All right, so I appear to be hunting for a specific character: from Jack Reacher (Lee Child), to Jonathan Quinn (Brett Battles), onto John Rain (Barry Eisler). From ex military, to cleaner, to assassin.

How do we as readers gain empathy for a killer? Simple enough, join John Rain in his voyage from assassin for hire to conscientious killer (kill bad guys) to wanting to get out of the business...but unwilling to leave his perspective of the world (no worries, this transformation takes place across many books, more than enough to satiate the most avid genre reader)

I devoured these books as I did the others above (more to come as I continue hunting). You'll just have to see for yourself.

P.S. If you've read this review, you've read all my John Rain reviews. There are no discrepancies in Eisler's work. Every novel is top notch, provided you share my predilection for this sort of character.

HR

Captivating introspection of Rain's logic thinking!

Eisler has a wonderful descriptive style in painting thoughts, locations, and scenarios. The plot complexity is a challenge, yet not so complex that it cannot be followed. Great read!

I’ve read this series out of order, but even knowing where some characters end up doesn’t detract from the story.

Enjoyed! Like a sharp stiletto, Eisler gets the job done.

A good fast read that takes us from the beaches of Rio to the casino in Macau, with one of the best parts set in the Virginia suburbs of DC, featuring one of the most intriguing characters I've read about-John Rain, Japanese-American assassin.

As always a good read

Plot line keeps your attention and characters seem true to life. There are people who do have the skills these characters possess. I feel safer with the knowledge they are there.

Enjoyable research-based cloak and dagger read. #3 in the John Rain series, but more of a stand-alone than book 2 was. Rain tries to disappear in Brazil, but his CIA handler in Tokyo tracks him down with another kill-for-hire job. The mark is an arms dealer, but Rain is not the only one interested in the dealer's welfare. He has to sort out who is an ally and who is an enemy in order to keep himself alive.

Too much conversation

Too much psychological yak yak and not enough action. Other “Rain” novels have much more action and you don’t lose the story line trying to decipher all the talking. Some of the characters need to be more fully explained to make the story flow more smoothly.

Well done. My third of the John Rain Series and, so far, all have been equally well-written and enjoyable reading. Thanks again to David for his recommendation.

Slow moving

This one was hard for me to get through compared to the first two. Pace was good at times, but for some reason it was a slow read for me. Love the continued character development.

Excelenta carte, interesanta si asocierea din final, Transnistria, rusi, terorism. Extrem de actuala amenintarea.

Chiar asa, cat va mai fi tolerata acea enclava?

Highly entertaining as per usual, but the final showdown was quite a let down. John's character ambivalence remains an intriguing part of the story, but you shouldn't read this expecting a profound study of a hitman's nature.
In sum:
+ easy, accessible read, even if you're new to the series
+ no more cringeworthy dialogues in Portuguese
+ Dox
- lack of progression in Midori's story
- lackluster ending