Putnam, Jul 2002, 24.95, 352 pp.
ISBN: 0399149194
American-Japanese John Rain once served in Viet Nam as part of the Special Forces. The military taught him one skill that of the art of the stealth assassin. For the past twenty-five years, John has resided in Tokyo behind the guise of a loner businessman whose core product is murder by natural cause with a 100 % guarantee.
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John's current target is bureaucrat Yasuhiro Kawamura, vice Minster of Land and Infrastructure. On a commuter train, John completes the hit using a remote device to destroy the pacemaker of his victim. However, nothing else goes right as a Japanese speaking Westerner “robs” the corpse and soon John believes he is he focus of several tails. Working with his only friend, Harry, John learns what is really happening, which leads to his rescuing Kawamura's daughter Midori from some thugs. Everyone wants a missing disk that the deceased possessed with information that would shake the foundations of the Japanese government and global implications as an aftermath.
RAIN FALL is an exciting thriller that succeeds because fans will be fascinated by the lead protagonist. The story line is well executed almost as polished as one of John's hits. The support cast provides a taste of modern Japan and depth to the deadly competition, but Barry Eisler's novel belongs to his seemingly amoral antihero who beguiles the audience with his activities so that readers will demand a torrent of sequels.
Harriet Klausner
The review of this Book prepared by Harriet Klausner