Killing Floor, by Lee Child

This book jumped up and grabbed me from the very first paragraph - practically from the very first sentence. There's something about the spare, no-nonsense language of Child's first person narrator that is compulsive, and probably the reason why (takes a second to check facts) Child has written 25 Reacher novels since then and sold approximately 100 million copies of the series worldwide. But, back to this one - if you like a good thriller, then this will definitely grip you - oh, as long as you also have a strong stomach and don't mind it when your protagonists (literally) don't pull their punches with the bad guys. I'll admit, this is a bit outside my usual genre, but someone with wider tastes than me recommended that I read some Lee Child, and so I picked the very first Jack Reacher book that Child published back in 1997.

From Jack Reacher's initial arrest in Eno's diner just outside Margrave, Georgia, he repeatedly tells himself, the cops in the small town, and the reader how he doesn't want to be involved in whatever it is that's evidently lurking behind the seemingly innocuous façade of the town and its inhabitants. It's a clever device - the more Reacher tries to get away from the town, the more odd, disturbing things keep happening to him, the more suspicious, threatening people he meets, and the more the reader wants him to stay in Margrave and peel back the layers of conspiracy and violence. I did enjoy the twists and turns of the plot, although the inciting incident basically only works because Reacher is by design an almost blank slate of a protagonist - no close connections and no history apart from his military skills (which of course very shortly become very useful in the course of the plot). I still can't decide if I like the slightly odd bit of whimsy which flickers up at various points throughout the plot, about Reacher trying to follow an old tale of about a musician called Blind Blake who had apparently ended up dying in the town. I think I do ultimately like the mournful, clashing strangeness of the tough ex-military policeman being fascinated by an old folk tale, because I'm still thinking about it as I write this review!

The ending of Killing Floor satisfyingly ties up all the clues that Child planted throughout the book, as well as all of Reacher's relationships with everyone in Margrave, leaving him ready to take to the road and find another adventure. And do you know what? I'll be along for the ride.