Killing Floor is the
debut novelA debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
by
Lee ChildJim Grant , better known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British thriller writer. His wife Jane is a New Yorker, and they currently live in New York state. His first novel, Killing Floor, won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel....
, first published in 1997 by
PutnamG. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
. The book won the
Anthony AwardThe Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....
and Barry Award for best first novel. It also is the first book to feature the character
Jack ReacherJack Reacher is a fictional character created by British author Jim Grant who writes under the pen name of Lee Child.-Biographical information:...
.
Plot summary
Jack Reacher gets off a
GreyhoundGreyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
bus in the fictional town of Margrave,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, because he remembers his brother mentioning that a musician named
Blind Blake "Blind" Blake was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.-Biography:...
died there. Much to his surprise, he's arrested in a local diner for murder. He meets an honest detective called Finlay, and tries to prove he was not there when the murder happened. After finding what seems to be a phone number in the dead man's shoe, Finlay rings and tricks a man into telling him his name, Mr. Hubble, They bring Hubble (as he likes to be called) into the police station for questioning and he soon cracks and confesses to the murder, but Reacher doesn't buy it. Both Reacher and Hubble are sent to the state prison and run into more than a little trouble. After a hellraising two days in jail, Roscoe (a female police officer for whom Reacher has begun to have feelings) proves he is innocent and that his claim to have been nowhere near the scene of the murder is true. Roscoe collects Reacher and they return to Margrave to find that all hell has broken loose. Reacher discovers the murder victim's identity and realises that he indeed knows him, as he has all his life. Hubble has disappeared and his wife is in hysterics wanting Reacher to find him. It then transpires that Chief Morrison and his wife have been found horribly murdered in their own home. It is revealed later in the story that Margrave is home to a multi-billion dollar counterfeiting operation, which Reacher and his newly formed acquaintances try to destroy.
Awards and nominations
- 1998 Anthony Award
The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....
winner, Best First Novel.
- 1998 Barry Award winner, Best First Novel.
- 1998 Dilys Award
The Dilys Award have been presented every year since 1992 by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. It is given to the mystery title of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association is an association of retail businesses...
nominee.
- 1998 Macavity Award
The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the "mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The award is given in four categories -- best novel,...
nominee, Best First Mystery Novel.
External links