Book #1 in the John Rain series. The action is tight, the writing is refreshingly refined, the characters possess depth, and the Tokyo backdrop provides just the right balance between grit and shine. Barry Eisler is a good writer, and a standout narrator. His character John Rain is an assassin specializing in making death appear to be attributed to natural causes. As antiheros go, Rain is one of the best I've encountered. Beyond this, it is as a character that John Rain stands apart from many of the stereotyped brooding assassin-like two-dimensional bit players we often stumble over in these sorts of thrillers. Rain is complex, and while grief, exile, and regret may not be wholly original motivators in literature, Eisler writes them, and Rain, genuine.

I reveled in the Tokyo that Eisler draws. It reminds me of Haruki Murakami and his gift for breathing life into a setting, of priming the pump of place.

Eisler is rereleasing these books, and reading the audiobooks. I was quite pleased with Eisler's understated style and honest delivery. He speaks the voice of his main character, Rain, and this isn't common when writers strive to read their work. Some authors do a fine job at reading their material; others do not. Eisler has a deep pleasant voice, and as far as I can determine, is fluent in Japanese. I encourage you to listen to the Eisler narrated audiobooks. He pulls you into an enjoyable and morally thought-provoking world,

If you're looking for a contemporary assassin book with a strong antihero, I highly recommend Barry Eisler's A Clean Kill in Tokyo.

I've been wanting to read this series, but so much time has gone by I realized I needed to reread this book. Unfortunately, I don't remember it at all.

Now I know why. Too much angst. While the rest of the series is supposed to be good, I really don't want to read another right now. Otherwise, my review remains the same, although I'm dropping this to 3 stars.

October2012 Review: 4 stars - A pretty good mystery & thriller, although there's a bit too much angst for me. Reminds me of David Morrell's characters a lot in that way. Good, but not inhumanely so. Rain gets his ass handed to him occasionally & there's nothing magical about his situations or solutions. Good logic. There weren't any of the huge plot holes that so often accompany books of this sort. Also, it's the start of a pretty good series. I actually read the 3d book first & didn't have any trouble going back to this one or enjoying that one.

Добра първа книга!

Eisler is apparently a former CIA operative
and Silicon Valley lawyer. He also writes thrillers. This book is about
John Rain, who is similar to Jason Bourne, a highly trained assassin.
Rain is half Japanese and half American and lived in both worlds. He is
a former Vietnam War commando. He is haunted by his past and by
his present. He does murder for hire and his murders look like natural
or accidental deaths. All or almost all of the action takes places in
Tokyo and Eisler does a super job of describing the city, the customs,
the attitude. It is a fast paced thriller with plenty of fights and intrigue.

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.

Having lived in Tokyo I really wanted to enjoy this book and to a certain extent I did. The descriptions of Tokyo were good although I got a bit sick of all the references to the Tokyo Train/Subway system. The explanation of post WWII Japanese politics was interesting although I already knew about the construction industry corruption.

My main gripes with the book were threefold. One - I had no sympathy for the main character ( a trained, cold blooded assassin), two - the love interest and the coincidence which leads to it are completely unbelievable and three - it was a bit silly having a Vietnam vet as a modern day assassin, I mean really how old is this dude Rain supposed to be?!!

Synopsis: John Rain is an assassin without a country -- a half-Japanese/half-American pariah in both cultures. When his most recent victim pulls him into an intrigue that reaches the highest levels of Japan's government, John must escape three groups who want him dead while protecting the daughter of the man he just murdered.

Reaction: I'd been getting Barry Eisler recommendations for years. (Fun fact, the protagonist in Blake Crouch's Recursion is named for Barry Eisler.) So, I figured I'd start with the first one.

And it's a great read for a couple of reasons. First, John Rain is a worthy protagonist -- capable, dark, brooding, feels a little sorry for himself, but not willing to let that keep him from kicking ass.

Second, you get a rich sense of Tokyo in this novel - both the Tokyo that is and the Tokyo that we wish for (I'm thinking of one Scotch bar in particular).

And then there's the story. While the "daughter-of-the-man-I-just-killed-is-giving-me-mixed-feelings" is a little overdone, it's handled beautifully here and I loved the ending. Plus, there is a handful of worthy villains.

I will be reading more Barry Eisler.

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.

This low rating is because of my lack of interest in the spy/ assassin genre. I have never liked any of the books in this genre- Jack Reacher, Mitch Rapp, Bourne, James Bond ..... (Frederick Forsyth's books are the only exception). I have been trying to find some author in this genre who would interest me, unfortunately this too failed.
I was finding excuses not to get back to the book. I read the abridged version in the RD select edition. As it was just 150 pages, I didn't want to DNF. I returned to read the last 50 pages after a 5 day break, by then i had forgotten who's who and I didn't even care to go back and figure the characters and the plot. I simply read through the last few pages without understanding most of it.

The other reason for the low rating is the narration in first person. When someone tells "I tackled 2 goons alone, I saved a Damsel in distress, I am great, blah, blah" ( not these words, but effectively the same meaning) , I just want the protagonist to shut up. I didn't even fell sorry for him when he was telling his story about PTSD after the horrors in Vietnam.

What a waste of time !

John Rain is the kind of assasin that internet conspoiracy theories are made of. He's not the kind of guy to stab and shoot his targets (though he's more than capable of that) but to poison a target over time so that his/her death seems to from natural causes (to use just one example). Plotwise the beats that make up the story (job goes wrong, protagonist finds out it was a set up, protagonist sets out to find out who set him up, uses too-cool-for-words martial arts skills to work his way up {or down} the conspiracy ladder) is likely something you have seen before but the presentation might wow you just the same (as few people can make you "feel" like you're living an action scene the way Barry Eisler does). This is definitely an engaging read that doesn't skimp on the action.

#1 in John Rain series.

John Rain is a half-America, half-Japanese Viet Nam veteran now living in Tokyo as a freelance assassin. After a contract on the Tokyo subway, he finds his victim had a disk sought by almost everyone. He meets Midori, the victim's daughter, a jazz pianist, and finds she is in danger because the bad guys assume she has the disk. Exotic locale and wheels within wheels.

I purchased this book, "A Clean Kill in Tokyo (John Rain, #1)" by Barry Eisler to read on my Kindle based on the recommendation of a Goodreads member. Not knowing really what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised. The novel has a little bit of everything to please all tastes; mystery, thriller, romance, and espionage.

John Rain, the protagonist, is an assassin, an ex-marine from the Vietnam era and a hit man who specializes in assassinations that look natural. John had combat experience and a mercenary history. War is all he really knew. He got into a variety of martial arts and spent three years in the CIA, before moving to Tokyo. He was an outsider in both worlds, US and Japan...just going through the motions. John had lived in Japan until he was ten, then mostly in the States after that. He came back to Japan in the 80's. He was a half-breed, his mother was American and his father was Japanese. John lived in the shadows.

Rain falls in love with the daughter of his target, Midori, and must face old enemies that are trying to control him. Rain is now a hit man and is tasked to kill a corrupt politician. He kills the man and makes it seem like a heart attack. Later that day he meets Midori, the daughter of the politician. Due to Rain's secretive nature, he's unwilling to disclose anything personal but finds himself having feelings for her.

Rain and his best friend Jimmy (A.K.A Crazy Jake), joined the American army where they fought in Vietnam. Rain finally feels accepted and sticks with Jimmy for years.

Midori is being hunted because her father had a disk that contained discriminating information on corruption in the Construction Ministry, in Japanese society. Her father was trying to blow the whistle on corruption. The people that want the disk think that Midori has it, and are willing to kill her to retrieve it.

Rain Fall is an amazing thriller full of intense action, a gripping story, and memorable characters.

Like the novel states, " There was no home for them after what they had done."