Rain Fall

10. Rain Fall (John Rain Series) by Barry Eisler. 376 p. Published July 2003.

I figured it was about time to review the best espionage thriller series out there.

Meet John Rain, half American, Half Japanese Vietnam Vet. Oh, and all around bad-ass assassin. The book opens with John and his tech-savvy partner Harry shadowing Yasuhiro Kawamura, a career politician. As Kawamura gets onto the Tokyo subway, John follows. At the behest of the gangster who hired him – John kills Kawamura in the middle of a packed rush hour train with no one the wiser. You see, there is a reason people pick John for their wetwork – he’s an expert at making deaths look totally natural.

Or so he hopes. Because now three people are on his trail, looking for the proof of widespread corruption that Kawamura was holding: Benny, the yakuza boss who hired him; Tatsu, a friendly rival in the Japanese FBI; and William Holtzer, a CIA operative that betrayed Rain back in Vietnam. And now they’re all after Midori, Kawamura’s daughter. John must get to Midori, innocent and unaware of the danger she’s in, before they do. But, of course, there’s a catch (there’s always a catch), as John finds himself falling for Midori. Now Rain must protect the daughter of the man he killed while trying to find a way out of this international mess.

Eisler manages to combine the finest elements of blood pounding, heart gripping thriller writing with amazing detail of Japanese life. From the first page, the reader is soaked in operational and tactical detail gleaned from years of Eisler’s covert experience in the CIA. The intermittent Japanese dialog and frequent use of actual locations (my friends in Japan have been to these places) lend Rain Fall unparalleled authenticity. And if that wasn’t enough, Eisler imbues John Rain with his own detailed knowledge of martial arts and good whiskey.

This series is a must read. For the last 5 years, Rain Fall is the one book I have consistently recommended to any one who asks for a good read. The only issue any of them have ever come back with is how fast they managed to read through it.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Other Reviews of Rain Fall: TracyReaderDad

Urban Shaman

9. Urban Shaman (The Walker Papers) by C.E. Murphy. 352 p. Published June 2005.

This is the first book in C.E. Murphy’s Walker Papers series. It opens on Joanne Siobhan Walker flying back from her mother’s funeral on the red-eye into Seattle. On approach she glances out the window to see a woman being chased through the streets. Which is odd, since she’s still a few thousand feet up. Even odder, the woman is being chased by a pack of dogs.

Thus begins Jo’s journey into the strange underworld of shamanic magic. You see, Jo’s heritage is unique – half Irish, half Native American – all magic. There’s one problem – she’s denied her legacy almost her whole life, burying it under the motor oil and engine grease of her job as a mechanic – and part-time cop – for Seattle’s finest. Accompanied by an aging cabby with nothing better to do and guided by the Coyote that won’t get out of her head, Jo must deal with The Wild Hunt and a serial murderer without pissing off her touchy captain. That’s a tall order for a lady who just wants to tune her car’s engine.

C.E. Murphy has introduced us to an amazing world; one filled with humor, magic, danger, and - most importantly - wonder. The characters of Urban Shaman are enjoyable and Murphy makes an effort to express just how human her protagonist is. However, while the book is well paced, Murphy seemed to struggle with the initial interwieving of Jo’s plight and the story’s plot. A little too brooding for my tastes. Then again, it’s not easy to introduce two brand new worlds and still create likeable characters. And while a few people I know have taken issue with Murphy’s portrayal of Shamanism, I do not. My review on the next two books is soon to come.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Reviews of Urban Shaman: Beyond Books, More Vikings, Terminally Cute