John Milton has certainly come a long way since leaving his former employer. From assassin to beating a drug cartel to cab driver in San Francisco. But that’s where we find him at the start of this novel, driving a cab. And since it’s John we’re talking about, there’s no way things stay that simple for long. And pretty much immediately, things go south. As usual, John let’s himself be caught in other people’s problems and tries to solve them.
I think he’s still trying to atone for sins of the past, making amends. It’s that AA thing, only he can’t make amends to the people he needs to, because they are dead (usually because he killed them). So her makes do with strangers, and in this case it’s the boyfriend of a missing hooker – that was last seen on a party where she went in John’s cab. When the police doesn’t take it seriously, John decides to step in with all of his skill set.
This is the first book of the Milton series that also includes a mystery. For me, the first two have been more the thriller kind, but this story also incorporates a mystery, and not a bad one at that. (Although it was kind of obvious who’s scheming behind the scenes.)
The best parts in a John Milton novel are always those parts when John starts to turn into a cold machine, meticulously dishing out justice and revenge for those who can’t fight for themselves. He’s the great equalizer.
As always, while John helps those around him, his story ends on the sad side. He’s like the lone cowboy riding into the sunset, skipping town at the end.
While the ending is fitting – and the start of the novel is getting it’s hooks into you big time – the middle part is lacking a bit. I feel like that part of the story was deflated, dragging the pace down a bit.
That brings me to 4 stars. If you’ve never read Milton before, you can expect a mix out of Denzel Washington’s Robert McCall (Equalizer) and Liam Neeson’s Bryan Mills (96 hours).
Crossing the Pond Reviews 