Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of Killing Floor by Lee Child.
This book sure started with a bang, didn't it? What a way to start a story! The book started with so many questions--Jack Reacher is such a mysterious character!
Why in the world did the police force look at Jack for the murders when he just got in to town? Did you notice at the end of the first chapter that Jack thinks to himself that he's never been to the town before and he hasn't killed anyone...recently. That made me pause. It's not often that characters say from the get-go that they have killed before. I have to admit that I was suspicious of Jack at the beginning of the book. He stayed completely silent in front of the police, and I just didn't trust that he wasn't hiding something big. It was weird to me that he didn't want a lawyer when he was questioned by the police initially, and I didn't understand why he didn't have any form of I.D. on him. It all just seemed too suspicious.
What did you think once Jack revealed some details about himself? He explains that he used to be in the military, he used to be Military Police, and he used to do homicide investigations at his old job. Did you start to trust Jack once he divulged those details? I felt a little more confident in him at that point, but I still couldn't understand why he came to the town in the first place, and I didn't understand why he would want to walk the roads alone.
From the beginning of the book, it seemed like the Chief of police in Margrave had it out for Jack. When Jack is brought in for questioning, the Chief says that he saw Jack at the warehouse. How could he have seen Jack there? Doesn't it almost seem like the chief wants Jack to be charged with the murder, whether or not he actually did it? It's like he just wants to tie up loose ends and move on. Why would he want that?
What did you think once Hubble entered the story? He seemed like a nervous wreck--why in the world would he confess to the murder? Didn't you just feel his despair once the pair was sent to prison? I couldn't understand why they both had to go to prison, even though Hubble was the only one to confess. I hoped their prison experience would be bearable, but, of course, it wasn't. Could you even believe how bloody and violent the prison chapters were? I did not enjoy reading them. There was the fight in the cell and then the horrible fight in the bathroom. Why did those prisoners target Jack in the bathroom? Why did Spivey mess up the orders and put them on that dangerous floor?
I couldn't believe that Jack didn't face any reprucussions for killing one man and blinding another in jail. Did you think that seemed realistic? Later, at the end of this section, we realize that Jack was attacked in the bathroom because he was the one wearing glasses, not Hubble. It made more sense to me that someone would want to attack Hubble in prison since Jack didn't really know anyone in the town.
Were you shocked when you realized that the investigator that was killed was Jack's brother? I was shocked. I felt sorry for Jack that he had to find out in such a callous way. He didn't really have time to process the information privately. That made me feel sorry for him.
At the end of the section, we believe that Hubble has been killed, but then we find out that it's actually Chief Morrison. Did that surprise you? Where do you think Hubble is? Do you think the police will be able to keep Hubble's family safe?
What's the deal with the town? Why is it so nice? And, why are the Kliner's so suspicious? The Kliner son seems like a really unsavory character. Do you think they have something to do with what's going on in the town? I just don't understand why this little town in Georgia is so nice. And, I don't understand why Jack's brother from the Treasury Department would be in the town. Do you have any ideas about what's really going on?
Are you curious about Lee Child and the reason he began writing the Jack Reacher series? Check out the video below to learn more about the series and the author.
I hope you enjoyed this section and are excited to keep reading! I hope to hear from you in the comments section, and I hope you're able to read the next 11 chapters for next week.
Add a comment to: Killing Floor, Week 2