REVIEW: The Mantis (book) by Kotaro Isaka, translated by Sam Malissa

The Mantis is the third book in Kotaro Isaka's Assassins series. I suppose you could call it a blend of crime fiction and black humor. 

Review:

Kabuto is a highly skilled assassin who has wanted to retire ever since the birth of his son. Unfortunately for him, his handler, the Doctor, isn't about to let him go, nudging him towards high-risk jobs while hinting at the dire consequences should he decide not to follow through. Kabuto's wife and son, meanwhile, have no idea that he isn't just an ordinary worker at an office supply company.

Kabuto may be fearless while on the job, but around his wife it's another matter. His entire being is attuned to her mood. The one thing he wants to avoid is upsetting her, to the point that even his son has noticed how meek and submissive he is around her. At the same time, it's not that he dislikes being married to her. He does, however, find himself wishing to be properly understood, and so his few friends tend to be much like him, fathers with similar concerns and temperaments.

The book follows Kabuto as he lives his life and tries to figure out how to retire while also debating whether it would even be right/fair for someone like him to be free to live a peaceful life.

REVIEW: Bullet Train (book) by Kotaro Isaka, translated by Sam Malissa

Bullet Train is a Japanese thriller. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This book focuses on multiple sets of characters, all of whom are traveling on the same bullet train. There's Kimura, a recovering alcoholic whose young son is comatose in the hospital. Kimura is planning to kill Satoshi, the Prince, the angelic-looking but sociopathic teenager who hurt Kimura's son. There's Nanao, the self-proclaimed "unluckiest assassin in the world," who's been sent to steal a suitcase - a seemingly easy job, but Nanao knows that nothing is ever easy when he's involved. And then there's Tangerine and Lemon, two assassins who've been tasked with retrieving their boss's kidnapped son and a suitcase, the very same suitcase that Nanao has been sent to steal. Their job seems easy too, and just about done...until the boss's son suddenly winds up dead.

This is set in the same world as Isaka's Three Assassins and takes place sometime after it (a few years, I think?). Although this can be read as a standalone, there are a few references to characters and events here and there that will make more sense if you've read Three Assassins first.

REVIEW: Three Assassins (book) by Kotaro Isaka, translated by Sam Malissa

Three Assassins is a Japanese thriller. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Suzuki is an ordinary man seeking vengeance for his wife, who was murdered by a drunk driver. The driver was the son of Mr. Terahara, the man in charge of a criminal gang called Fräulein. The best Suzuki could come up with was to infiltrate Fräulein and somehow get close enough to Mr. Terahara's son in order to kill him. Unfortunately, getting into Fräulein has involved helping the gang sell drugs to young women. If that wasn't bad enough, now he's being asked to kill someone in order to prove his loyalty to the gang. He's not sure he can bring himself to go that far.

When an assassin known as the Pusher kills Mr. Terahara's son right in front of Suzuki's eyes, he's suddenly drawn even further into a world of almost supernaturally talented assassins. The Pusher kills his victims by pushing them into oncoming traffic and then slipping away unnoticed. The Whale convinces his victims to take their own lives, using only his words and unnerving gaze. The Cicada is a knife expert capable of ruthlessly killing whole families. 

Can a man like Suzuki, a former teacher, somehow navigate this world and find a way out, or will he end up as dead as any of the assassins' other victims?