This could so easily have been a very good novel, but sadly fell short.

The basic premise is that John Milton, until recently employed as a fixer (for which read assassin) by MI6 has had a crisis of confidence. On his last hit for the organisation, in a remote corner of France, he had duly despatched his main targets, along with a gendarme who had the misfortune to intrude upon the scene by chance, but was prevented by hitherto unprecedented qualms from killing the victims’ young child, who was, as a consequence, left as a potential witness to what had happened. Such a demonstration of conscience was not what he was paid for, and he found himself suspended without pay while his employers considered what should be done with him.

As he left the department’s offices he has a strange encounter on the underground system, which leads to him moving temporarily to a housing estate in one of the more disadvantaged areas of east London, where gang culture is taking control.

Unfortunately, I found the writer’s half-hearted attempts to convey urban decay and rampant deprivation rather off-putting, as was the unrelenting woodenness of Milton as a character. There were times when he struggled even to become two-dimensional, and ascension to the third was far beyond him. ( )

Usual light stuff. ( )

Excellent series. ( )

Enjoyed this novel. The comparison to Jack Reacher is a little tenuous but it stands up to scrutiny as a decent thriller in it's own right.
Not quite what I expected but more to come from John Milton clearly. Modern and topically British. ( )

I started this book, set it aside, picked it up again, did not finish. I didn't like John Milton and didn't think that the character he is supposed to be would behave as he does. Reminded me of "Luther" but without the depth.

I received a review copy of "The Cleaner: John Milton Book 1" by Mark Dawson from Welbeck Publishing through NetGalley.com. ( )