Kabuto lives a double life: one as a loving father and dutiful husband, the other as a cold-blooded contract killer. Only one of those lives is terrifying – the other is just murder for hire. Trouble is, Kabuto wants out of the game: he’s tired of the bloodshed and can barely stomach killing other professionals, let alone the innocent. Leaving the criminal underworld is classically a very risky move, but it’s especially difficult when he also has to make sure his wife’s happy and his son’s on the right path. He’s going to need all his wits about him, and then some.

Told in a series of episodic vignettes, The Mantis is a wonderful chameleon of a novel, equally capable of being gripping, amusing and poignant, whether it’s describing a high-stakes conversation at the dinner table or a matter-of-fact fist fight. Kabuto is a brilliantly contradictory character, lethally competent but socially hapless, anxiously devoted to never upsetting his wife but perfectly capable of keeping his biggest secret from her. It’s a testament to Kotaro Isaka’s writing that it’s impossible not to root for Kabuto.

Throughout the novel, the dramas of everyday life, from hornet nests to parent–teacher conferences, are perfectly juxtaposed with the cut-throat Tokyo underworld that fans of Isaka’s earlier novels will be immediately familiar with. It’s a juxtaposition which produces a humour and lightness that never threatens to undercut the emotional stakes. Isaka will make you smile and then he’ll make your stomach drop – that’s just the way the business goes.

The Mantis is a thrilling and endearing tale about a man trapped between two worlds and searching for an escape. It’s perfect for anyone who likes their family dramas with a little bit of murder on the side.