I really enjoyed this slightly bonkers story of five assassins, a suitcase full of money, a snake and a journey on the Japanese bullet train. It's original, quirky and highly entertaining. There are also some interesting musings on human psychology and the control one person can exert over another.

The plot is relatively straight forward but then nothing goes to plan. There is non-stop action as the suitcase passes from killer to killer and the body count begins to mount up. The characters are exaggerated to comic effect and come with names like Tangerine, Lemon and The Prince, who is a particularly nasty fourteen years old sociopath/psychopath.

This was a great read, twisty, intense and humorous. You will really want to know how the snake fits in! A very different and wickedly rewarding novel.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 killers on a train all looking for a case of cash, what could go wrong 😂

Absolute madness all round; a crazy plot and great characters, bloody brilliant!

I really liked it, obviously a unique storyline and one of defo not come across before (who has lol) doesn’t get more weird than that?!

In all though I tore through it and thought it was a good book and I’d defo read another done from the author for sure, gripping and fast paced , what more can you ask for?!

Bullet train by Kotaro Isaka is a story about five killers on a train from Shinkansen to Tokyo. They are all on a quest to find a suitcase full of money. But nothing is straightforward. Who will get to the case first? And what do they all have to do to get it?
I found this story to be quite mad. There are references of Thomas the tank engine and two of the killer’s names are Lemon and Tangerine. I also found it quite repetitive and lost interest in between. I was expecting more for this story and because of these reasons unfortunately I didn’t finish this book. If you like books with a Pulp Fiction vibe this book is for you. 3 stars from me.

5 killers on a high speed train, competing for a case of cash.

This book is just completely bizarre.

I think the intended humour, the Thomas the tank references ? Are maybe funny to a different culture. I don’t know maybe I just didn’t get it,

I also found it strangely slow to get into, disappointed as the blurb has so much promise.

Clearly very much a marmite book by other reviews,

Not for me.

Thanks to Harvill Secker and NetGalley for the review copy

I was looking forward to reading this book as it sounded an ideal premise for a fast paced, darkly humorous thriller Sadly, for me, it didn't live up to this as I found it difficult to read, I'm not sure if it was the translation but the writing didn't flow and the dialogue felt stilted. I also wasn't particularly interested in the characters, and unfortunately gave up about halfway through
Thank you to netgalley and random house for an advance copy of this book

The bullet train is on the route from Tokyo to Morioka. Aboard the train is various people with criminal backgrounds
The reason each are on the train is to try and obtain a suitcase full of cash.
The journey and mission, brings them into contact with each other and this as well as the great unique characterisation is what makes this story very entertaining indeed.
This is a crime mystery but the injected humour really takes the edge off the seriousness.
An enjoyable read with twists and turns. It's something a bit different, it has that typical Japanese quirk but it's a well crafted tale with a satisfying climax.
My thanks go to the author, publisher and Netgalley in providing this arc in return for a honest review.

The blurb for Bullet Train sounded really promising and exciting however I found the book extremely slow to get going with it never grabbing my attention or me finding it interesting.

Sorry - not one for me

I had high expectations for this given some reviews and the blurb, however, I felt the book didn't hit my expectations. I was disappointed and bored in some places, I felt it was very repetitive with the storyline and for me, I couldn't get into. I am so gutted as I was so excited to read this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Isaka for allowing me to read this ARC.

I've seen mixed feedback on this but I was definitely in the YES! camp. It's a dark-humoured, twisty thriller-y book that's a lot of fun. It's also very clever; really well plotted, with some great characters.

Five killers on a train all competing with each other for the same suitcase... sounds exciting, right?

Unfortunately I found the first half of the book incredibly dull and not much happened. Once it gets going it's an enjoyable, albeit silly, thriller. It is a really clever premise and I especially enjoyed the switching between perspectives and how all the storylines tie in together - I just feel like something was lacking.

I look forward to the film adaptation, even if it has been taken away from it's roots and being a big Hollywood blockbuster.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.</i>

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage for the arc of Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka.

4 stars- This was such a great read, well twisty and gripping and I loved it so much, this is an amazing book, not going to spoil much as you need to read for youself but there is a bullet train from Tokyo which is full of not 1, or 2 BUT 5 KILLERS!! whom are competing for this specific suitcase in which is full of cash... who will get to the last station first. This is a first to read a Japanese Bestseller author and wow this is sensational!! Recommend to all who love THRILLERS!!

4 STARS!⭐⭐⭐⭐

A rich and dark comedy in the same vein as Fargo and Shallow Grave set on a train. That's an odd mix which is an odd novel but it's odd in a good sense. A really good sense. I had such fun reading this, a kind of locked room mystery read. There are some strange people on board. I found it exciting racing along on a train whilst getting to know these crazy characters.

Fun, fast and crazy in a good way!

This book is quite a bizarre read in some ways. While it is a crime, mystery it almost falls into a slightly comedic genre and this makes it highly entertaining. I'll try to explain and not give anything away!

The bullet train is on the route from Tokyo to Morioka. Aboard the train is various people with a criminal background. A psychopath who thinks he is being really clever. The worlds most unlucky assassin. An alcoholic father. Finally, a duo who wind each other up!

The reason each of these is on the train is for different circumstances. The journey, however, brings them into contact with each other in various ways, and it is their meeting as well as their characters that make this entertaining reading.

This is definitely a character-driven story and the author takes each of the characters and gives them a full set of traits, flaws and outlooks. Each character is definitely an individual and has their own strengths and weaknesses. A lot of detail is gone into with each one and at times I was impatient to get on with the story rather than hear more of the characters. The author did go "off track", no pun intended, several times with thoughts and conversations, but this is also how most people do work. A thought will lead off on a different tangent, before coming back to the original point.

While this is listed as a thriller I thought it more of a mystery read. Yes, there are murders, but not anything that had me on the edge of my seat kind of thriller feel. As this is a train it is more of a "locked-in" novel.

An entertaining and enjoyable read with many twists and mishaps. It is one I would recommend if you are looking for a more character-driven mystery novel.

Bullet Train is a twist on the classic locked room mystery.

Like many crime stories it is almost impossible to give a full review without giving away any spoilers. That said almost everyone on the train was or is part of the criminal fraternity.

Partners, Tangerine and Lemon, have been employed to rescue a kidnap victim and return the suitcase containing the ransom money. Tangerine is well read and the brains whereas Lemon is more of the muscle and has an in depth knowledge of Thomas the Tank Engine, even keeping a sheet of Thomas stickers.

Kimura is out to get revenge on the Prince, who is an intelligent, manipulative psychopath and had pushed Kimora's son off of a building.

Nanao has been employed to steal the suitcase of ransom money, but his luck is so bad that there is soon a trail of "accidentally" dead bodies and the suitcase goes missing.

I really enjoyed this story, there aren't any heroes in the usual sense of the word, but some of the characters are more ruthless than others. Tangerine and Lemon's easy banter, Nanao's bad luck is almost comical if it weren't so deadly and Kimura's parents are a surprising yet timely addition. All the strands come together nicely in this brisk paced crime story.

Lemon and Tangerine (Really?!?!) are 'asked' to acquire a kidnapped gangster's son and to also bring back the ransom money, this they do and intend on using the famous Bullet Train to get the son home to his father, things don't go according to plan.

To make the train journey even more difficult, there are other killers on the train, who will come out on top?

I was excited by the premise of this book and indeed it did start well, but I felt it dragged on for too long, I also had a couple of unanswered questions.

I had sympathy for some of the characters, and some I just couldn't care less about, the sign of a good book!

On the whole a good read, was an interesting concept, but slightly too long

I am utterly besotted with Japan, and the second I saw the title of this book i knew I HAD to read it. I'm so glad I did. This is so gripping and thrilling, with little bits of humour. It's so dramatic and keeps you guessing. The characters are so brilliantly written, even the ones you hate. Fantastic book, I'm so glad I read this.

At times this was quirky and fun. I really enjoyed the start with what felt like a different style and genre to the norm but it did tail off and the novelty wore off as the story progressed rather than, as I expected it to, building to a frantic finale.
For what is essentially an action story I felt it did miss a bit of a trick by basically going into the past tense for the finish rather than following the remainder of the book telling it in the present tense(!?)
The bullet train setting was interesting to begin but it was left too much to the imagination overall to believe how characters get up to what they get up to and how other passengers seemingly remain oblivious. The fact hat there aren't many other passengers at all would mean the train would be quiet and anything happening would be blindingly obvious - this point stuck with me as the story went on and overall spoiled it a bit. Be interesting to see how this is handled in the upcoming film version(?)
Overall I enjoyed it and it was something different. The unique characters were portrayed well amongst the action and there was humour too. However, 4 stars from me, and interested to catch the related film.
As ever, thanks for the ARC.

At least 90% of this book takes place on the train. You get a hefty number of different perspectives but in a good way, it doesn't get confusing but it sure does get interesting. Its so clever how it all comes together and keeps changing in such a small claustrophobic environment. I really enjoyed.

An odd but rather captivating story set on the Japanese Bullet Train. Riding on the train are a number of hired gunmen each seemingly working to orders from the same person but at first, they are not aware of this.. There is also a psychopathic schoolboy in the mix of this very Japanese morality tale. The plot meanders from person to person slowly linking everything together. All this is interspersed with philosophical discussion. Dead bodies soon mount up as the train hurtles towards its and the plots final destination.

Bullet Train is a whole lot of darkly comic fun. A Tarantinoesque whodunnit, if you like. Out of a selection of cold-blooded killers, I found myself rooting for some while positively hating others. It’s a fast-paced train ride with clues, backstory, and the occasional (ok, fairly frequent, but hell what do you expect from experienced killers) bust up, between every stop. Isaka deftly weaves the storylines together towards a satisfying solution that I wasn’t expecting. A great cinematic read.

Will aim to post review to Goodreads closer to publication date