Three Assassins

Note to self, Bec is the EXPERT on this book. They read it three times within a year, AND wrote pages upon pages of notes and theories on various aspects of the characters and narrative. FOR FUN. Thus, they will likely find my lack of personal notes here disappointing. But what more do I have to say, other than I thought it was a fun read? Cicada was my favorite character of course, hands down, after Suzuki, and I enjoyed watching as the separate storylines came together. I found this one nearly as good as Bullet Train, but still enjoyed that book best, given its faster pace and humor. 

I will say, it was well worth it to reread Bullet Train after this one, given that they're a part of the same fictional universe, so you've got some good connections to Three Assassins tucked away in there, even aside from the obvious Suzuki cameo. 

It was adapted into a film in Japan in 2015, a revenge thriller titled Grasshopper, which may be worth checking out. 

This is the only translated novel I read as an e-book rather than its print edition, during a weekend shift at work.

I stumbled across this book review of Three Assassins and thought it was particularly well-written and worth a read, in addition to the NYT article I've linked to this page.

"With its cavalcade of characters and dense, claustrophobic setting, “Bullet Train” steams forward with the frenetic chaos of a Scooby-Doo chase sequence. By contrast, “Three Assassins” is a sparser, sourer thriller, its slow pursuit distending across Tokyo and leaving plenty of time for dread."