Hard Rain
Overview: All John Rain wants is to get out of the killing business. But with his discretion, his reliability, and his unique talent for death by “natural causes,” no one is willing to let him just retire. So when an old nemesis from the Japanese national police force comes to him with a new job—eliminate Murakami, a killer even more fearsome than Rain himself—Rain knows he can’t refuse.
Pages: 384 Pages
Writer: Barry Eisler
Recommendations:
This is the second installment in the series, and I approached it with a mix of skepticism and hope—half-expecting it to be a letdown or, at the very least, a rehash of the first book. Spoiler alert: it was anything but disappointing! Our protagonist, Rain, finds himself in even deeper trouble than before, navigating a treacherous landscape where truth and fiction blur.
He’s got old friends like Tots, the ever-watchful CIA, and the formidable Yakuza all vying for his attention. As if that weren’t enough, Midori—who was led to believe Rain was dead—has decided to play detective, convinced that the story she was fed doesn’t add up. With all this chaos swirling around him, Rain starts plotting his escape from Japan, yearning to leave behind the life that has ensnared him. But let’s be real: nothing in Rain’s world is ever that straightforward. You can’t just waltz away from a life like his.
What truly took me by surprise was Rain’s character development. It’s almost as if he’s come to view killing as casually as brushing his teeth—just another mundane task in his day. For John, it’s all business with a few rules, but in this book, Rain’s attitude shifts. In the previous installment, he killed only when absolutely necessary; now, the body count rises as he becomes more willing to pull the trigger simply because he can.
I was also pleasantly surprised by some unexpected plot twists that took the story down paths I hadn’t anticipated. Overall, I found this book just as captivating as the first. Barry Eisler has done a commendable job of fleshing out John Rain, and I’m eagerly looking forward to diving into more books in this series to see what other predicaments Rain can find himself in.
This is a gripping tale that’s hard to put down, always keeping you on your toes with its relentless pace and engaging story telling.