Killing Floor

The deceased blues guitarist is the reason Reacher came to Margrave in the first place. Joe wrote to Reacher about a rumor he heard regarding Blind Blake’s possible murder in the quiet Georgian town many decades ago. Reacher’s love of blues music prompts him to make the trip, and he coincidentally arrives the morning after Joe is murdered for investigating Kliner’s counterfeiting operation. As Reacher investigates Joe’s murder, he never forgets about the rumor of Blind Blake’s murder, and his curiosity becomes a secondary investigation in the novel. Blues music features prominently in Killing Floor, for its themes of wandering, yearning, and occasional “vicious” anger. Reacher sings to himself a song whose true author is unknown, and he imagines Blind Blake singing it at one of the old bars in Margrave. When Reacher finally learns the true story of Blind Blake’s death from the barbershop owner’s sister, the musician’s murder transforms from a casual interest to a representation of a long history of violence which Margrave’s authorities worked hard to keep quiet. Blind Blake was killed by Caspar Teale, to whom a statue is now dedicated in the town square. The barber’s sister recalls how Caspar beat Blind Blake to death with his cane, all because young Grover Teale (the current mayor) pretended to be more injured than he actually was when Blind Blake ran into him by accident. The sister’s story shows the reader that Teale was a liar long before becoming involved with Kliner, and he would take any advantage to secure the outcome he wanted. Teale took Kiner’s money more for his personal gain than to rebuild the town, and he exaggerated his injury as a child to make his father kill Blind Blake.