The Mantis A Novel

Kōtarō Isaka, 1971-

eBook - 2023

From the award-winning, internationally bestselling author of Bullet Train and Three Assassins, The Mantis is a propulsive thriller set in Tokyo's criminal underworld about the intrigue and tensions a family man faces as he tries to hide his secret life as a hitman. 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. But the most lucrative jobs involve taking out other professional as...sassins, 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 readers have come to crave-assassins with quirky codenames and modi operandi, page-turning action sequences, madcap energy, and razor-sharp humor-making the novel a frenetic, unputdownable read that hurtles readers toward a thrilling climax.

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Subjects
Published
[United States] : Abrams 2023.
Language
English
Corporate Author
hoopla digital
Main Author
Kōtarō Isaka, 1971- (author)
Corporate Author
hoopla digital (-)
Online Access
Instantly available on hoopla.
Cover image
Physical Description
1 online resource
Format
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
ISBN
9798887070926
Access
AVAILABLE FOR USE ONLY BY IOWA CITY AND RESIDENTS OF THE CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS OF JOHNSON COUNTY, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, HILLS, AND LONE TREE (IA).
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Isaka returns to the hidden world of Tokyo's assassins introduced in Bullet Train (2021) with the story of Kabuto, a respected assassin who falls prey to the tension between his profession and his family life. Kabuto has asked his handler, the Doctor, for release, but only earns the concession of high-stakes hits on underworld figures that honors his distaste for killing innocents. These hits, the Doctor decrees, will pay Kabuto's way out. But when fellow assassins start turning up in the daily life he lives as a devoted husband and father, Kabuto knows that the Doctor has targeted him. That's no immediate concern, as quick-thinking Kabuto easily swats away attackers, but it's not looking good for his dreams of retiring into a blissfully dull existence. The ensuing war between Kabuto and the Doctor showcases deft plotting and explosive action, but Kabuto's cunning psychological traps and overwhelming love for his family propel the story. Themes of sacrifice, legacies, and thwarted dreams paired with sharp wit and complex characters pack a weighty punch.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.