A Clean Kill in Tokyo

A John Rain Novel

By: Barry Eisler

Narrated by: Barry Eisler

Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Previously published as Rain Fall

Name: John Rain.

Vocation: Assassin.

Specialty: Natural Causes.

Base of operations: Tokyo.

Availability: Worldwide.

Half American, half Japanese, expert in both worlds but at home in neither, John Rain is the best killer money can buy. You tell him who. You tell him where. He doesn’t care about why...

Until he gets involved with Midori Kawamura, a beautiful jazz pianist - and the daughter of his latest kill.

A Clean Kill in Tokyo was previously published as Rain Fall, the first in the bestselling John Rain assassin series.

©2002, 2013 Barry Eisler (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Eisler provides a cracklingly good yarn, well written, deftly plotted, and surprisingly appealing… Thomas Perry and Lawrence Block need not retire their hit men quite yet, but Eisler is clearly a challenger." ( Boston Globe)

Pretty much a blast!

Any additional comments?

I got curious. I’m a big Jack Reacher fan, but I don’t usually read book series like these other than Reacher and McGee. I’m not big on mysteries and these kinds of characters, al of them John or Jack, always kind of annoy me, like I’m just reading the author’s inflated secret/alter--ego. I have many other books to read, so i don’t usually even try these blind. BUT. I got curious after hearing Keanu Reeves is developing John Rain as a big deal cable show. I always wanted Reacher to go to a cable series, not movies. Anyway, I like Keanu Reeves movies, such as John Wick. I took a chance on Barry Eisler and I’m glad I did. I’m already on the third book (in just a few days) and I’m having a blast. Yeah, there are a ton of cliches in the format of the plot. But Eisler is aware of the cliches. And he plays offense on brining freshness. John Rain is a Reacher/McGee type, except initially sort of a lost bad guy who is pushed by his code to being a good man, which is something he’d rather avoid being. It means unnecessary risks, and that means death. I like his goodness or badness is only an issue when other people confront him about it. I think that’s how most people are -- it makes Rain more believable. He doesn’t worry about virtue...so far the most I’ve seen is worrying over potential awkwardness with a girl if she found out what role he has played in her life (no spoiler!). Though I should reiterate that John Rain (so far) always ends up on Team Virtue, if that is an issue for you as a reader. It’s just that the way he gets there may or may not be virtuous.
It’s impossible for me not to imagine him as Keanu Reeves via John Wick, which I actually don’t mind. I suspect other new readers may have that issue. Considering the producers of that film are the ones who are developing John Rain as a series, that might be just as well.
Eisler is a strong writer in the genre. Like I said, he instinctively tries to keep his stories grounded as much as possible and when he does grapple with cliche or genre convention, it seems like it’s a concession to keep the novel tight and from going off track. There are also flashes of almost poetic description of Tokyo and the details that make up the city. I get the feeling he could follow Don Winslow’s lead on Power of the Dog or even Dennis Lehane and jump to meatier storytelling if he wanted if he ever grows restless in the pulps.
The best thing about the books are that I feel like i LEARN things, ha. That may sound silly, I know. I suspect the TV show Burn Notice followed Eisler’s example in these novels because John Rain tells us the ABC’s of his craft as the story goes along, much like the show did. Not just about spy craft or hitman stuff, but I feel like I know a lot more about Japan than I did before (granted that isn’t saying much). Aside from the storytelling being quite gripping in its momentum, it’s really the feeling of complicity Eisler creates between the reader and John Rain that keeps me listening for as many hours as I do. Normally I listen a couple times a day for maybe an hour. This week, I’ve actually blown off my routine to keep going. I have your back, John Rain! haha

Love it

Have recommend it to everyone i know! Great story and detailed action that makes you feel you are there.

another good book.

enjoyed this book as well as the others in this series. moving along to the next.

Unique and interesting!

This is the introductory volume of the series. Background of our main character John Rain is detailed and thorough perhaps to the extreme, but enjoyable. The development of characters was very well done, and the descriptive adjectives were artful and imaginative. In fact, the entire novel was enjoyable, unique, and very interesting. A complex plot involving the CIA, the Japanese police, the Yakuza, and of course the inevitable love interest. A recommended read for sure.

Great book and story

Read the book and it's great, but this reading is a bit flat, so the colors of the book don't come across.

Great action/thriller novel!

Eisler writes the most realistic fighting scenes. His description of Tokyo is amazing. I felt I was right there!

First foray into John Rain

I discovered Barry Eisler through his book, A God's Eye View. Enjoying that work so much I decided to explore his other works and found a series that I absolutely love. John Rain is a world class assassin whose expertise comes in the form of natural deaths. I really enjoyed the character, I LOVED the narrator (who is also the author), and really enjoyed the plot. The sex scene didn't hurt, either.

Barry Eisler doesn't disappoint.

I am absorbed by the imagery and flavor of the setting and the pace of the novel. The characters felt real and not over done. Can't wait to hear the next in this series.

Good one

I probably overrated this book but I really enjoyed it. By mistake I listened to it not realizing at first that I have already read it. I enjoyed it, particularly that it’s set in Tokyo as it brings memories. I speak Japanese and I like Japan.
Book is good too, John Rain is one of my favorite characters (along with John Milton)

Great book! Full of suspense!

It's a good story. Keeps you interested. The fight scenes are graphic and good! The author puts his whole heart in the performance.