I’m not sure why I keep reading Eisler’s John Rain novels. Rain is a brutal assassin and the author delves into his mind, examining the details when Rain thinks about killing. And the sex scenes are heavy-duty, much more than I need to read. I didn’t finish the last two books I started because they were too “macho mail.” Yet Eisler keeps me reading to the end. He’s an excellent writer.

Rain is half Japanese, half American. His childhood was split between Japan and the States, and he doesn’t feel accepted in either country. In Zero Sum, Rain has returned to Tokyo in 1982 after a few years in the Philippines. Even though I’ve never been there, his descriptions of Tokyo are so vivid that I feel as if I would recognize it if I visited the city.

If you like well-written psychological thrillers and anti-heroes, read this book.