Having never picked up any of the acclaimed Jack Reacher novels, I decided to start the series and see how it goes. Killing Floor is the first book in the series that centers on drifter Jack Reacher, a former military policeman who has a sense of right and wrong that drives him to step up when others won’t. He arbitrarily gets off a bus and walks down a country road to Margate, Georgia. He’s eating at a local diner when the police arrive and arrest him for murder. We know Jack didn’t do it, but he spends the weekend in jail as the local police try to pin the murder on him.

Jack begins noticing a few things that don’t seem right in the town of Margate, but he keeps his observations to himself. When he’s finally given an opportunity to see the victim of his supposed crime, it quickly becomes obvious that if the police were looking for a fall guy, they picked the wrong guy. In an absolutely amazing coincidence, the victim is Reacher’s brother, who works for the Treasury Department.

Of course, this means Jack will stay in town to solve his brother’s murder. He learns that his brother was investigating something very big that could have a disastrous impact on the United States.

Written in 1997, this has the feel of a number of shows I grew up with, particularly (if you can believe it) The Incredible Hulk. Reacher is a drifter and a loner. dealing with his own demons, who wanders into town, solves all their problems, and leaves. While I enjoyed the book, it has many flaws. You would think the murder of one of their own would bring in more government agents, but they seem to hardly blink at the deaths occurring in the small town in Georgia. Even as the body count rises, there seems to be little interest from anyone anywhere in the country. Only Jack Reacher and his small band of allies can make things right and expose the villains.

It was pretty obvious who the bad guys were early on, so there was no real mystery to the story. The big mystery was what was actually going on. What could be happening that would influence so many people to look the other way? It makes sense when the scheme is revealed, but it’s also something that seems so obvious that somewhere along the line, there should have been a bigger interest in this town.

I did enjoy most of the characters. It’s the first book of the series, so Jack might not be fleshed out as much as he needs to be, but there’s a good start here. His military background helps him have the discipline he needs to wait for people to reveal their true selves.

There’s a love interest for him who is also an ally. Roscoe is a police officer, but has also had some misgivings about things she’s seen while on the force. Still, I found it hard to believe that someone as competent as she is would jump into bed with someone she doesn’t know. If he were a criminal, it shows poor judgment, and at the time their relationship begins, she really doesn’t know much about him. Still, she’s a strong, independent woman whom I could grow to like.

Just like those television series from the 1970s, this requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. Clues drop into their lap just when they need them. Jack is given access to a pair of luxury cars to drive around since he has none, as well as a mansion to live in. The people they are searching for turn up just when Jack really needs them to. It might have worked initially as a start to the series, but there are so many smart thrillers out there with similar themes that it’s disappointing.

The audiobook is narrated by Dick Hill. This may be an obscure reference for some, but I felt like I was listening to John Taffer (of Bar Rescue) reading the book. His voice is like he’s trying too hard to sound like a tough guy while reading the book. He doesn’t inject too much emotion into his read, which is good, but overall, I found him to be annoying. As a former New Yorker myself, I hate the put-on NY accent, and that’s what it felt like.

The series has such positive reviews, I’ll continue for a few books to see if it grabs me at some point. I’ve had a few series where the first book felt rather weak, but it got better as the series went on. I’m hoping that’s what will happen here. Killing Floor is not a bad book, but it could be better. If I didn’t know already how much this series is loved, I’d have trouble encouraging anyone to read any further based on this book. There are too many well-done mysteries with similar themes to continue with a series that doesn’t have that.

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