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  • The Cleaner

  • John Milton, Book 1
  • By: Mark Dawson
  • Narrated by: David Thorpe
  • Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (3,178 ratings)

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The Cleaner

By: Mark Dawson
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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Summary

Meet John Milton. He considers himself an artisan. A craftsman. His trade is murder. Milton is the man the government sends after you when everything else has failed. Ruthless. Brilliant. Anonymous. Lethal. You wouldn't pick him out of a crowd but you wouldn't want to be on his list.

But now, after 10 years, he's had enough - there's blood on his hands and he wants out. Trouble is, this job is not one you can just walk away from. He goes on the run, seeking atonement for his sins by helping the people he meets along the way.

But his past cannot be easily forgotten, and before long it is Milton who is hunted, and not the hunter. The Cleaner. A career of state-sanctioned murder has taken its toll. Milton is troubled by nightmares, a long line of ghosts who torment his dreams. He resolves to make his next job his last and, then, perhaps, he can start to make amends for everything that he has done.

Sharon Warriner is a single mother in the East End of London, suicidal with fear that she's lost her young son to a life in the gangs. After Milton saves her life, he promises to help. But the gang, and the charismatic rapper who leads it, is not about to cooperate with him.

As London burns through summer riots, Milton finds himself in unfamiliar territory, dealing with an unfamiliar foe. And when his employer sends another agent after him, the odds against him are stacked even higher.

©2013 Mark Dawson (P)2015 Audible, Ltd
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Editor reviews

The heart-pounding action-packed audiobook thriller, The Cleaner, is written by highly-acclaimed crime thriller author Mark Dawson and is Book One in the phenomenal John Milton series narrated by professional voice artist David Thorpe. John Milton – the murderer hired by the government to do their dirty work. After 10 years in the game his conscience catches up with him and he wants out. His powerful boss isn’t about to let him. So begins a thrilling three-part chase through London where he sits in the middle as both the hunter and the hunted. Available now on Audible.

What listeners say about The Cleaner

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    1,242
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

JOHN MILTON - A MAJOR PART OF MY LIFE

An exciting and gripping book, yet easy at the same time. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

HALF FINISHED CONCLUSION

Where does The Cleaner rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The book was enjoyable and a bit different to the usual MI6 scenario. Not as good as a later John Milton book which I happened to read first, but still pretty fast paced, however, the ending was extremely poor and unsatisfactory and I was left with too many questions and not enough answers. It was as if the author wanted to finish it in a hurry and couldn't think of any other way to conclude what had been a good story line!!

Any additional comments?

I will read the next book in the JM series in the hope that it is a bit more complete than this one, but would not advise anyone to pay "full price" if they want to sample The Cleaner. You could feel a bit cheated.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Great story not what I expected and the narrator was one of the best I've heard

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting enough yet predictable and often thin

It is a solid story that keeps you going and I would say it is definitely not a bad listen. At times the story is thin and predictable but fun to listen when you need something to take your mind out of things. I am not an expert for accents but I didn't mind the narrator (after I got used to him). 3 out of 5 overall.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent start to series

First story in what has become an extensive series.

Milton is a bit of a stereotype: anguished ex-soldier with a heart of gold but capable of extreme violence. However, the setting is somewhat unusual for this type of story (at least in my experience). I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the descriptions of London. Linking it to the London riots was smart, however using Lake Annecy as the initial location felt a bit off, given the similarity of the real-life killing of an English family the year before this was first published.

David Thorpe's narration was excellent.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This grabs you and sweeps you along

At first, I didn't think I was going to like this but once I was into it about 20 minutes then I couldn't stop listening,

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great first book

Excellent start to the John Milton series, love the look into London gangland life, the series get better too. Prefer Milton to Reacher, more realistic, well read too.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Standard

Standard military fare. Ok but a bit formulaic. A few military inaccuracies but worth. Listen

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

mysteriously appealing

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I enjoyed this book generally however found the characters sadly depressing - no hopers from the start

Who was your favorite character and why?

John - so efficiently cool

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The start - very exciting

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

Initially I wanted to listen to the series and afterwards I felt the sad violence left me feeling bewildered by the waste.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Fairly entertaining..

..but the depiction of Hackney is absurd and border line racist. I'm a middle class white guy who moved there in 2004. I have never been mugged or harassed or felt in any danger anywhere and I have never lived anywhere as posh as Dalston or Grove Road. Hackney has some of the most expensive housing and the best schools in the country. I can only assume that the writer has never been there and picked the names randomly off the map.

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