Review: First Class Action
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2014
I've really enjoyed this series so far; Milton is a (predictably) competent killer with all the skills that includes, but as the kills mount up (100+ in 10 years on the job), he develops doubts about his profession that lead to too much alcohol and ultimately the realization that it's time to resign and find another vocation. His resignation isn't exactly well-received at the office by his boss - a real sleaze bag in Saville Row suits - who decides to terminate John. And so begins the action as John Milton tries to exorcise his personal demons by righting wrongs when he sees them and avoiding both his old employer's assassins and the bottle.The premise worked for me and I was pleasantly surprised by the plot variety in the first three books. I'd recommend reading them in order and 1000 Yards is a good way to test the waters. As other reviewers have noted, Milton is kind of a more normal-sized version of Jack Reacher, pound for pound as capable with his hands, but not at all reluctant to use the full array of assassins' tools when he's in a pinch. Keeping a low profile on the run, he works in fairly menial jobs like short-order cook or taxi driver, takes a lot of buses and can turn up anywhere. In book 1 he's in the UK, in book 2 in Mexico and in #3 in the U.S. Dawson seems to have done an awful lot of research as the settings are well described with lots of good detail and the plots are topical.I'm looking forward to the next chapter in Milton's saga as he continues his path toward personal redemption and just plain staying alive. Good stuff.