Memphis Reads Archive

Many bestsellers follow popular detectives from case to case. It seems that I always "meet" these men and women in the middle of a series: Stephanie Plum and Richard Jury are examples. One of my reading goals is to begin a few of these series from the first installment. I tried this recently with Lee Child's renegade sleuth, Jack Reacher. These novels were recommended by Alice Kendall in a Memphis Reads review, my former manager at Raleigh Branch, and a library customer. They all raved about the tall, dangerous ex-military officer.

As I recuperated from a cold last weekend, I passed the hours listening to an e-audio version of THE KILLING FLOOR, Lee Child's first Jack Reacher novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Having only recently retired from the military, Reacher is traveling the United States by bus. In his words, he is "rambling." He's not looking for friends, companionship, or trouble. Wanting to learn more about a long-dead bluesman, he gets off the Greyhound at Margrave, Georgia. Reacher is arrested on suspicion of murder while eating breakfast at the local diner. He'd only been in town for eight hours.

The twists and turns of the plot were unique enough to hold my interest and Dick Hill is an able narrator. I was particularly intrigued by the extralegal lengths to which Reacher was willing to go to extricate himself and see that justice was done. Only with additional reading will I know whether I "needed" the first book in order to enjoy the rest of the series.

Learn more about the Library's collection of E-Audio books.


Doris Dixon, Raleigh Branch Library

Labels: E-Audio Books