This series was recommended to me by Author Stephen England on Twitter. I like to read a series in order so started with book 1. The writing is so good that I am still having a tough time believing that this is the author's debut book. The story easily flows from chapter to chapter and the pace is just right. The author spends time to build out the character of John Rain, his backstory and the locales in Tokyo where the story takes place - which I personally loved. The plot is totally believable and finishes very well. I eagerly look forward to reading more books in the series. It doesn't hurt that most of the series is offered as a part of my Kindle Unlimited subscription - but I would have gladly bought them even if this wasn't the case.

Rating 2.5

Recently I read somewhere, which said something like, "sometimes, to enjoy literature, pick-up a novel that you think you might enjoy and read it without judgement." So, I picked-up this one. It was hard at times not to judge it, but as I continued reading I could manage to be less skeptical of few things.

There were mainly 3 reasons for choosing this novel,
1. It has something to do with Japan and I was hoping it would give some insight into the mysterious Japanese society.
2. It has an assassin as the main character
3. It has something to do with the CIA - (I thought, Who can write better about CIA and its operational details than the guy who spent three years in a covert position with the CIA's Directorate of Operations)

It definitely gave some insight into Japanese politics and the level of corruption, which I was totally unaware of. Initially I was skeptical about it and was thinking that it is fictitious, but the author gives reference to some corruption reports by Forbes. So, seems legit.

But the assassin character seemed like a cross between "Jason Bourne" and "Noah Calhoun"; not what I was hoping for.

And even the esoteric CIA knowledge and CIA jargon failed to produce a compelling story. Surprising thing was, the one trait of the assassin, which is repeated several times in the story and which could have been used to present some bone chilling moments, wasn't utilized effectively. I feel Robert Ludlum did a better job with "Bourne" series.

Mr. Einstein is proven right yet again - "Imagination is more important than knowledge".

But the truth be told, in spite of those shortcomings, the voice inside my head, shouting - "don't be judgmental," helped me enjoy this novel, a bit. I might pick up "A Lonely Resurrection". But if is doesn't give me any reason to keep reading then I might switch to one of John le Carré's novels.

4.5 stars

John Rain is awesome! He is a highly skilled assassin who lives and works in Tokyo's underworld.

The story is fast-paced and excellent - love all the little details that make John untouchable and super effective.

I would recommend the audio version as it is read by the author and you can hear how all the Japanese is pronounced.

Looking forward to reading more of these!

Cliché and formulaic.
Horrible dialogue. Awkward and artificial romance. One dimensional characters: a stereotypical "hacker" character out of a 90s movie, a cardboard cutout love interest who becomes unbelievably obedient to the main character, John Rain, a handsome assassin with comically godlike fighting abilities and a troubled past. Also, some evil Yakuza and CIA guys.
I never write reviews on here, but this book has almost completely positive ones and I felt the need to disagree. I don't know why I read this. I don't hate all pulp thrillers, I remember enjoying Ludlum novels.

Barry published this book original as RAIN FALL the same year I debuted with NO OTHER OPTION. Publisher’s Weekly picked both of us as “Thriller Authors to Watch” that year. John Rain is a great character, and Barry does a great job in developing him over the subsequent series. I think Barry mentions me as a consultant in one or two of his titles — and I think John Rain kills somebody who looks a lot like me (with an equal fondness for knives) in one of his books!

Maybe i was just not in the mood for it....
I get what all the other reviewers are saying, the character build up with all the minute details. JR's favorite haunts and the endless number of Japanese streets and businesses do build up the atmosphere and gives you a good feel of Tokyo and the culture. However I found this a bit slow and after getting to a third of the book with little happening I had to put it down. All that Japanese was getting annoying. I do speak Japanese and I understand to be realistic a bilingual guy would switch between the languages but it felt overdone for me.

DNF@ 39% Just not feeling the assassin in Japan thing. This was for the Popsugar challenge.

John Rain is a half-American/half-Japanese assassin who specializes in making his target's deaths look like natural causes. A Clean Kill in Tokyo is #1 in the John Rain series. I had read a later book and wanted to go back and start from the beginning. I believe that A Clean Kill in Tokyo was Barry Eisler's first novel - well done. A thrilling story that keeps the reader fully engaged. About to start #2...

No es nada del otro jueves pero tiene varios puntos a favor. Que el personaje sea un asesino y la narración se haga en primera persona tiene su punto. Probablemente se le podría sacar más partido, pero como idea es atractiva. Se lee rápido porque quieres saber qué pasa a continuación. Está ambientada en Japón, con lo que explota las diferencias culturales y lugares de Tokio. Quizá abusa de las escenas de acción, pero están bien narradas y da la sensación de que el autor sabe de artes marciales.

Veremos si se mantiene en las sucesivas continuaciones.

Just ok.

It is easy to tell this is a first novel. This book needs to be edited. This is a 175 book stretched to 252 pages.

The lengthy conversations are extremely boring, repetitive and unnecessary.

The story about the main character being hazed for being an American and Japanese mix and his growing up is repeated more than once. The more something is repeated it makes the reader doubt the truth of it. People who Lie tend to go on and on about it. The way this is handled makes it feel like the main character has a huge chip on his shoulder and he is looking for confrontations.

This review was originally posted on  Books of My Heart
 



n  The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).n
Kindle freebie on April 12, 2013  (currently $7.99 at Amazon and Barnes & Noble as of writing this post)
Overall rating 3.96 with 12,503 ratings and 773 reviews
 

 



A Clean Kill in Tokyo is a freebie I have had quite awhile but it came up, I think because it is in Kindle Unlimited.  It is also available with Whispersync for $1.99, with the author as the narrator.  If I had realized I might have listened but then it wouldn't qualify for my Thrifty Thursday designation so maybe not.

I liked the story and may read on in this n  n    John Rain series.n  n It's written about 20 years ago, but doesn't hold up too badly. It's definitely written in guy mode. more action and plot, somewhat less emotion.  The writing was well done with the world and the characters. I enjoyed the Tokyo setting.  It's dark and gritty; it is about an assassin who served in the Vietnam War. It's not unlike the new movie Triple Frontier - what do guys do with that skill set once the war ends?

I like that John is smart and skilled. It's a bit crazy to think he survives everything which happens.  John has his personal issues, but he is not without feelings or compassion.  And I have to like a guy who prefers jazz.

The plot is interesting because John's regular life has been cruising along and now it's shot to hell. The underlying cause is the corruption of the Japanese government. This is fiction, but it is intriguing to think about how much of this is realistic with the government, the mob gangs and politics.

 



These are only Kindle freebies I get, or ones through author newsletters which anyone can sign up and get for free. I don't include things like Kindle Unlimited or Prime Free Reading (I do have it). Both Tantor and Audible have occasional free audios (to anyone) and I do include those.  Since I one-click on 1-2 freebies a day or probably at least 5 a week, I came up with this feature to make sure I start reading them.

So I have thought about doing a Thrifty Thursday Challenge someday. For now,  what I think would be fun is if you have read and reviewed  a freebie, link up to your review (Goodreads, blog, facebook or wherever) below.



Add your review link here: 

 
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The 1st John Rain book and one of the best. I loved the excellent way this series is written and I really can get into the character of Rain. A very complicated guy with his own set of rules to being an assassin.