Requiem for an Assassin

April 30, 2007
In Eisler’s predictable sixth thriller to star half Japanese, half American assassin John Rain (after 2006’s The Last Assassin), Rain’s longtime rival, rogue CIA agent Jim Hilger, kidnaps Rain’s sniper friend Dox and threatens to kill Dox unless Rain murders three people Hilger wants dead. Despite his ambivalence about his chosen trade, Rain carries out the hits with little remorse. Rain’s adventures take him to the usual glamorous locales—Paris, London, Amsterdam—while throughout he remains nostalgic for his Japanese heritage. In a subplot, Rain’s Mossad agent lover, Delilah, enlists some Israeli colleagues in an attempt to foil a major terrorist plot. The revelation of why the three murder victims were selected comes as the book’s one real surprise. 150,000 first printing; author tour.

Who says a cold-blooded contract killer can't have a superego and complex feelings? Scott Brick's performance of Japanese-American John Rain, the assassin hero of Eisler's latest thriller, proves otherwise. Brick convinces listeners that Rain has had enough of murder for hire and just wants to settle down with his Mossad agent girlfriend. But when Rain's friend Dox is taken hostage by a rogue CIA agent, Brick dons the "iceman's" mantle as Rain coolly does what it takes to save Dox. Brick's pacing suits the supercharged tension of Eisler's convoluted double and triple crosses, making every incredible situation credible, every sadistic goon and megalomaniac plausible, and every love scene hot enough to melt your CDs. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine