Hard Rain

With a plot that centred around the shadowy exploits of a freelance assassin, John Rain, who is attempting to retire to a more conventional life in Japan, I was expecting the novel to be thin on plot but heavy on blood and guts.

However, while the book does have a pretty high body count, it turned out to be a cleverly plotted, absorbing, suspenseful thriller that was difficult to put down until I had turned the last page.

Contract killer John Rain is dragged out of retirement by an old nemesis to complete one last task -- to track down and eradicate a dangerous killer who has neither conscience nor compassion.

And the dangerous life Rain leads, soon means the lives of the very few people he has allowed to become his friends are at risk.

Set in a murky world of hostess clubs, dingy back streets and underground death fights, the novel is hugely atmospheric and the detailed descriptions of the tactics and strategies used by a professional killer were both convincing and strangely fascinating.

Surprisingly, the novel's protagonist Rain -- a hardened killer -- is a sympathetic, if complex, character.

This is definitely a novel I would recommend if you are looking for a few hours of entertaining escapism.

Hard Rain by Barry Eisler (Michael Joseph/Penguin, £12.00)