The Mantis: A Novel

by Kotaro Isaka, Brian Nishii (Read by), Pun Bandhu (Read by), Sam Malissa (Translator)

Overview

From the bestselling author of Bullet Train and Three Assassins, a propulsive Thriller about a family man with a deadly secret life

Kabuto is a highly skilled assassin eager to escape his dangerous profession and the hold his handler, the sinister Doctor, has over him. The Doctor, a real physician who hands over Kabuto’s targets as “prescriptions” in his regular appointments with him, doesn’t want to lose Kabuto as a profitable asset, but he agrees to let him pay his way out of his employment with a few last jobs. Only the most lucrative jobs involve taking out other professional assassins, and Kabuto’s final assignment puts him and his family—who have no idea about his double life—in danger.

The third book in a loose trilogy set in Kotaro Isaka’s imagined Tokyo criminal underworld, The Mantis features all the hallmarks of his work that listeners have come to crave—assassins with quirky codenames and modi operandi, action sequences, madcap energy, and razor-sharp humor—making the novel a frenetic audio experience that hurtles listeners toward a thrilling climax.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798212663496
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:	11/07/2023
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kotaro Isaka is a bestselling and multi-award-winning writer whose books have sold millions of copies around the world. He has won the Shincho Mystery Club Award, the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, the Japan Booksellers’ Award, and the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize. His novel Bullet Train is an international bestseller and the basis for an upcoming major film from Sony Pictures, starring Brad Pitt and Joey King.

Brian Nishii is a voice talent and award-winning audiobook narrator.

Pun Bandhu is an award-winning actor who has worked on Broadway, off Broadway, in TV, and in film. He is the recipient of the Colorado Theatre Guild’s Henry Award for Best Supporting Actor and New Dramatists’ Bowden Award for his distinguished collaboration on new works.

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.

Editorial Reviews

The story is a fascinating one, filled with moments of excitement and flashes of humor . . .”—New York Journal of Books

“[A] superb and intricately plotted thriller …Though Kabuto does commit violence, it isn't graphic and the novel is quite humorous. … it leads to a satisfying and moving end.”—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“A deep meditation on hope and regret and the pain of being seen. I loved it.”—Criminal Element

From the Publisher

[A] superb and intricately plotted thriller …Though Kabuto does commit violence, it isn't graphic and the novel is quite humorous. … it leads to a satisfying and moving end.

Shelf Awareness (starred review)

The story is a fascinating one, filled with moments of excitement and flashes of humor . . .

New York Journal of Books

A deep meditation on hope and regret and the pain of being seen. I loved it.

Criminal Element

Really intriguing . . . a slow burn and there are some surprising twists to be discovered.

Geekdad

Three Assassins feels like a fever dream that makes sense when you’re in it, but whose strange contours linger long after you wake up.”

New York Times on Three Assassins