Killing Floor (novel)

Last updated

Killing Floor
Killing floor by lee child 1st edition uk.png
First UK edition
Author Lee Child
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Series Jack Reacher
Release number
1
Genre Thriller novel
Publisher Bantam Press (UK), Putnam (US)
Publication date
March 1997
Media typePrint (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages522 (Paperback)
ISBN 0-515-12344-7
OCLC 35249487
Followed by Die Trying  

Killing Floor is the debut novel by Lee Child, first published in 1997 by Putnam. The book won the Anthony Award and Barry Award for best first novel. It is also the first book to feature the character Jack Reacher. It is written in the first person.

Contents

The novel has three prequels: The Enemy (set eight years before Killing Floor and published in 2004), Night School (set one year before Killing Floor; published in 2016), The Affair (set six months before Killing Floor; published in 2011). [1]

Plot summary

Jack Reacher gets off a Greyhound bus in the town of Margrave, Georgia, because he remembers his brother mentioning that a blues musician named Blind Blake had died there. Much to his surprise, shortly after his arrival, he is arrested in a local diner for murder on the orders of the sheriff, Morrison, who falsely claims he saw Reacher leave the scene of the crime.

While in custody, Reacher meets Finlay, the chief of detectives, and Roscoe, a female officer who believes him to be innocent. Reacher persuades Finlay to call a number on a piece of paper found in the dead man's shoe; the number leads them to Paul Hubble, a retired banker who instantly confesses to the murder. Before Reacher can be released, he and Hubble are transferred to a state prison in Warburton, where Reacher manages to thwart an attempt on their lives by the Aryan Brotherhood. Suspecting that the assistant warden set them up, Reacher joins Finlay's investigation, while Hubble is presumed dead after vanishing from his house in the middle of the day.

Reacher learns that the murdered man is his brother Joe, who was an investigator with the Treasury Department and was running an investigation into a counterfeiting ring operated by the Kliner family under the protection of Morrison, several dirty cops, and the corrupt mayor, Grover Teale. A second body, belonging to truck driver Sherman Stoller, is found, and Morrison and his wife are brutally murdered shortly thereafter. Roscoe theorizes that the Kliners are using Margrave as a distribution hub for their counterfeit money, but this is apparently disproven when Reacher searches one of their trucks and finds it empty. He then realizes the Kliners have been hoarding the money in response to a Coast Guard operation cutting off their supply of bills from Venezuela, and plan to resume distribution once the operation is shut down as a cost-saving measure.

Sending Hubble's family into hiding to protect them from Kliner, Reacher kills Kliner’s son and three associates after luring them into an ambush. He then informs Finlay of the secret behind Kliner's operation, which his brother had been trying to prove: in order to obtain the special paper required to make undetectable forgeries, the criminals had employed Hubble to collect hundreds of thousands of used $1 bills and send them to ports in Florida through Stoller and other drivers, whereupon they would be bleached in Venezuela to remove the ink and then used to make forged $100 bills. However, when Reacher and Finlay return to Margrave, they are taken captive by Kliner, Teale, and Finlay's FBI contact Picard, who reveals that he has been keeping track of their progress, and has Roscoe and Hubble's family in his custody. Kliner reveals that Hubble isn't dead, but in hiding, and threatens to kill his hostages unless Reacher finds him.

En route, Reacher stages a distraction and kills Picard's escorts, before apparently shooting him dead. He then locates Hubble in a nearby motel, and brings him back to Margrave. Finding the criminals gone, they spring Finlay from captivity in the police station and set it on fire, before locating the hostages at Kliner's warehouse. Reacher kills a dirty cop named Baker, shoots Teale and Kliner, and sets fire to the rest of their money. A wounded Picard shows up and beats Reacher down, but Reacher distracts him long enough for Finlay to kill him. The group then escapes as the warehouse explodes, and Reacher ends up spending the night with Roscoe. Realizing that his actions will attract a lot of unwanted attention from the authorities, Reacher decides to leave Georgia. Roscoe gives him one last gift: a picture of his brother retrieved from one of Kliner's victims.

Adaptation

The book was developed into the first season of TV series Reacher , produced by Skydance Television, Paramount Television Studios, Blackjack Films and Amazon Studios for Amazon Prime Video. It premiered in February 2022. Lee Child makes a cameo appearance at the conclusion of the series. As Reacher enters a diner, Child walks past him and says, "Oh, excuse me. Sorry." The two exchange looks.

Awards and nominations

Related Research Articles

<i>Crossfire</i> (film) 1947 noir drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk

Crossfire is a 1947 American film noir drama film starring Robert Young, Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan which deals with the theme of anti-Semitism, as did that year's Academy Award for Best Picture winner, Gentleman's Agreement. The film was directed by Edward Dmytryk and the screenplay was written by John Paxton, based on the 1945 novel The Brick Foxhole by screenwriter and director Richard Brooks. The film's supporting cast features Gloria Grahame and Sam Levene. The picture received five Oscar nominations, including Ryan for Best Supporting Actor and Gloria Grahame for Best Supporting Actress. It was the first B movie to receive a Best Picture nomination.

<i>From Hell</i> Graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

From Hell is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions.

Faye Marder Kellerman is an American writer of mystery novels, in particular the "Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus" series, as well as three nonseries books, The Quality of Mercy, Moon Music, and Straight into Darkness.

Ken Bruen is an Irish writer of hardboiled and noir crime fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Lovesey</span> British writer

Peter Harmer Lovesey, also known by his pen name Peter Lear, is a British writer of historical and contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known series characters are Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detective based in London, and Peter Diamond, a modern-day police detective in Bath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Abbott</span> US suspense novelist (born 1963)

Jeff Abbott is an American suspense novelist. He has degrees in History and English from Rice University. He lives in Austin, Texas. Before writing full-time, he was a creative director at an advertising agency. His early novels were traditional detective fiction, but in recent years he has turned to writing thriller fiction. A theme of his work is the idea of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary danger and fighting to return to their normal lives. His novels are published in several countries and have also been bestsellers in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, France and Portugal. He is also Creative Director at Springbox, a Prophet company.

<i>The Enemy</i> (Child novel) 2004 book by Lee Child

The Enemy is the eighth book in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. It is narrated in the first person.

<i>One Shot</i> (novel) 2005 book by Lee Child

One Shot is the ninth book in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. The book title is based on "One shot, one kill," the military sniper's creed. The novel was adapted into the 2012 film Jack Reacher, starring Tom Cruise as the title character. This book is written in the third person.

Nick Stone is a British thriller writer.

<i>The Killings at Badgers Drift</i> Book by Caroline Graham

The Killings at Badger's Drift is a mystery novel by English writer Caroline Graham and published by Century in 1987. The story follows Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby investigating the murder of an elderly spinster in a rural village. It is the first volume in Graham's Chief Inspector Barnaby series, followed by Death of a Hollow Man. In 1997, it was adapted as the pilot of Midsomer Murders, a popular ITV television series based on Graham's books.

Dana Cameron is an American archaeologist, and author of award-winning crime fiction and urban fantasy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Pickard</span> American novelist

Nancy Pickard is an American crime novelist. She has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. She is the only author to win all four awards. She also served on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America. She received a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri and began writing when she was 35 years old.

<i>Tell No One</i> (novel) 2001 thriller novel by Harlan Coben

Tell No One is a 2001 thriller novel by American writer Harlan Coben. This was Coben's third stand-alone novel and first since 1991, his previous seven books having all been part of the Myron Bolitar series. Said Coben, "I came up with a great idea that simply would not work for Myron."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Penny</span> Canadian author (born 1958)

Louise Penny is a Canadian author of mystery novels set in the Canadian province of Quebec centred on the work of francophone Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. Penny's first career was as a radio broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). After she turned to writing, she won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha Award for best mystery novel of the year five times, including four consecutive years (2007–2010), and the Anthony Award for best novel of the year five times, including four consecutive years (2010–2013). Her novels have been published in 23 languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane K. Cleland</span> American author

Jane K. Cleland is a contemporary American author of mystery fiction. She is the author of the Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries, a traditional mystery series set in New Hampshire and featuring antiques appraiser Josie Prescott, as well as books and articles about the craft of writing. Cleland has been nominated for and has won numerous awards for her writing.

Art Taylor is an American short story writer, book critic and an English professor.

Daniel Stashower is an American author and editor of mystery fiction and historical nonfiction. He lives in Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul D. Marks</span> American novelist and short story writer

Paul D. Marks was an American novelist and short story writer. His novel White Heat, a mystery-thriller set during the Rodney King riots of 1992, won the first Shamus Award for Independent Private Eye Novel from the Private Eye Writers of America.

<i>Reacher</i> (TV series) American TV series

Reacher is an American action crime television series developed by Nick Santora for Amazon Prime Video. Based on the Jack Reacher book series by Lee Child, it stars Alan Ritchson as the title character, a self-proclaimed hobo and former U.S. Army military policeman with formidable strength, intellect, and abilities. During his travels, Reacher crosses paths with dangerous criminals and is forced to do battle.

Catriona McPherson is a Scottish writer. She is best known for her Dandy Gilver series. Her novels have won an Agatha Award (2012), two Macavity Awards, seven Lefty Awards (2013), and two Anthony Awards (2014).

References

  1. FAQ Archived 26 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine , Jack Reacher website.
  2. "Anthony Awards winners and nominees". Bouchercon. Archived from the original on 25 September 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  3. "1998 Barry Awards winners and nominees". Thrilling Detective. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  4. "Dilys Award winners and nominees". Mystery Bookersellers. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  5. "Macavity Awards winners and nominees". Mystery Readers. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  6. "Japan Adventure Fiction Association Prizes winners (2000–2004)". Japan Adventure Fiction Association. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.