
The Mantis
Kotaro Isaka(Author)
Vintage (Publisher)
Published on 25. April 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-5299-2066-6 (ISBN)
Description
Good dad or good assassin? Can he be both?
From the internationally bestselling author of BULLET TRAIN: A seemingly ordinary family man tries to juggle his home life with his job as a hitman.
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA DAGGER AWARD FOR BEST THRILLER*
Kabuto is an ordinary guy; stressed with work, hassled by his wife and disrespected by his teenage son. No wonder he visits his doctor so often. Except the 'Doctor' is actually his handler, and Kabuto is a hired assassin. Because although he may seem like a small man at home, Kabuto is really good at killing people.
But Kabuto is worn out with the business of murder. So he's trying to pay his way out with a few last jobs. But when the final assignment puts his unsuspecting family in danger, Kabuto realises he is going to need every deadly skill he knows to keep them alive.
PRAISE FOR KOTARO ISAKA:
'Showcases Isaka's Tarantinoesque blend of offbeat wit and stylised violence' The Times
'Unusual and thoroughly enjoyable' Guardian
Don't miss the next thrilling Kotaro Isaka book, HOTEL LUCKY SEVEN, available to pre-order now.
From the internationally bestselling author of BULLET TRAIN: A seemingly ordinary family man tries to juggle his home life with his job as a hitman.
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA DAGGER AWARD FOR BEST THRILLER*
Kabuto is an ordinary guy; stressed with work, hassled by his wife and disrespected by his teenage son. No wonder he visits his doctor so often. Except the 'Doctor' is actually his handler, and Kabuto is a hired assassin. Because although he may seem like a small man at home, Kabuto is really good at killing people.
But Kabuto is worn out with the business of murder. So he's trying to pay his way out with a few last jobs. But when the final assignment puts his unsuspecting family in danger, Kabuto realises he is going to need every deadly skill he knows to keep them alive.
PRAISE FOR KOTARO ISAKA:
'Showcases Isaka's Tarantinoesque blend of offbeat wit and stylised violence' The Times
'Unusual and thoroughly enjoyable' Guardian
Don't miss the next thrilling Kotaro Isaka book, HOTEL LUCKY SEVEN, available to pre-order now.
Reviews / Votes
An offbeat but touching thriller, with a wonderful final twist * Mail on Sunday * Unlike anything you're likely to have read before...white-hot with double-crosses * Financial Times, on Bullet Train * Entertaining...high-speed...with lots of twists and turns...it has a Tarantino-meets-the-Coen-Brothers feel to it. * The Times, on Bullet Train * Thoroughly enjoyable * Guardian, on Bullet Train * Showcases Kotaro Isaka's Tarantinoesque blend of offbeat wit and stylised violence * The Times, on Three Assassins * Highly entertaining... grips with plenty of twists before delivering a stylish and fitting finale * Sunday Express, on Three Assassins *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
194 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-2066-6 (9781529920666)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Kotaro Isaka
The Mantis
A darkly funny, fast-paced Japanese thriller from the master of twisted morality
E-Book
11/2023
Vintage Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Persons
Kotaro Isaka (Author)
Kotaro Isaka is a bestselling and multi-award-winning writer who is published around the world. He has won the Shincho Mystery Club Award, Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Japan Booksellers' Award and the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize and fourteen of his books have been adapted for film or TV. He is the author of the international bestseller Bullet Train, which was made into a major film starring Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock.
Sam Malissa (Translator)
Sam Malissa holds a PhD in Japanese Literature from Yale University. He has translated fiction by Toshiki Okada, Shun Medoruma, and Hideo Furukawa, among others.
Kotaro Isaka is a bestselling and multi-award-winning writer who is published around the world. He has won the Shincho Mystery Club Award, Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Japan Booksellers' Award and the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize and fourteen of his books have been adapted for film or TV. He is the author of the international bestseller Bullet Train, which was made into a major film starring Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock.
Sam Malissa (Translator)
Sam Malissa holds a PhD in Japanese Literature from Yale University. He has translated fiction by Toshiki Okada, Shun Medoruma, and Hideo Furukawa, among others.