The Detachment

A John Rain Novel

By: Barry Eisler

Narrated by: Barry Eisler

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

John Rain is back. And “the most charismatic assassin since James Bond” (San Francisco Chronicle) is up against his most formidable enemy yet: the nexus of political, military, media, and corporate factions known only as the Oligarchy.

When legendary black ops veteran Colonel Scott “Hort” Horton tracks Rain down in Tokyo, Rain can’t resist the offer: a multi-million dollar payday for the “natural causes” demise of three ultra-high-profile targets who are dangerously close to launching a coup in America. But the opposition on this job is going to be too much for even Rain to pull it off alone. He’ll need a detachment of other deniable irregulars: his partner, the former Marine sniper, Dox. Ben Treven, a covert operator with ambivalent motives and conflicted loyalties. And Larison, a man with a hair trigger and a secret he’ll kill to protect.

From the shadowy backstreets of Tokyo and Vienna, to the deceptive glitz and glamour of Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and finally to a Washington, D.C. in a permanent state of war, these four lone wolf killers will have to survive presidential hit teams, secret CIA prisons, and a national security state as obsessed with guarding its own secrets as it is with invading the privacy of the populace. But first, they’ll have to survive each other.

The Detachment is what fans of Eisler, “one of the most talented and literary writers in the thriller genre” (Chicago Sun-Times), have been waiting for: the worlds of the award-winning Rain series, and of the best-selling Fault Line and Inside Out, colliding in one explosive thriller as real as today’s headlines and as frightening as tomorrow’s.

©2011 Barry Eisler (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

Praise for the author's narration of Inside Out: "Barry Eisler is ...an exception to the rule that writers should not be allowed to publicly declaim their own prose." ( The New York Times)

Women, children and animals

I found it unnecessary that you used one of your characters to kill a dog because it was barking.
That’s the 2nd time.

End of the series???

Have enjoyed all of the books in this series and hope for more. Sequel or prequel would be awesome.

A different type of spy book

What did you love best about The Detachment?

I loved all the bad ass characters in the book. You have dirty harry and jackie chan all in one story

Have you listened to any of Barry Eisler???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nope but I will listen to more in the future.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

where the group came together at the end to save the school.

Great story and excellent narration

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It grabs your interest immediately and won't let go. Barry Eisler's reading brought the story to life, I suppose being the author he knows the emotions he wants to express better than anyone else could have. Barry has an a very versatile voice and each of the characters are unique and easliy identified through the entire book. I look forward to Barry reading another of his books.
I usually don't give 5 stars but this reading deserves them.

Good story, but sometimes fades a little.

Where does The Detachment rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 30

Would you recommend The Detachment to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, The rest of the series is worth it also.

Have you listened to any of Barry Eisler’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

As good as the rest

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

Mr. Eisler seems to be an intelligent man, his writing will probably get better.

Excellent story, excellent audiobook

Would you listen to The Detachment again? Why?

I'd listen again because the story is engaging, as are the characters, and the author, who narrates the audiobook, does a very good job in bringing life to the characters. Even though the book is a thriller, there are parts of the book that are very funny.

What did you like best about this story?

The suspense, the difficulties faced by the four protagonists, their individual story lines, and how they fit together. I also liked how the author described weapons and tactics in a manner that made the story plausible, yet didn't bog down the story. That's a fine line to walk.

What about Barry Eisler’s performance did you like?

On listening to his last book (my first audiobook purchase of his) I was surprised to see that he was the narrator, but he does a great job narrating his stories. His ability to switch into different character accents and dialects is impressive.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! I found myself driving around a little more trying to squeeze in more time to listen.

best in series

most likely one of the best of the John Rain series. I have listened to this book several times and I am satisfied each time.

Love this series

The stories are intense and characters are well written. this is definitely a page turner. I always want to keep reading and find it hard to stop.

The Constitution in jeopardy

Twists and turns, intriguing. Great characters involved in a rapidly developing conspiracy. A great read or listen.

Awesome listen!

Rain, Doc and gang really killed it! Eisner can weave a tale like nobody’s business, hard to turn this one off when I reached the house!