The Cleaner

By: Brett Battles

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Jonathan Quinn: a freelance operative with a take-no-prisoners style and the heart of a loner. His job? Professional "cleaner". Nothing too violent, just disposing of bodies. But in Brett Battles' electrifying debut novel, Quinn's latest assignment will change everything.

The job seemed simple enough: investigating a suspicious case of arson. But when a dead body turns up, and Quinn's handlers at "the Office" turn strangely silent, he knows he's in over his head. With only a handful of clues, Quinn struggles to find out why someone wants him dead...and if it's linked to a larger attempt to wipe out the Office.

Quinn's only hope may be Orlando, a woman from his past who may hold the key to solving the case. Suddenly, the two are prying into old crimes, crisscrossing continents, and struggling to stay alive. But as the hunt intensifies, Quinn is stunned by a chilling secret...and a brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy.

Furiously paced, filled with superbly drawn characters and pitch-perfect dialogue, The Cleaner confirms Battles' place as one of the most exciting new talents in suspense fiction.

©2007 Brett Battles (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

2008, Shamus Award

"Brett Battles makes a grand entrance into the thriller scene with this unputdownable spy novel. The Cleaner has it all: exotic locales, James Bondian derring-do, and ingenious plot twists that will keep you sweating all the way ’til the end.”—Tess Gerritsen, bestselling author of The Bone Garden

“This book is a pure delight. Protagonist Jonathan Quinn is a unique and welcome addition to the world of crime fiction. The Cleaner is a brilliant and heart-pounding thriller; I’m on the edge of my seat, awaiting future installments of Quinn’s adventures.”—Jeffery Deaver, bestselling author of The Broken Window

“A page-turner that may remind some readers of the cult TV spy series Alias . . . .Quinn [is] a compelling protagonist. . . . Admirers of quality espionage fiction can look forward to a new series worth following.”—Publishers Weekly

The Cleaner

This was a great book. It kept me in the car listening even when I got to my destination. I look forward to more books in the future from this author.

The Cleaner

Excellent! Gripping and a thriller to the very end.

a decent effort

The good -
interesting story
good pacing

The bad -
stilted dialogue
shallowly developed characters

The ugly -
terrible narration. all the voices were the same and the man cannot do accents to save his life.

Very intense

The story was hard to put down. I fell asleep at 3:00 a.m. listening and had to go to an earlier chapter the next day to finish listening to it while awake.

Loved this book, author, reader!

So interesting I could not stop listening. Looking forward to more books by the author.

Action packed and full of surprises

Really enjoyed reading the book. Traveled around the world within the book encountering new challenges in each place. Book seemed to be thoroughly researched. Only disappointment was that the author only had one other book available.

Don't Hesitate Buying This

The whole series is great and credit worthy. I will listen to just about anything Scott Brick reads but Brett Battles does a great job with the whole series

OUTSTANDING

Loved it.
Couldn't Out It Down.
Outstanding Narration.
Don't Miss This One, It's One Of The Best Books I've Listened To.
TERRIFIC STORY LINE, IT'S A WHO DOWN IT TO THE VERY END.

Pretty good adventure

This is my first Brett Battles book and I found it pretty enjoyable. I learned a lot about CLEANERS and this story was basically believable and interesting. I'll try another bllk by him.

Rather absurd.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The book is entertaining, it's just too much of an imagination stretch to be taken seriously.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The "cleaner" is not a government employee, yet, almost single-handedly, he is put to the task of saving the world from a deadly virus, when, it seems, all the people he knows are aware of what's going, except the government. Seems like, at some point, someone in a government agency just mind have gotten wind of the problem, and sent a couple more people to his aid.