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I love conspiracy theories. That doesn't mean that I believe them, but they're fun at worst and provide grist for contemplation at best. The most popular subject of course is death. Whether it's the demise of JFK, Princess Diana, Vince Foster, Ron Brown, or a half-dozen others you could name, someone has a conspiracy story. My favorites concern rock stars. I've heard stories regarding the deaths of Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, and Brain Jones (the latter story being darkly hilarious). But...the level of sophistication with respect to matters of mayhem has become so advanced that, indeed, it might well be difficult to truly ascertain when a death is by natural causes as opposed to a nefarious agent. And it is precisely this difference that is at the heart of RAINFALL by first-time author Barry Eisler.
Eisler begins things in ominous fashion, putting his readers inside the head of John Rain, an assassin for hire, as Rain stalks his "assignment." Rain specializes in, and is retained for, executions by what appear to be natural causes. As is eventually demonstrated, however, Rain is quite adept at hand-to-hand dispatching as well. Trained in the lethal arts by the U. S. Special Forces and honed to a fine point in the hellfires of Vietnam, Rain, living in Tokyo, is a quintessential fish out of water: a half-Japanese, half-Caucasian ronin among obedient samurai, a warrior among lambs in a closed, insular society where order is a standard.
Rain soon discovers that the principals behind his assignments are not always who he believes them to be and that his shadowy past is affecting the present --- and future --- in ways that he cannot anticipate. His biggest surprise, however, occurs when he finds himself falling in love with the daughter of one of his victims. When he learns that his latest assignment is to assassinate her, he turns his considerable skills to protecting her rather than harming her. Rain soon finds that he is unable to trust anyone, as forces seemingly adverse to each other are mutually aligned against him. Eisler, who spent a considerable amount of time in Japan prior to writing RAINFALL, demonstrates an encyclopedic knowledge of the many facets of Japanese culture as well as a keen, almost uncanny ability to transpose it into this tale of violence, suspense, and alienation.
RAINFALL is the first of what is contemplated as being a series of novels concerning Rain's exploits. Given the surprising conclusion to RAINFALL, it is evident that Eisler does not intend to make his creation's existence a static one. It is my guess that Rain will undergo a number of situational transformations while his core personality is maintained. If you're looking for a new author and an ongoing character to check out in the suspense genre, RAINFALL is the book you need to pick up.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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