{"id":5144,"date":"2017-10-10T04:31:45","date_gmt":"2017-10-10T11:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/?p=5144"},"modified":"2018-02-22T11:04:26","modified_gmt":"2018-02-22T19:04:26","slug":"killing-floor-jack-reacher-1-by-lee-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/killing-floor-jack-reacher-1-by-lee-child","title":{"rendered":"Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1) by Lee Child"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JackThis past summer I took a detour from some of my reading challenges to begin a series I’ve been meaning to read for a while–the Jack Reacher books. Eight years ago a friend of mine said Lee Child was the best selling author I had never heard of, and he was right–I had never heard of him. But eight years ago I bet a lot of other people had never heard of him, either. This was in 2009, before Tom Cruise starred in the 2012 movie Jack Reacher<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But shortly after learning about the series, I noticed the seventh book,\u00a0Persuader<\/em>, free for Kindle readers. I jumped at the chance to pick it up, even though it wasn’t the first book in the series. As you know if you’ve read any of the books, you don’t really need to read them in order. I enjoyed the book enough to want to read more, and this past summer was the perfect time. I wanted a quick diversionary read with lots of action, and Jack Reacher was just the sort of character I was craving.<\/p>\n

I decided to start with the beginning of the series because, well, I’m kind of a linear person, and besides, I wanted to see his character develop just as Child wrote it. At the time I also wanted the feel of a paperback book in my hand. I love my Kindle Oasis reader, but this summer I really needed the feel of pages beneath my fingers. So I drove to our neighborhood used book store and picked up Killing Floor<\/em><\/a>, the first Jack Reacher novel. And it\u00a0was just what I needed: a quick, fast-paced thriller that kept my attention the whole time. Yes, it’s very violent, and yes, it stretches credibility, but yes, it’s very entertaining. At least it was for me. And judging by the number of Jack Reacher books on the top of the best seller lists, I’m not the only one.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite things about this particular story was Reacher’s interest in blues music. He mentions several artists and songs, and in the hope that this continues in the other books, I’ve begun a list. For those interested, here are the blues musicians and songs mentioned in Killing Floor<\/em>:<\/p>\n