Killing Rain [Mass Market Paperback]

Barry Eisler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2006

Now Rain has a new employer, the Mossad, which wants him to fix a “problem” in Manila with the aide of his new partner, Dox, whose good-ol’-boy persona masks a sniper as deadly as Rain himself. He also has a new hope: By using his talents in the service of something good, he might atone for all the lives he has taken. But when Rain’s conscience causes him to botch an assignment, he finds that he’s the Mossad’s next target.…

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Eisler's taut and compelling fourth thriller to feature John Rain (after 2004's Rain Storm), the freelance assassin's latest employer, Israeli intelligence, has sent him and his longtime associate, Dox, to Manila to kill weapons dealer Manheim Levi. Just as Rain is about to make his move, however, Levi's young son suddenly appears on the scene; Levi's bodyguards wind up shot while Levi and his son escape. The dead bodyguards turn out to be ex-CIA; and Jim Hilger, the renegade Company man with whom they were also working, is upset enough to ask his own specialists to exact revenge. Trying to find a way to complete his mission, Rain contacts Delilah, a fellow intelligence agent with whom he's been involved. But her Mossad colleagues, who have lost their trust in Rain's reliability, are setting up their own plan to take care of him. The plot has enough twists and turns to satisfy, and Eisler is an adept hand at pacing and suspense. The dialogue generally rings true, though the switching back and forth between first- and third-person narrative can be distracting. Various exotic Asian locales add to the appeal.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Freelance assassin John Rain returns for a fourth outing. He has a new boss, the Israeli intelligence organization Mossad; a new partner, the affable sniper Dox; and a new outlook: maybe killing only bad people will help him feel better about himself. The plan falls apart, however, when Rain botches his assignment and winds up on the run, from both his current employer and his former colleagues at the CIA. The Rain series has been compared to Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, but there's one important difference: Fleming never took Bond seriously, and Eisler takes Rain very seriously indeed. That's not necessarily bad, of course, but it may be easier to sustain the superkiller premise if you can laugh at it a little. Killing Rain is the weakest in the series, but it's by no means a failure. There's plenty of nicely detailed action here, and if the idea of a hard-edged professional killer with a conscience seems to be losing some of its oomph, Eisler is a skilled enough writer to resuscitate his hero next time out. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Onyx (June 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451412184
• ISBN-13: 978-0451412188
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position with the CIA, then worked as a technology lawyer and startup executive in Silicon Valley and Japan, earning his black belt at the Kodokan International Judo Center along the way. Eisler's bestselling thrillers have won the Barry Award and the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller of the Year, have been included in numerous "Best Of" lists, and have been translated into nearly twenty languages. The first book in Eisler's assassin John Rain series, Rain Fall, is now a minor motion picture (kidding, it's reasonably major) starring Gary Oldman. To learn more, please visit www.barryeisler.com. Or Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another rock solid John Rain novel, June 28, 2005

By 

therosen "therosen" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Killing Rain (John Rain Thrillers) (Hardcover)

Eisler's talents continue to shine in this newest novel about John Rain: He writes what he knows about, and he does it well.

In this latest novel, John Rain runs around Hong Kong, Manila, and Thailand searching for his latest victim - an Israeli explosives expert under the protection of the CIA. Who better to create an "accidental" death than John Rain. It's a busy ride, where the hunter and hunted are ambiguous, elusive loyalties are tested and you never know what turn is coming next. The climax is strong, but leaves you breathlessly waiting for the next one. (More Caffiene for Mr. Eisler - one a year is a fast pace, but we'd like them even quicker!)

Similar to previous books in the series, you'll finish this one within a day or two of buying it. (I picked it up at a signing on Friday and finished it by the following Monday) It's just too hard to put down.

One suggestion for the reader is to start with book one (Rain Fall) if you're really interested in the series. You can read this one standalone, but the history of Rain as well as the context of his personal changes play out over multiple novels. This is not as purely episodic as the James Bond series.

I really hope someone acts on the option to put this series on the big screen. Beat Takeshi - are you listening???

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eisler's John Rain remains compelling, July 21, 2005

By 

Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Killing Rain (John Rain Thrillers) (Hardcover)

Barry Eisler in creating John Rain has invented an assasin, a hit-man for hire, who thinks, who broods. Rain, the offspring of a Japanese father and American mother is a contemporary samurai who continually muses over his chosen career as a very high-priced, meticulous assassin. Rain has what many might consider "problems," such as lack of a permanent love interest and so on. In "Killing Rain," the fourth in the John Rain series, aging becomes another of his concerns.

Through a intermediary, a gorgeous Israeli intelligence agent who specializes in seduction to serve her country, Rain is hired to kill an Israeli who sells knowledge of explosives to terrorists. Rain has acquired a sort-of partner, known as Dox (as in "unorthodox"), a large, verbose American. Dox's specialty is as a sniper.

The two track down the target, Manny, to Manilla and in Rain's typically painstaking (and thrilling way) set the scene for his demise. The ambush goes wrong and among the dead are two men who might be CIA agents. Rain's concern for Manny's young son is what makes the assination go wrong. Rain has scruples: he isn't just anyone's murderer.

The beauty of reading Eisler is that he takes you into the very complex mind of John Rain and some of the people he interacts with. Their is Deliah, the beautiful Israel agent. Dox who appears to be superficial, but is not. Even with minor characters, Eisler manages to evoke depth in them.

The action moves from the Phillipines to China and is unrelenting. Now Rain and Dox are being hunted by the Israelis and a mysterious organization that may or may not be connected to the CIA.

It never stops. Eisler keeps pouring it on and Rain keeps thinking and thinking. And the reader keeps reading and reading until long into the night, unless they have a self-discipline I lack.

Eisler has created a grand character in John Rain, the assassin who thinks . . . and kills with mind-gripping perfection.

Jerry

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Killing Rain is one killer book!, June 23, 2005

By 

David Montgomery "Book Critic" (davidjmontgomery.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Killing Rain (John Rain Thrillers) (Hardcover)

For those searching for a little more action in their reading diet, you could do no better than Barry Eisler's Killing Rain (Putnam, $24.95), the fourth in a series featuring Japanese-American assassin John Rain, a contract killer who specializes in the "natural causes" hit.

Rain is hired by the Mossad to eliminate an Israeli arms dealer operating in Manila. At the crucial moment, though, the target's young son appears on the scene, causing Rain to freeze. The arms merchant escapes and Rain's hesitation haunts him, his conscience plaguing him for the first time with self-doubt.

After three action-packed adventures, culminating in last year's stand-out Rain Storm, Eisler has taken his latest book in a slightly different direction, focusing less on the adrenaline, and more on the psyche of John Rain. The result is a more introspective and deeply nuanced story, and a richer look into the heart and mind of this compelling killer.

Even given that change of focus, Killing Rain still features plenty of thrills and tense moments, as well as the beautifully rendered exotic settings that have become the series' trademark. All in all, Killing Rain is a satisfying step forward for one of the genre's most gifted writers.