an incredibly unique and interesting book. i don’t think i’ve ever read a book like this before. every chapter i couldn’t wait to see how it ended.

The Mantis was a thrilling and fun read. I liked Isaka's perspectives in humanizing the assassin in the book, and looking at the morals of his life.

Kōtarō Isaka continues his tales of Japanese assassins in The Mantis (impeccably translated by Sam Malissa), after Bullet Train and Three Assassins. So far, these books don’t have to be read in any particular order. Characters might refer to events in other books or make cameo appearances but each book in the series has featured its own unique protagonists. In The Mantis, our protagonist is Kabuto, a man living a double life as an assassin and a humble salesman who only wants to make his wife and son happy.

Kabuto is getting too old for this. His handler disagrees and pushes Kabuto take on one more job, then another. The handler—a truly sinister doctor—constantly tells Kabuto that he needs to save more for retirement or that their clients insist on having someone exprienced take care of things or that maybe something might happen to Kabuto’s family if he decides to leave the business. The only way to retire, Kabuto decides, is to take out his handler before anyone the doctor hires takes Kabuto out first.

The Mantis is a meandering novel, especially when compared to the tightly plotted Bullet Train. But the wandering suits the novel’s reflective protagonist as he wonders about his ethics (he only kills people in more or less fair fights) or about keeping his snappish wife happy or hopes that his son succeeds in life. The plot jumps around in time and between the two halves of Kabuto’s life. At times, the jumps are jarring. One chapter sees Kabuto creating a set of armor for himself out of layers of clothing to take on a nest of hornets in a tree near the carport while the next sees him fighting for his life against a series of assassins sent to kill him. The tone grows very somber towards the end of The Mantis, when Kabuto tries to make his exit from killing for hire. Kabuto’s son, who always wondered why Kabuto put up with his mother’s moods, has to solve some last mysteries and help with his fathers last deadly job.

The assassins Isaka has created for his series are psychologically rich, much more interesting than many of the protagonists of other thrillers (even, I daresay, more interesting than Jack Reacher). Even though these characters are utterly lethal, Isaka makes them incredibly human. They worry about hornets and their bad luck and ethics and reputation and revenge and wives and children and lots of things that us mere mortals worry about. On the outside: stone cold killers. On the inside: completely preocupied with mundanities and murder. The juxtaposition is wildly entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this early! I was already excited because I loved the first 2 books, and highly recommend them. Most people know about Bullet Train, which was a highly amusing Brad Pitt movie, although the book was different in important ways.
These three books all take place in a Japan where there seem to be assassins everywhere, but the assassins are interested, quirky, and complex people. Mantis has one main assassin, Kabuto, and the focus is more on his life as a family man than his time killing. Kabuto really loves his family, and he wants to get out of the business.
Kabuto is such an interesting character, and even though the book is short I really felt that I knew him by the end. There were so many references to characters in the other books that I will probably read them all again while I wait impatiently for the writer to give us another book in this universe.

The Mantis by Kotaro Isaka is set in the Tokyo criminal underworld and is one man's story of wanting to leave his life as a hitman before his family finds out.

"Kabuto is a skilled assassin but wants to leave the life. His handler, The Doctor, refuses to let him just walk away. Kabuto must earn enough to pay his way out by taking the higher risk, higher paying jobs. The ones that involve taking out other assassins. His final assignment puts him and his family - who have no idea he is a killer - in danger. But Kabuto is determined to find a way out."

There are several references to the characters in Bullet Train here. The whole premise of this world of casual "assassin for hire" in Tokyo is a little crazy. Kabuto has a strange moral compass. He is willing to take jobs but wants there to be a sense of fairness in the act. His relationships with his family are complicated, especially with his son. There are little hints of Japanese culture peeking through.

The story is a slow burn to start but picks up when Kabuto meets a new friend in an unusual place. The ending is a wild surprise. Fans of Bullet Train will enjoy this new book from Isaka.

This might not be exactly what you're expecting. Sure it's about an assassin but it's also about family. Kabuto works for the Doctor as a sort of side gig to the job he's told his family about - the one where he sells office supplies. The Doctor has threatened his family, a family which means everything to him, so he keeps up the killing, Don't worry- this never gets as graphic as it could (or as I expected). How Kabuto reconciles his two lives is at the root of this. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Though I had a lot of hope for the premise, I did not feel attached to any of the characters or their plight throughout the book.

I really wanted to like this since the premise is great and I’ve heard a lot of hype about Bullet Train. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me — the characters are one-dimensional, matter-of-fact, and emotionally handicapped (though this tends to be the case for many Japanese translated novels). The plot moves at a snail’s pace, which I wouldn’t mind if it weren’t marketed as a hitman thriller or if the character development were better.

Some of the other reviewers touched on the sexism, but it’s hard for me to say with certainty whether that’s the character or the author talking. Either way, it’s not promising that it’s unclear.

Thank you to ABRAMS and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First off, when I heard that a new book by the author of Bullet Train was coming out, I added it to my TBR list right away! The Mantis by Kotaro Isaka is a standalone book, but is set in the world of the loosely-connected series that started with Bullet Train. The story revolves around Kabuto, a top assassin who works for the Doctor. The Doctor gives Kabuto assignments to who to kill. But now that Kabuto has a family, he wants to get out of the business. To get out of the business alive, Kabuto will have to take on the most dangerous mission of his life!

Here is a gripping excerpt from the opening chapter:

"KABUTO SLIDES THE KEY INTO the front door lock. So slowly, but it still makes a loud ratcheting noise, which irritates him to no end. When are they going to invent a silent lock? Concentrating all his focus on his hand, he gingerly turns the key. The click of the unlock makes his stomach clench. He opens the door. The house is dark. Silent.
He slips off his shoes. Pads noiselessly down the hall. The lights are off in the living room. Everyone in the house seems to be asleep. Everyone of course being just two people."

Overall, The Mantis is an amazing thriller in translation that will appeal to fans of Bullet Train. I absolutely loved the author's other books, and this was no exception. At first, I thought that this book seemed to be a bit quieter and less action-packed, but I should not have doubted this author. After the beginning and set-up, the action ratchets up and up, and this was definitely a 5-star read for me.

One highlight of this book is how unputdownable it is. I had to keep reading to find out what happened next. Another highlight of this book is the ending, which is absolutely amazing. I will definitely read anything that the author writes in the future! If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in November!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5590308612?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

There's my review on Goodreads.