional behavior "Killing Floor" will frustrate you. A couple examples (not plot revealers) a government agent is killed in the line of duty, and no one shows up to investigate; bodies are hidden in a car in airport long term parking and supposedly won't be found for weeks--in a very warm climate (decomposition maybe??); the main character causes serious mayhem, with multiple witnesses, while driving a Bentley, and is apparently never sought by the police and later drives (still in the Bentley) by the scene, which is surrounded by police, and no one raises an eyebrow.

This may sound trivial, but this book is a never ending series of implausabilities that gets irksome.

This said, I found Jack Reacher to be a compelling character, and I'm hoping that the series will improve, so I'll be listening to another one.

This book is pure escapism with a protagonist that is bigger than life. Part avenger, part vigilante, part superhero, Jack Reacher is confident that he will prevail no matter who the opponent. He comes up against some pretty evil characters, most of whom underestimate the calibre of their opponent. It's good (well mostly good) against evil and there is usually little doubt as to who will prevail. Never mind that the storyline is fairly preposterous; the action and flow, coupled with some twists and turns made for good entertainment. Author Lee Child took some liberties with his research, for example his re-creation of the layout of Atlanta's airport and his ignoring of the truck inspection facilities on the Georgia/Florida border. But he made up for it with a compelling narrative and descriptive (but not overly so) language. Dick Hill did a good job with the narration and I'd listen to other books he's done without hesitation. This type book should probably max out at four stars and I'm glad to award them. If you're turned off by violence and evil characters, shop elsewhere. Otherwise this book is well worth a listen.

Just when I was starting to think I had run out good books to listen to, I disocvered Lee Child.
Though the main character is a bit rough around the edges, that's part of his charm & what makes this book a good one.
Its certainly not for the faint of heart but if you enjoy a twisting plot with some interesting character development then this is well worth the listen.
I am looking forward to the rest of the them.

This is a good listen if you are into mysteries and thrillers. A fast paced book with a lot of plot twists and a tough guy hero.

I started listening to Lee Child when I exhausted the Patterson Alex Cross series. I started with some of the more recently released titles and then went back to the beginning - Killing Floor. What an awesome, suspense filled delight. Lee Child started his Jack Reacher series with a winner.

This is a greaat read. Great tough-guy character, Jack Reacher at his best. Ramps up about a third of the way into the book and ties together beautifully at the end. During the last 3 hours I was late to work on two occasions sitting in my car listening for the outcome of various predicaments.

This book maintained my interest throughout. The story was a bit unbelievable though because the arrogant main character (Reacher) has all the great ideas, while the experienced(20 yrs) and Harvard educated primary detective comes off as pretty inept and rather dim-witted. But regardless, it was a good story and creepy fun.

The mark of a good first book in a series is to get you to continue to follow it. I started with this one and have downloaded two more since in short time and will probably continue on. To quickly sum things up, Jack Reacher is a tough, no-nonsense, ex-military guy who seems often to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. He's the kind of man women want and the kind of man men want to be. One knock on Reacher from this book and the others so far, is how he always seems to be the only person smart enough to figure things out. The Harvard-educated policeman in this story seemed to stumble left and right, and needed Reacher's guidance to figure it out. That said, I think that's also a huge part of his appeal. It's nice sometimes to drift away into a world where you can pretend you're Reacher (if you are a guy or that you know a guy like that if you are a woman), and you use both brains and braun to deflect anything that comes your way. How great would it be to go through life like that? So if that type of escapism is calling out to you, let Reacher answer it.

I bought this title on sale. I took a shot because of the price. I really really enjoyed this book. It has a very well thought out plot and the narrator was awesome! I loved it!