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THE CLEANER
by Brett Battles
Dell, June 2008
496 pages
$6.99
ISBN: 0440244382


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

I always enjoy reading crime fiction that features characters who have unusual jobs other than detectives or assassins. Jonathan Quinn fits the bill - he's a freelance operative who has a career as a "cleaner." Don't expect any mops and furniture polish - he's the one that you call upon when you need a crime scene cleaned up so there will be no evidence left behind, whether that be disposing of bodies or removing trace evidence.

All of Quinn's work comes to him from a group known only as "The Office," which he suspects has something to do with the government. Quinn's current job is to look into an arson that left at least one person dead. What he finds out puts him in danger, and he and his apprentice, Nate, barely escape with their lives when targeted by an assassin. The clues lead them to Berlin, where Quinn finds he needs the special talents of Orlando, a woman he worked with in the past. There's a lot at stake. First of all, Orlando has a young son who could be used against her. On another level, their investigation reveals the possibility of a virus attack that could threaten the lives of millions. Meanwhile, The Office appears to be experiencing a disruption that is destroying its ability to operate. At the same time, Jonathan is training the neophyte Nate, who fluctuates between being a handicap and a help.

THE CLEANER is fast moving, although somewhat implausible, as big-scale thrillers tend to be. First of all, as a cleaner, Quinn is supposedly rarely involved in first-hand violence himself. However, throughout the book, he does quite a bit of shooting and killing people. Of course, he and Orlando face more than their fair share of danger. They are working against time to undo a chilling conspiracy, and Battles does a great job of keeping the suspense level high, although I found a plot twist at the end to be disappointing.

THE CLEANER is the debut book in the Jonathan Quinn series, with THE DECEIVED recently released and the third book in process. If the second and third books have the page-turning excitement of THE CLEANER, thriller fans are going to be very happy.

Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, August 2008

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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