Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1) / Lee Child

Some of my favorite moments come from picking up a book or movie with low to no expectations and finding it far more entertaining than I thought I'd be. There's just something very gratifying about experiences like that, the ones that require little investment and yet yield a high rate of a return. It's what happened to me with the third movie in The Fast and the Furious franchise, Tokyo Drift (DVD FAST — hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it!) and, more recently, Lee Child's Killing Floor (FIC CHILD).

This book, published in 1997, is the first in the bestselling Jack Reacher series. Reacher, an ex-military cop who drifts from town to town, inevitably finds trouble. These scenarios let us see our imposing, 6-foot 5-inch laconic protagonist at his best by showcasing his skills as both an operator and a detective. It's thrilling to follow a character who certainly knows how to handle himself, and who doesn't shirk from danger or mystery. He doesn't necessarily go looking for either of them — they just seem to find him.

Lee Child, the pen name for British writer Jim Grant, spent nearly 20 years as a writer in the television industry before corporate restructuring left him without a job. Child's reaction? To buy $6 worth of pen and paper and sit down and write a novel. Fourteen years later, he's still at it.

Killing Floor introduces us to the 36-year-old Reacher, who's just six months out of the Army. He's been wandering American's highways and byways as a self-described hobo since then. On a whim, he finds himself in the deceptively picturesque town of Margrave, Ga. From the minute he sits down in the town's lone diner, things go rapidly downhill for him. A murder — extremely rare for these parts — took place the night before, and Reacher's the easy suspect. The authorities welcome him by putting him in cuffs and pulling him in for questioning.

I thought: should I be worried? I was under arrest. In a town where I'd never been before. Apparently for murder. But I knew two things. First, they couldn't prove something had happened if it hadn't happened. And second, I hadn't killed anybody.

Not in their town, and not for a long time anyway.

Unfortunately for Reacher, but lucky for action-junkie readers, Killing Floor ratchets him back into the fray. A swath of bodies follows, some by the bad guys' hands and others by Reacher's as he struggles to stay alive while uncovering the town's secrets.

His motivations rely too much on coincidence but if you're willing to set aside your skepticism, the ride will keep you riveted. Child does a great job of pacing the story in a deliberate way, imbuing it with a sense of urgency by mixing slower scenes with moments of explosive action. The brutality of the violence took me by surprise — we're talking Girl-with-the-Dragon-Tattoo-level graphic brutality, so don't expect this to be a cozy mystery.

Once you get over the bloodshed, however, you'll see that Reacher's a pretty likable guy, deadly efficiency aside. He just wants to be left alone to do his own thing. For a loner, he certainly has surprisingly good people skills. He finds partners in two of the officers of the Margrave P.D. and together, the trio race against the clock to thwart the story's antagonists.

As successful as Child has been with the Jack Reacher series, it's no surprise that the character's been picked up for an impending movie. No. 9, One Shot is in development and slated for release in 2013.

The actor playing Reacher? Tom Cruise. Yikes. For now, I think I'll just stick to the books. Lucky for me, there are 15 more of them.

The Raising: A Novel / by Laura Kasischke

It's been over a year since a tragic car crash took the life of Nicole Werner, a beautiful, blond straight-A college student. Though herself a fatal casualty, her boyfriend Craig, the driver at the time, survived the accident with only a slight concussion. Now Craig, still devastated and even a bit hazy about the night in question, must endure Nicole's up-in-arms sorority sisters who lay the blame squarely on his shoulders. They're suspicious of Craig and his "miraculous" survival, but also for his unlikely position inside the university's selective Honors College, a prestigious program they believe Craig gained entry into because his wealthy, well-connected father. That Craig has attained the reputation of a spoiled rich kid hasn't helped his cause. If Craig's dad has such pull with regards to his son's academic placement, why couldn't he also have arranged it so that his son could be excused of any wrongful doings in regards to Nicole's death.

The sorority girls, spearheaded by Nicole's near-malevolent former roommate, are right about one thing: Craig's dad did get him into Honors College. But while there's certainly some mystery surrounding the accident, it's nothing to do with Craig so much as it is the totally inaccurate news articles chronicling the incident. For one thing, it mentions there were no eyewitnesses, an incredibly falsefied statement as there was an eyewitness, Shelly Lockes, whose story was told to the authorities in detail and has exactly nothing in common with how the accident was publically portrayed. Meanwhile Perry, a roommate of Craig and childhood friend of Nicole, has grown extremely suspicious of all that happened and has even begun to think that Nicole may not be dead. With the aid of a few friends, Shelly included, Perry begins to dig through the mystery, ultimately dumbfounded by what he finds.

This recent 'campus novel' by University of Michigan professor and midwest native is a Hollywood screenplay waiting to happen, though you can probably foresee which parts would have to be omitted for time. Suspicious deaths, dorm room drama, urban legends, incredible conspiracies and young love all seem like the perfect ingredients for yet another movie exclusively marketed to 18-25-ers. And while not the most taut pyschological thrillers--jamming in some seriously dubious (and possibly over-the-top) scenarios into one novel--the book delivers on intrigue, character development and mysterious undercurrents. There are indeed a lot of hypothetical what ifs and questionable connections in The Raising, but Kasischke writes accessible prose and is familiar with her environment so that even the most out-there bits are never too, too far from the main story. And it may surprise the reader that for such a lengthy novel (nearly 500 pages), the plot moves fairly swiftly with plenty of suspense and anticipation within each character's little story. For readers, both young and old, just wanting a good time won't want to miss out. (FIC KASISCHK) 

Oldboy (2003) DVD / a film by Chan-Wook Park starring Min-Sik Choi; based on the comic by Nobuaki Minegishi

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"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone."
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Abducted by unknown perpetrators one rainy night, businessman Oh Dae-Suh has been mysteriously held captive for 15 years inside an isolated, oddly furnished cell. Now after his abrupt, unexplained release, a vengeful Dae-Suh actively seeks out the responsible party only to have his vindication efforts confronted by a peculiarly diabolical individual. As revelations concerning the reason for his confinement come to light, he's awakened to a startling secret about his own--now long forgotten--past which hides a frighteningly daunting truth.

Oldboy is an absolutely awe-inspiring film, one that clicks on virtually all cylinders. Instantly it engages the viewer with its clever cinematography, inventive storytelling and dark humor following a tenacious protagonist through a maze of self discovery. Add a powerfully rendered love story and a twisted, very noir ending and you have a sublimely original cinematic production. The movie's technical aspects are likewise as admirable. Park's direction and storyboard give the movie an undeniably flawless synergy--the scene sequencing, choreography and selective use of bleach bypass arguably as impeccable as anything before or since. An unprecedented film which will undoubtedly become a Hollywood remake, this flick is a definite must-see-before-you-die movie.

The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal: More Than 450 Infamous Incidents from the 1600s to the Present [REF] / George Kohn, ed.

A great resource for anyone wanting to know about the infamous and underhanded events throughout American history. From the Salem Witch Trials to Benedict Arnold and all through the twentieth century with McCarthyism and OJ. Simpson. This is a great resource for anyone wanting to know what the Teapot-Dome Scandal or the man who really was Jimmy Hoffa. Recommended for anyone wanting to investigate the darker side of our nation's heritage...and for further reading ask the reference desk about other books involving scandals and conspiracy.