Rain Storm - Barry Eisler

This is the third installment of the John Rain series - a half-Japanese/half-American trained assassin. This time, he's made his home in Brazil, hoping to blend in with the Japanese community in Sao Paolo/Rio and all places in between (it made me crave caipirinhas). But, not surprisingly, his Japanese employers will not let him off the hook so easily, and they have a lucrative assignment for him in Hong Kong. Eisler creates a bit of plot -- the target is an arms dealer supplying Southeast Asia and Rain isn't the only assassin on his tail. The other is a cunning and beautiful probable Israeli. Rain may finally have met his match. But, it's all just a ploy for Eisler to do what he does best - write long passages about mixed martial arts encounters and Rain's ingenious methods of surveillance and counter-surveillance. I had a hard time getting through this one, finding myself a little bored, though I loved the character of Dox -- a CIA sniper with a southern drawl. But, I've heard that this book is the necessary bridge from the two preceding books in the series to the three that follow. And, since I'm in for a penny, in for a pound, I plan to keep reading as long as John Rain keeps killing.