The novel “The Cleaner” by Mark Dawson was published for the first time in 2014. It’s the first book in the John Milton series.

John Milton is the number one man sent by British intelligence when they deem it necessary to physically eliminate some dangerous person and to do it in a clean way. He’s tasked with eliminating a couple of Iranian scientists linked to the atomic program who are officially on vacation in France but the information in his possession doesn’t include the presence of their son and he decides to spare him. Instead, he’s forced to kill a gendarme who arrives at the crime scene.

The mission has deeply affected John Milton’s conscience, already shaken by the long trail of blood he has left behind over the years. He wants to resign but such a choice is inconceivable in his type of work and his supervisor assesses the measures to take. By chance, Milton comes across a woman who wants to commit suicide and saves her. He discovers that she’s in a complicated situation with a teenage son who is part of a London gang intent on various crimes.