80,000+ Books in-stock in NZ 📚

Blog updates ✍️ Shirl’s May Reads & Book Briefing

The Mantis

3.86 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 2,491 ratings, 352 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Kabuto leads a double life as a seemingly ordinary family man and a skilled hitman. Struggling to balance his home life with his dangerous profession, he seeks to complete a few final contracts to buy his freedom from his handler, known only as the Doctor. As he takes on increasingly perilous assignments, including eliminating rival assassins, Kabuto's world threatens to unravel, putting both his family and himself in grave danger. The story explores whether a man can truly be both a good father and a deadly assassin.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3800
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for fans of gritty crime thrillers and complex characters facing moral dilemmas. Those who appreciate fast-paced narratives with a mix of family drama and high-stakes action will find this novel compelling.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Good dad or good assassin? Can he be both? From the internationally bestselling author of Bullet Train.

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 STEEL DAGGER FOR BEST THRILLER

Kabuto is an ordinary guy; stressed with work, hassled by his wife, and disrespected by his son. No wonder he visits his doctor so often. Except 'the Doctor' is actually his handler, and Kabuto is a hired assassin. The 'prescriptions' the Doctor hands over are his unlucky targets. Because although Kabuto may seem like a small man at home, he's really good at killing people.

Kabuto is worn out with the business of murder. He's trying to pay his way out of the Doctor's employment with a few last jobs. But the most lucrative contracts involve taking out other professional assassins, and his final assignment puts both him and his family in danger.

Picture a mantis raising up its blades. It looks fearsome, but it's still just a tiny insect. The mantis actually thinks it can win. Even though it's tiny, it's still ready to fight to the death.

'Unlike anything you're likely to have read before...white-hot with double-crosses' - Financial Times, on Bullet Train

Don't miss the next thrilling Kotaro Isaka book, Hotel Lucky Seven, available to pre-order now.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781787303935

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 November 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Harvill Secker

Contributors:

  • Translated by Sam Malissa

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 19.0mm

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 313g

Pages: 256

About the Author

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.

Also by Kotaro Isaka

View all

More from Crime & Thriller

View all

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.