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  • Published: 1 April 2021
  • ISBN: 9781473581432
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 464

Bullet Train




Tie-in edition for the major motion picture release in April 2022.

Five killers. One train journey. But who will survive? The original and propulsive thriller from a massive Japanese bestseller.

* NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE *

Satoshi looks like an innocent schoolboy but he is really a viciously cunning psychopath. Kimura's young son is in a coma thanks to him, and Kimura has tracked him onto the bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka to exact his revenge. But Kimura soon discovers that they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard.

Nanao, the self-proclaimed 'unluckiest assassin in the world', and the deadly partnership of Tangerine and Lemon are also travelling to Morioka. A suitcase full of money leads others to show their hands. Why are they all on the same train, and who will get off alive at the last station?

'A locked-room crime drama played out at 200mph' The Times

'A high-octane thriller... Thoroughly enjoyable' Guardian

Readers can't stop reading Bullet Train!

'Original, quirky and highly entertaining'

'A dark-humoured, twisty thriller that's a lot of fun'

'One of the most addictive thrillers I've ever read... smart and cinematic'

'What an original novel! Exciting from beginning to end'

'A whole lot of darkly comic fun'

'A thrilling ride'

Bullet Train was originally published in Japan with the title Maria Beetle.

  • Published: 1 April 2021
  • ISBN: 9781473581432
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 464

About the author

Kotaro Isaka

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 twelve of his books have been adapted for film or TV. He is the author of the internationall bestseller Bullet Train.

Also by Kotaro Isaka

See all

Praise for Bullet Train

Entertaining...high-speed...with lots of twists and turns...it has a Tarantino-meets-the-Coen-Brothers feel to it.

The Times

The action accelerates up and down the ten carriages but the question is: who will get off alive?

Daily Mail

An entertaining thriller... Kill Bill on wheels or a locked-room crime drama played out at 200mph

The Times

Isaka knows how to keep his readers on their toes. His characters are colourful, varied and morally despicable...there's much more to it than a thrill-a-minute action fix. It's dark, funny, absurd and it certainly boast the most interesting bunch of characters we've seen in a while.

Crime Fiction Lover

As the body count increases Isaka introduces new characters and juggles the survivors' storylines adroitly.

Sunday Times

Part high-octane thriller, part farce, this is an unusual and thoroughly enjoyable read

Laura Wilson, Guardian

Unlike anything you're likely to have read before...white-hot with double-crosses

Financial Times

This propulsive novel tauntingly flaunts its cinematic bona fides

Angus Batey, Quietus

Myriad twists... a high-octane dark comedy as the body count stacks up.

Straits Times

Breakneck pacing, masterful character development, and well-timed comic relief set Isaka's pitch-perfect (and seamlessly translated) thriller up for blockbuster status...a twisty, darkly hilarious game of musical chairs

Booklist, starred review

Impressive...Isaka keeps the suspense high throughout. Fans of intricate action fiction will be enthralled

Publishers Weekly, starred review

Bullet Train is a knockabout black comedy with a plot as fast-moving as the express train from Tokyo to Morioka on which the action takes place

Christina Hardyment, The Times, *Audiobooks of the Year*

A highly original take on the locked-room mystery: twisty, funny and horrifying in its examination of organised crime, bullying, bad luck and psychopathy

Natasha Cooper, Literary Review, *Books of the Year*

Stylish and darkly comic

Fraser Massey, ASLEF Journal

Discover more

Article
Hot tip: Bullet Train author, Kotaro Isaka, might be the next Murakami

Learn about Bullet Train author, Kotaro Isaka, and why he’s being heralded as the next Murakami.

Video
Bullet Train: Official Trailer 2

Just get off the train. Easy, right? Watch the new trailer for Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt, exclusively in movie theatres August 5.

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