Killing Floor

This is the first Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child, which I had never read although I've read several of his subsequent ones (e.g., 61 Hours, and Gone Tomorrow) and really liked them. Provides insight into Reacher's childhood and family and, therefore, into his decision to become a modern day "hobo" after he leaves the service. I agree with my husband that casting Tom Cruise as this character in the new movie just seems so wrong, since Reacher is about 6'3"....but all the interviews I have seen/read with Lee Child report him to be totally fine with this decision. Reacher has a fascination with old blues musicians and so he asks the bus driver to drop him off near a town where one particular blues player, Blind Blake, was rumored to have been murdered 60 years ago. He walks 14 miles from the highway into town and is arrested for murder while eating breakfast. It gets weirdly personal when it turns out that the murdered man was none other than Reacher's older brother Joe. Now, even though he's been cleared of the charges because witnesses place him 400 miles away at the time of the murder, Reacher is determined to find out who killed Joe. The books in this series are always fast moving and compelling reads for anyone who likes these type of tough guy books.