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The Cleaner

John Milton, Book 1

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The Cleaner

By: Mark Dawson
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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About this listen

John Milton is the man the government calls when they want a problem to go away... but what happens when he’s the one who needs to disappear?

After a botched job leaves a bloody trail, government assassin John Milton does the one thing he’s never done before: he hides.

Disappearing into London’s bustling East End and holing up in a vacant flat, Milton becomes involved with his neighbour Sharon and her troubled son Elijah, who are caught in an increasingly bloody turf war between two rival gangs.

Unable to ignore the threat, Milton sets about protecting mother and son, meeting violence with violence. But his involvement puts him in the sights of the government’s next best killer, and before long Milton is not just fighting to save a family and a home—he’s fighting to stay alive...

If you like Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp, and Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne, you'll love compulsively addictive John Milton series.

©2025 W. F. Howes Ltd. (P)2025 W. F. Howes Ltd. Action & Adventure Crime Thrillers Espionage Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense
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Mark Dawson writes brilliant fast paced novels that always leaves you wanting more with great narration from the ever reliable multi accented David Thorpe.
I'd put off starting this series because I knew I wouldn't be able to stop myself from binging the whole series. I was right!

Brilliant Writing, great narration

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SPOILERS!
I enjoyed the writing style and the story. I've bought the next one so I must've liked it. Except....
John Milton goes in to a sink estate to help a woman and her son. He leaves a few weeks later and NOTHING is better (except the boxing gym is in a better state of repair - maybe it should be called The Handyman).
Some bad guys are dead, some good guys are dead, the drug kingpin has been replaced by a total psycho and the mum and boy have lost everything. Umm.....hooray???

The Equaliser if I was doing it

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John Milton was a new series for me and I wasn’t disappointed, loved it and already on book 4

New series

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Having been in the precise location in London, through work, at the exact time that the story is set I was really impressed with Mark Dawson's factual description of Hackney at an unprecedented and extremely traumatic point in its recent history. I really enjoyed the storyline which blindsided me in a number of places, resulting in totally unexpected twists. His gritty description and characterisation works really well and sets up a strong foundation for what will be an enjoyable listen as I work my way through the exploits of John Milton in this highly charged, action packed series.

Great first book in this action packed series

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I’ve already read some of the Milton books, so it was good to read the first and find out how and why he was who he was.
Very well written, believable story line and good characters.
Superbly narrated bye talented Mr Thorpe!

Really good introduction to Milton

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