"Strong espionage thriller"
It is hard for an assassin to walk away from the business
when one of your employer is the CIA but John Rain, a
hitman with a conscience, tries. He obtains a new
identity and travels to Rio where there is a large
population of Japanese. For a time he got away clean
although he is always looking over his shoulders until a
CIA operative turns up with a job that pays very well.
His identity compromised and unwilling to reinvent himself
once again, John agrees to take the assignment. His assignment is to take out Belghazi, an arms dealer
that is on the CIA hit list since 9/11. John travels to
Macao where he scopes out the terrain prior to Belghazi's
arrival and he believes he has everything covered. He
does not count on a second hitman, Belghazi's lover who
has an agenda of her own that is in conflict with John's
as well as a Saudi hit team who are prepared to take John
out. Even for John, the kitten who leaves no tracks,
completing the assignment and getting out alive will take
a miracle. The world as seen through the eyes of a paid assassin is a
fascinating place for a short visit; it is not a place to
stay for along period without feeling tainted. Barry
Eisler is a suburb storyteller who writes about a hitman
with a heart and conscience, a man who will not kill women
or children. The protagonist is a fascinating complex man
who cannot always separate the various parts of his life
leading to his inability to always tell friend from foe,
which leads to trusting no one. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted June 6, 2004
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Critics praised Barry Eisler's first two novels, Rain Fall
and Hard Rain, calling Japanese-American John Rain, the
cynical, romantic, conscientious assassin, "one of the most
memorable characters in recent thrillers" (San Jose Mercury
News) and "a remarkable creation, a multifaceted killer
with the soul of a poet" (Mystery Ink). In Rain Storm, Rain has fled to Brazil to escape the
killing business and the enemies who have been encircling
him. But his knack for making death seem to have been
of "natural causes" and his ability to operate unnoticed in
Asia continue to create unwelcome demand for his services.
His old employer, the CIA, persuades him to take on a high-
risk assignment: a ruthless arms dealer supplying criminal
groups throughout Southeast Asia. The upside? Financial, of course, along with the continued
chimera of moral redemption. But first, Rain must survive
the downside: a second assassin homing in on the target;
the target's consort-an alluring woman named Delilah with
an agenda of her own; and the possibility that the entire
mission is nothing but an elaborate setup. From the
gorgeous beaches of Rio to the glitzy casinos of Macao to
the gritty back streets of Hong Kong and Kowloon, Rain
becomes a reluctant player in an international game far
deadlier and more insidious than he has ever encountered
before.
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