The Cleaner

 In  this blog post, I review Mark Dawson’s The Cleaner, the first installment in the John Milton thriller series. This thriller is riveting and would leave you jumping out of your seat. It all started for John Milton, a M15 agent who had been assigned to kill people that caused threats to his government. But with one incident in France, it had changed things and left him a marked man to leave his former job by quitting. Then he met Sharon Warriner, a single mother, who needed someone to help her son Elijah. That’s when Milton came into the picture to help him stay away from drugs and gangs and to take upon boxing with his ally, Dennis Rutherford. He also fixed up a run-down home and became Elijah’s closest friend. But with a target on his back from his former employer and a gangster leader named Bizness, he needed to stay alive and watch his step until someone wanted him as a marked man on the run.

This heart-pounding thriller is well-written and scintillating with every twisted turned. I cared for Milton who wanted a clean slate and needed a break away from his former job, though it might not be so easy. We’ve gotten to know his softer side about helping Sharon and Elijah Warriner out, though he might’ve done more than ruffled a bunch of feathers.The location of London and its surrounding cities would take you places from crime-filled streets to the suburbs. The theme of the story is you can’t run or escape from your past, no matter how hard you tried.

This gripping thriller is off to the great start for this debut. I had no issues with this book. I rated this book, four out of five stars for no reason. If you love thrillers with an espionage angle with non-stop drama, plenty of action, and lots of shocking twists, you’ve love The Cleaner. It’s recommended for fans who love Lee Child’s Reacher and espionage thrillers.