‘Bullet Train’ by Kotaro Isaka is a thrilling and suspenseful novel that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. As a fan of crime and mystery novels, I was immediately drawn to this book and was not disappointed.

The story follows the journey of five assassins on a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka, each with their own mission and secrets. As they navigate through the train, tension rises and alliances are formed and broken. The fast-paced plot and constant twists and turns had me hooked from the very beginning.

One of the things I loved about this book was the diverse and well-developed characters. Each assassin has their own distinct personality and backstory, making them feel like real people rather than just fictional characters. Isaka does a fantastic job of weaving their stories together and keeping the reader invested in each of their fates.

The setting of the bullet train also adds a unique and exciting element to the story. The confined space and limited time frame ratchet up the intensity and make for a thrilling ride. Isaka’s writing is descriptive and vivid, bringing the train and its passengers to life in the reader’s mind.

Another aspect of the book that I appreciated was the clever and unpredictable plot. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, Isaka would throw in a surprising twist that left me reeling. The pacing of the story is perfect, with the right amount of action, suspense, and character development.

However, one thing that did bother me was the ending. While I won’t give any spoilers, I felt that it was a bit rushed and left some loose ends that could have been tied up. It left me with mixed feelings and longing for a more satisfying conclusion.

Overall, ‘Bullet Train’ is a highly entertaining and gripping read that I would highly recommend. It’s a rollercoaster of a ride that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Isaka’s writing is masterful, and I look forward to reading more of his work in the future.

I really struggled to get into this one., which was disappointing as I was looking forward to reading it.
I may give it another try in the future and hopefully enjoy it.

Can definitely see this as a movie and it does work very thrilling. I really enjoyed the ride and it was great escapism

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

This was....insane, but in a fun way! It's possible some of the satire passed me by as this is not a ponderous literary novel. The quirky characters were delightful and the action was great, almost campy?! All in all, a great action read. Now I need to see the movie!

Not an easy read. Lots of characters to keep track of and sadly I found the plot so improbable I was disappointed. From a promising start it just descended into farce.

This looked like a great novel but sadly just wasn’t for me. As a film tie in difficult to get through

Thanks to Kotaro and NetGalley for allowing me to read Bullet Train.

Initially I was intrigued by the book because of the setting.
However I found it to be farcical to the extreme and not particularly interesting.
Lemon and Tangerine conjured up images of the hapless gangsters in Kiss me Kate.

Fast paced thriller based on a train. A lot of characters to keep track off in a complex interlocking plot

Superb, a fast paced ride and found it difficult to put down.
Seriously this book played havoc with my life until I finished it.
Soon to be a film and given the actors playing the lead roles, really looking
forward to going to see it.

Fantastic read and extremely fast paced. If you don't keep up with the book you will get left behind! This is a book you need rot read almost in one go, else it will get confusing when you pick it up next! A great read!

This really did not work for me .. I couldn't follow who was doing what .. there are some kinky weird and surprising characters, and that is fun..but the layers of complexities of who are the bad guys baffled me .. one example: the terrorist with a secretly held gun has lost his son, and seeks revenge but he seems to get waylaid and found out almost immediately. I'm sure it's me because this comes with lots of praise!

Coming soon to theatres with an English film cast is Bullet Train. We meet many characters among the way and see how they all interlink and their paths cross all within the confines of a bullet train to the same destination. We meet people who work in the murkier side. Each chapter is told by different characters and the story flows wonderfully. I still have questions towards the end but it was a thrilling journey.

I dearly wanted to love this book but I struggled to warm to the characters and found it a little too dark for my taste.

Former assassin Kimura is on the bullet train looking for the Prince. The Prince, a 14 year old sadistic psychopath, is on the train for undisclosed reasons. Lemon and Tangerine have been hired by a very wealthy man to bring his son and a suitcase to him. Nanao, who trails bad luck behind him, has been hired to steal the suitcase. That’s five killers on a single train, and you really can’t afford to turn your back on anyone on that train

This was very dark and yet still had some humorous moments and characters, it contained many moments that I did not see occurring. The timeline of the story is set in flashbacks, therefore, we can a portrait of each of the characters' viewpoints which helped with the character development. Overall, a good thriller that kept me guessing.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

I struggled a bit with this one, so unfortunately, I didn’t finish it. I just couldn’t get into it and found it a bit odd.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Perhaps something was lost in translation, but I couldn't get into it at all. The conversations between characters didn't feel natural and it put me off continuing further than the first few chapters.

Bullet Train is unlike anything I've ever read before and it was so good!
I was expecting a thrilling read from this novel and not only did I get that but I also laughed so so so much while reading! I don't think I've ever laughed out loud this much at a book ever. My favourite characters were Tangerine and Lemon; I found their banter to just be so effortlessly hilarious and I was really rooting for them and their weird relationship.
I did find that there were moments in this book where the characters had philosophical debates about whether killing is wrong which was interesting at first but by the end of the book I found that topic a bit overdone and long-winded which affected my enjoyment of the story a little.
However overall I would definitely recommend this to people who love a good thriller but also love bizarre comedy and comedic duos!

This was a great novel, following the antic of a number of different assassins on the Bullet train. Tangerine and Lemon have been tasked with returning their bosses son and a suitcase. Ladybird has been tasked with stealing that suitcase for a client and getting off at the next stop. Sounds easy but Ladybird is so unlucky that whatever he does goes wrong.

Also on board is an innocent looking school boy, The Prince, but under that sweet teenager lurks a psychopath, who sent a small boy into a coma when he pushed him off a building. The boys father has followed him onto the train to take matters into his own hands.

The parties cross during this intrepid journey. Can any of them get their tasks done, each having to look over their shoulders for the other assassins and are these the only ones with missions to carry out?

I really enjoyed this story, it was quirky and fun and the ending is pretty cool. Each chapter was seen through the eyes of each character and I enjoyed returning characters from another novel by this author, the Three Assassins.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

What can I say except that this book is truly fantastic? I was hooked from the start and I loved that each chapter followed a different character in each part of the train. It’s a true masterpiece.

I found it hard to really get into this book and had to restart it a few times, I felt more eager to finish this knowing it shall be a movie at some point which is exciting. I feel the movie might be better than the book in this case it may be that the book just got lost somewhere in translation.