The Killer Collective

Full Praise

“In this crackling-good thriller from bestseller Eisler (The Night Trade), Seattle PD sex crimes detective Livia Lone, assassin John Rain, and former Marine sniper Dox form a testy alliance to combat a vile conspiracy involving corrupt and toxic government agencies. When Livia survives an assassination attempt while investigating an international child pornography ring, she learns that those behind the hit may work for the FBI. Livia recruits Dox, her partner from The Night Trade, to aid and abet her. Meanwhile, Rain—who originally was offered the hit on Livia—must come out of retirement to assemble a world-class team of black ops all-stars to battle a parallel threat. Persuasive action sequences lead to the merging of the two forces midway through the story. The feisty interplay among these killer elites is as irresistible as if one combined the Justice League with the Avengers, swapping out the superhero uniforms for cutting-edge weaponry and scintillating spycraft. By the satisfying conclusion, the world has been scrubbed a bit cleaner of perfidy. This is delightfully brutal fun.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

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“Series heroes join forces with other righteous killers to punish sexual predators in Eisler’s latest thriller (Zero Sum, 2017, etc.)

A secret internet site called Child’s Play features videos of horrible sexual abuse and torture of children. Feds suspect members of the Secret Service may be participants, but their investigation is inexplicably shut down. Meanwhile, John Rain specializes in “services” that appear to have natural causes, but he turns down a hit job on Livia Lone because he doesn’t kill women or children. Livia is a sex-crimes investigator for the Seattle PD and has a ferocious hatred for the world’s “freaks and predators.” Born in Thailand and originally named Labee, she was sold by her parents to the Lone family in Idaho, where she suffered unspeakable abuse. Now she works on both sides of the law, putting creeps in prison when she can—but “the only thing better than a rapist in prison was a rapist in the ground.” She has secretly killed at least a dozen of them, and she joins forces with professional killers such as Rain to bring down Child’s Play once and for all. The most interesting of the bunch are Dox, who helped Livia kill a child molester in Thailand and would “kill a whole lot of people” to protect her, and Delilah, the blonde Mossad agent who uses her body as well as her gun. One of their threats is Oliver Graham Enterprises (OGE—”you couldn’t spell rogue without O-G-E”), which wants to fight America’s wars and incidentally kill John Rain. The stakes may go even higher than “six active pederasts in the Secret Service” as the story reaches its bloody crescendo. It is rich in backstory, though it can stand alone. Still, Livia Lone (2016) is the ideal introduction to a sympathetic, damaged, and vengeful character.

Vicarious pleasure for anyone wanting to see the scum of the world get its due.”
—Kirkus Reviews

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“New York Times bestselling author Barry Eisler (The Night Trade) merges his two most popular franchises in his latest action-packed thriller.

This time around, Detective Livia Lone of the Seattle PD sex crimes unit has her eyes set on bringing down an evil child pornography ring. Because the ring has gone international, though, it’s a federal case, and Lone is forced to partake in a joint investigation between the Seattle police department and the FBI.

After making headway on the case, Lone is the victim of an assassination attempt, narrowly escaping with her life. Things take a turn, however, when she discovers that those behind the attempted hit may be linked to the FBI. Searching for help, Lone turns to former Marine sniper Dox, whom she partnered with in The Night Trade, and the duo realizes that someone tried to kill Lone in order to keep her from exposing a bigger conspiracy. Worse, the people she’s after prove to be nearly unreachable and impossible to get to, though Lone isn’t one to give up or shy away from such a challenge.

As the story unfolds, it’s revealed that retired hitman John Rain (The Zero Sum, 2017, etc.) previously turned down the job to take out Lone, paving the way for their paths to cross. Rain, an elite killer who specializes in making it appear as though his targets died of natural causes, assembles a makeshift unit of assassins—recruiting Delilah, his former lover and Mossad operative, and a couple of friends with black-ops backgrounds—to help them find and eliminate the threat. But the more they learn about what they’re up again, the more they realize that the conspiracy goes much further, and higher, than any of them imagined…

Barry Eisler has long been one of the genre’s most underrated authors. Likewise, John Rain rarely gets the credit he deserves for being one of the most interesting and badass characters in print today. Somewhere between John Wick and Jason Bourne, Rain is a force to be reckoned with, and with plenty of bad guys for him to run through in this one, Eisler puts his full set of skills on display in a deliciously satisfying way that actions fans will devour. By using a team of untrusted killers, Eisler adds to the suspense and tension throughout, while still finding ways for Livia Lone—who continues to have a strong presence—to shine as well. The end result is a smorgasbord of unique, compelling characters, and Eisler expertly juggles their personalities.

Without giving too much of the plot away, there’s certainly a timely element to it, and Eisler turns the heat up like never before to deliver a fun, fast-paced thriller that’s tailor-made for fans of nonstop action.”
—The Real Book Spy

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“In the midst of explosions of all sorts, Eisler’s two unusual protagonists tangle with matters of the heart…The Killer Collective binds it together into a blazing adventure of espionage escape fiction, perfect to start the new year.”
—New York Journal of Books

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“The Killer Collective packs a punch like a sniper’s rifle. A solid grounding in up-to-the-minute technology and current affairs makes this a hot read for thriller lovers.”
—AuthorLink Writers & Readers Magazine

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“A heart-pounding home run…Eisler has created a more literary version of The Expendables—the movie series that brought together Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, and other action heroes…”
—It’s Either Sadness or Euphoria

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“A great pick for fans of fast-paced thriller novels…the writing is crisp and the story flows seamlessly…”
—Mystery Tribune

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“…an adrenaline-fueled marathon of action and conspiracy from beginning to end, filled with plenty of combat and movie screen-ready violence that’s more satisfying than ten of Hollywood’s biggest summer blockbusters…”
—High Fever Books

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“The best Eisler thriller in years”
—Best Thrillers

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“Riveting…The Killer Collective is an ‘Avengers’-like feat…”
—Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News

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“As usual with an Eisler novel, the plot is full of twists, the prose is muscular and the action unfolds at a torrid pace. The result is another page turner from one of the better thriller writers since James Grady published “Six Days of the Condor” in 1974.”
—Bruce DeSilva, Star Tribune

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“Eisler deals with vile crimes with fantastic police work, well-seasoned professionals, and his own considerable skill and talent as a writer. You will walk away stunned by this ‘Killer Collective.'”
—Suspense Magazine

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“There’s such an array of good guys—and gals—in The Killer Collective that the group resembles a gathering of Marvel heroes. While no one flies, throws a shield, or swings a mjolnir, they do possess super powers on a human scale…There’s a history among the members of these talented team and their interactions are, at times, humorous, and at others, quite touching.”
—Woman Around Town

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“Demonstrating extraordinary expertise in the art of espionage, special operations, and martial arts, which his fans and fellow practitioners have come to venerate, Eisler delivers another brilliant, fast paced thriller.”
—Daniel Hoffman, CIA, retired, The Cipher Brief