KILLING FLOOR

Killing Floor by Lee Child
Book 1 in the Jack Reacher series
Narrated by Jeff Harding
Genre: ex-military crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Killing Floor:

Jack Reacher jumps off a bus and walks fourteen miles down a country road into Margrave, Georgia. An arbitrary decision he's about to regret.

Reacher is the only stranger in town on the day they have had their first homicide in thirty years.The cops arrest Reacher and the police chief turns eyewitness to place him at the scene. As nasty secrets leak out, and the body count mounts, one thing is for sure.

They picked the wrong guy to take the fall.

Source: Info in the "About Killing Floor" was taken from GoodReads at on /2024.

Buy Link(s):

 

My Thoughts:

The audiobook has a foreword by Philip Paullman that wasn't in the ebook. Paullman was bang-on, though! The thing I found about Lee Child's writing right off the bat was that it was compelling because he explained the "why's" of things and that made the story believable. Even if the event/action/whatever is not true, i.e., it really is not easier to head butt somebody, but the reasoning is convincing enough to persuade me, it made me as a reader believe in the lie. It made me, as a reader, connect with the story a little bit more. It made the story telling quality more compelling! Now I know what all the hoopla is all about!

My question is, why is this book titled "Killing Floor"?? The warehouse's floor? But every building has a floor...

I am an old Jeff Harding fan with the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly. So, for a very long time Jeff Harding's voice has been (and is still) Charlie Parker in my head. It took me some getting used to, to adjust to thinking Jeff Harding's voice as Jack Reacher, aka, Alan Ritchson! That! Took a bit of effort!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (16 hrs and 21 mins listening time)
Plot = 5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Jack Reacher Series:

 

Meet The Author

About Lee Child:

Lee Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in New York. It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. His books consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over one hundred million copies. Two blockbusting Jack Reacher movies have been made so far. He is the recipient of many awards, most recently Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours.

www.jackreacher.com/us | www.jackreacher.com/uk | twitter | facebook (Reacher) | facebook (Lee Child) | instagram | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Jeff Harding:

Jeff Harding is one of the most active American actors based in Britain. He is regularly seen in film and TV but he maintains interest in fringe theatre. He is particularly active in voice-over and radio. Having competed in rowing for many years, he still lives by the Thames and rows regularly – an appropriate sport for the reader of Ben Hur.

naxos | audible | facebook | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

A THIEF'S GIFT

A Thief's Gift by James Haddock
Genre: psuedo-victorian fantasy
Format: ebook & paperback

About A Thief's Gift:

Jamethon Trent, the second son of a low-ranking baron, once again finds himself in the city jail. This is nothing new for Jamethon; after being driven from home by an overbearing father and a bully older brother, he became a thief to survive. Thief he may be, but he only steals from thieves — which, it turns out, is a dangerous profession, as robbed thieves hold a grudge. Jamethon’s life is never the same after a dying cell mate, a thief mage, gifts him a pair of enchanted gloves. The gloves are keys to what the mage calls the “side realm,” a dimension that exists alongside the real world. The gloves allow the wearer to reach into the side realm and steal whatever they can reach. However, the gloves turn out to be more of a curse than a gift, as fate takes particular delight in making Jamethon’s life . . . exciting at every turn. Kings, generals, assassins, mages, spies, and thugs — he meets them all, and all seem to want to kill him. On the upside, the gloves does give him an advantage, but before he can use the advantage, he has to learn to use his ghost hands, to enter the side realm to become a ghost walker. Once he achieves that, he’ll be unstoppable.

Source: Info in the "About A Thief's Gift" was taken from amazon on 11/04/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

The book started with the thief in the medieval prison. It wasn't the most riveting of introductions! I had a hard time getting into the story, at all! But, this being a James Haddock work, I know that this is going to be an enjoyable read. And it is!! And I plodded on...

The thing is, Ani's history was never told, was it? Where did she came from? Where is her family? And I want to see Michael and Tilly get married!!

All the other holders of the "gift" died alone and poor. Would the same happen to Jamethon?

So, same powers. Same theme. Same ideas and same elements to the story, pinched from James Haddock's previous works. But different place and different names. Same old tune, different day. But you know what? I still enjoyed every minute of it!!

After all that moaning, this book still gets a 5 out of 5 with me.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = 5
Plot = 4

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries

 

The Author

About James Haddock:

My first career was as a Warrant Officer in the US Army, I am now retired with 22 years of service under my belt. Moving into the next phase of my life, I am a full-time author and RV'er. After seeing everyone else's Country during my first career, we decided to see our own. My wife and I enjoy traveling to see the wonders of America.

I love reading and watching Sci-Fi books, television shows, and movies. To think, "what if" and "why not." I am a pantser writer, I'll get an idea, or see a photo and think, "that would make a great story!". Writing as a pantser, to me, is like reading a new story. I have no idea where the story is going to end up. Writing the way gets me excited to pick up a pen; I look forward to writing each time, and can't wait to write many more.

www.jameshaddock.us | facebook | instagram | audible | amazon | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.