Harvill Secker seizes ‘gripping’ new novel from Bullet Train author Isaka

Harvill Secker has signed a “gripping” new novel from Kotaro Isaka after publishing Bullet Train—now a film starring Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson—in 2021, and Three Assassins in 2022.

World English-language rights to The Mantis were acquired by publishing director Liz Foley from Yuma Terada at CTB. The novel has been translated by Sam Malissa and will be published on 9th November.

The synopsis reads: “A seemingly ordinary family man tries to juggle his home life with his secret job as an assassin. 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.

“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.

“But Kabuto is worn out with the business of murder. He is trying to break free from the Doctor’s control. His wife wants more from him and his teenage son needs more attention. So he’s trying to pay his way out of the Doctor’s employment with a few last jobs. But the most lucrative jobs involve taking out other professional assassins and his final assignment puts both him and his family in danger.”

Foley said: “It’s a thrill to have another wholly original thriller from Kotaro Isaka to follow the phenomenal Bullet Train and Three Assassins. The offbeat underworld Tokyo he conjures in his books is unlike any other and it’s a great pleasure to revisit it in The Mantis.”