Hank is down on his luck, he's a fighter on a losing streak and he can't find his ex-wife and children. He decides that he will take a job as a bodyguard for some dangerous people. Everything that can go wrong is going wrong for him. Now he has a fight to survive for his life and family. A crime thriller that has suspense and thrills. The plot and characters are artfully written. A fast-paced thriller story.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and BookBaby, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for this copy and I am leaving this review.

A fun read with likable and entertaining characters. Great setting and well-paced. Thank you for letting me read your book!

I enjoyed this story but I was underwhelmed at times. The beginning is strange and didn’t seem to hold much relevance.

It is well written and I enjoyed the concept but sometimes it felt a bit too much.

I did like that it came full circle.

It had good pacing.

★★★ 3 stars!

A little trainwreck-y but good.

This one was like 'if you wanna know how much crap is too much to put on a guy before he starts going berserk on the yakuza, stay tuned'.

The writing was good. Though I did have a hard time keeping up in the beginning, setting the atmosphere of the book helped. It painted an unsettling image of Japan that's very key to the feel of danger and rush in this whole book. The thriller part, I'd say, was in the rush of it all — he's running, and hiding, and chasing and then fighting, plotting, then fighting once more. It was fast-paced and packed. I would say though, I'm a little bummed to know that it was all just rowdy delinquent juvenile gangster pulling the strings.

And, Lisa annoyed the living crap out of me.

I just realized that I read so little of the works that's set in Asia which shocked me a little 'cause I'm Asian, omg.

Also, that cover is so pretty.

Thanks so much Netgalley for the copy!

Plot: ★★★
Writing: ★★★

Publication date: 07 April 2022

I received an advance copy in exchange for honest thoughts and review.

A pacey multiple POV thriller set in Tokyo - once things start unravelling for our protagonist Hank, they unravel very quickly and he lurches from one near death experience to another. How will he escape this time? You'll just have to read to find out.

Please note that there is a lot of swearing in this novel.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A fast paced first person thriller set in Tokyo! Overall I thought it was interesting but as a woman I just did not connect with this book like I wanted to. I don't think I'm the expected reader for this and had a hard time getting into it. I think this would work much better as a a movie script than a book since it's very action packed but that's just me.

I received this for free from Netgalley.

A very good debut about a man that had lost his way, and by trying to fix everything in his life, he manages to make it all worse.

Ways to die in Tokyo presents us with MMA fighter Hank Fisher, who is living in Japan and pursuing his dream of becoming a pro. But time is running by, he is not successful and cannot support the family. Now he is separated, with anger issues, and is in serious need of cash if he ever wants to be united with his family. He has nowhere to go but to take a suspicious job where he suddenly ends up balls deep in a fight for power between elements of the Japanese mafia and the police. Hank fisher is out of luck and out of friends, but he will do everything for his family.

I found this book for free at Netgalley, and was pleasantly surprised with it. Hank is ill-tempered and mad at life , and he sounded real to me. I enjoyed the twists and turns, and the chase through Tokyo. It has its issues here and there, but overall I had a good time with it.

3 stars!

I think I was left a bit underwhelmed. I ADORED the plot which is why I picked it up but for me personally, it could've been a lot better???

Maybe it's just my expectations talking but I felt that the plot was a bit all over the place. And it was more of "lets give our MMC ALL the bad luck we can find" which for some reason didn't really resonate with me.

Also, I felt that the first chapter was really throwing people off so instead of calling it 'chapter 1', it should be the prologue or something. It had no relation to the next chapters for a while so there's that.

I liked the ending though and enjoyed the way it was written. Felt like a full circle coming. But I also think this would work much better as a movie script than a book but that's just me.

Hank Fisher is an unsuccessful American MMA fighter living in Tokyo and estranged from his wife and twin sons. Via a series of bad decisions, he gets a job as a bodyguard to a Yakuza boss and the night goes totally wrong, and he ends up as a pawn in a fight for control between the old boss and his upstart nephew. The story is totally convoluted, and extremely violent, and funny in places. Hank gets in so many fights, it's a wonder he survives. The descriptions of Tokyo make the city part of the story. Hank's acquaintances, friends and family are all distinguishable as individuals, and are quirky characters. Some of the peripheral characters seemed a bit superfluous to the story, which made the book longer than it could have been.

I loved everything about the premise of this book, but wanted more out of the setting and really wanted to get to know the characters and backstory better. It felt very much like an MMA fan’s story, written maybe more for a male audience. As a woman, I just didn’t connect with it the way that I wanted to. It ended up a DNF for me. Reading the description, it sounded like it might be an action packed adventure, but it never got there and I stopped wanting to pick it back up. Just not for me.

Good stuff. Reminded me of a Barry Eisler story. Good pacing, good action, interesting characters. A good bet for thriller fans. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It's every bit as good as Barry Eisler's series set in Japan and I hope that Garver has more books to come.
If, like me, you're an old Japan hand, you'll be very pleased at the accuracy of description and Japanese terms. But the characters and story are what makes this book. I could not put it down what with all the twists and turns and seemingly impossible situations that our poor hero gets himself into. And... dare I say... this would make an absolutely awesome movie.
I wasn't sure when I heard this was a first book and my initial expectations were not high, but boy was I wrong. Author, keep writing, please!

Free ARC from Net Galley

Fantastic story line with a likeable hero who is normal, no super powers just some techniques and toughness. Loved the story line and characters, YOU WILL TOO

Ways to Die in Tokyo by Thomas Ran Garver was a Home Run! This novel is well written with great character development. Do yourself a favor and purchase this book now. Thank you to NetGalley and BookBaby for this copy.

Too much testosterone and violence for my liking. I'm not the expected reader for this.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the ARC but this just isn't for me.

Such a good read, well written, compelling storyline that was twisty and unpredictable, and well developed characters. I couldn't put this book down.