After long years of being away from the A to Z Blogging Challenge, I’m going to write about thrillers of all stripes, mysteries, and crime novels for 26 days in April, based on the letters of the alphabet. All posts will be linked here.
Since I’m writing up thriller and crime novel recommendations, I’m also giving away a 50 USD Amazon Gift card, to support reading, and to help my next novel THE BLUE BAR along on its journey.
Entries involve:
GET CURATED PUBLISHING RESOURCES ADD ON GOODREADS FOLLOW ON BOOKBUB
After Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone , I bring you Killing Floor by Lee Child.
Killing Floor by Lee Child: Book Description
Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a drifter. He’s just passing through Margrave, Georgia, and in less than an hour, he’s arrested for murder. Not much of a welcome. All Jack knows is that he didn’t kill anybody. At least not here. Not lately. But he doesn’t stand a chance of convincing anyone. Not in Margrave, Georgia. Not a chance in hell.
Killing Floor by Lee Child: Excerpt
I WAS ARRESTED IN ENO’S DINER. AT TWELVE O’CLOCK. I was eating eggs and drinking coffee. A late breakfast, not lunch. I was wet and tired after a long walk in heavy rain. All the way from the highway to the edge of town.
The diner was small, but bright and clean. Brand-new, built to resemble a converted railroad car. Narrow, with a long lunch counter on one side and a kitchen bumped out back. Booths lining the opposite wall. A doorway where the center booth would be.
I was in a booth, at a window, reading somebody’s abandoned newspaper about the campaign for a president I didn’t vote for last time and wasn’t going to vote for this time. Outside, the rain had stopped but the glass was still pebbled with bright drops. I saw the police cruisers pull into the gravel lot. They were moving fast and crunched to a stop. Light bars flashing and popping. Red and blue light in the raindrops on my window. Doors burst open, policemen jumped out. Two from each car, weapons ready. Two revolvers, two shotguns. This was heavy stuff. One revolver and one shotgun ran to the back. One of each rushed the door.
I just sat and watched them. I knew who was in the diner. A cook in back. Two waitresses. Two old men. And me. This operation was for me. I had been in town less than a half hour. The other five had probably been here all their lives. Any problem with any of them and an embarrassed sergeant would have shuffled in. He would be apologetic. He would mumble to them. He would ask them to come down to the station house. So the heavy weapons and the rush weren’t for any of them. They were for me. I crammed egg into my mouth and trapped a five under the plate. Folded the abandoned newspaper into a square and shoved it into my coat pocket. Kept my hands above the table and drained my cup.
About the author, Lee Child
Why pick up Killing Floor by Lee Child
This was Lee Child’s award-winning debut, and he hasn’t looked back since. I borrowed the book from a friend’s collection, and though not in love with the cover, soon got sucked in by the relentless pace of the book. It DOES NOT let up. Plus, you have this dude built like a truck with the brains of a Poirot or Holmes, the women-magnet-prowess of James Bond, who keeps punching, tossing and shooting the bad guys.
Without spoiling the plot (I mean you may have already watched the movie or the series or something?) all I can say is that despite the usual far-fetchedness of the genre, the action scenes and the fiendishly clever story keep you going. The prose is punchy and workmanlike, but appropriate for the genre. This book was written in 1997, and is absolutely and baldly fiction for men, where women exist only in the supporting cast.
I don’t know if I would have picked it up now, but Killing Floor made for a great escape read at the time. In our current corruption-ridden times, where crime goes unpunished more often than not, it feels good to read about an almost-superhuman cop-detective who will stop at nothing, and has few qualms about snuffing out villains of all shapes and sizes.
Have you read the book Killing Floor, by Lee Child? If yes, what did you think of it? What crime novels have you read lately ?
Through the month of April, to celebrate the challenge and get some support for THE BLUE BAR, I’m holding this giveaway:
Enter to WIN a 50 USD Amazon gift card for this
RAFFLECOPTER giveaway.
Entries are simple: click the RAFFLECOPTER link above, and follow the instructions. It calls for a Goodreads add, a subscription request, and a follow on Instagram.
If you enjoyed the post, click on any or all of the following to stay updated:
Interesting! 😀
The premise sounds a bit like the first Rambo movie (if you looked at it a bit askew).
Ronel visiting for the A-Z Challenge My Languishing TBR: K
I think I must have attended a session with Lee Child, probably in Norwich. Great chap, but put me off his books. That’s the great thing about writing, though, isn’t it – there’s something for everybody!
You liked Lee Child but not his books? 🙂
Yeah, I like Lee Child’s books – have read many of them. Unsure about this his first. A wonderful escape each time.
Yes, great escapes from the drudgeries of life. I wish I had a Jack Reacher I could unleash upon the injustices in the world.
I never tried Lee child books and heard a lot about jack reacher name yet to embrace the story and give it a go. May be now is the time.
Yes, maybe you could, Vishnupria. 🙂
I remember this one. It was particularly good.
Yeah, I thought he did a great job with this one. He’s such a legend in his genre.
Another author I have seen but not read. You are making me feel that I am an inadequate reader.
You’re definitely not, Sue. If anything, I’m not widely read enough. So many books, such little time.
I’ve read his Jack Reacher – need to get this one as well.
This is the first in the series. You might quite enjoy it, Alex.
That’s a very interesting excerpt. Builds a great visual. I tried to enter the giveaway but it takes me to fb which I don’t use anymore. I’ll try again tomorrow with my email. It’s not working right now.
Ah sorry about that, Sonia. You can always use an email, instead.
The book looks so interesting. Thanks for sharing, I was looking for some good reads. Maybe I’ll be able to extend and publish my fiction for the challenge and you’ll like it!
Hope you check out my A-Z challenge posts in which I am trying to have every sentence of the story (one chapter a day) start with the letter of the day.
I definitely will. Thank for stopping by!
I have never read a bad book by Child. This series–each is excellent.
I remember really liking this one.