“Luck is like a train schedule. Sometimes you make it, sometimes you don’t.”
Prologue
The story begins aboard a speeding bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka, where multiple assassins with conflicting missions find themselves entangled in a deadly game. A briefcase full of money and a kidnapped crime lord’s son set the stage for chaos.
Chapters 1-5: The Assassins Board
Five assassins—each with codenames based on fruits (Tangerine, Lemon, Prince, etc.)—board the train. Kimura, a desperate father, seeks revenge for his son’s near-fatal fall. Meanwhile, the seemingly harmless schoolboy “Prince” reveals himself as a cunning psychopath manipulating events.
Chapters 6-10: Hidden Agendas
Tangerine and Lemon, professional hitmen, realize their mission to retrieve the briefcase is compromised. The venomous “Ladybug,” an unlucky assassin, is mistakenly drawn into the conflict. Prince begins psychologically tormenting other passengers, including a retired yakuza.
Chapters 11-15: Blood on the Tracks
Violence erupts as alliances shift. Lemon’s bizarre obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine becomes a recurring motif. The briefcase changes hands multiple times, and Kimura confronts Prince about his son’s accident, unaware of the boy’s true nature.
Chapters 16-20: The Snake in the Grass
A deadly snake, secretly released on the train, adds to the chaos. Ladybug discovers his role as an unwitting pawn in a larger conspiracy. Flashbacks reveal Prince’s history of manipulation and murder.
Chapters 21-25: End of the Line
The train hurtles toward disaster as the assassins’ paths violently converge. Prince’s master plan unravels, leading to a brutal showdown. The survivors confront the puppetmaster behind the entire scheme in a final, bloody confrontation.
Key ideas
- Fate vs. chance in criminal underworlds
- The banality of evil in child antagonists
- Dark humor as a coping mechanism
- Interconnectedness of strangers’ lives
- Japan’s cultural juxtaposition of order and chaos
Notable Adaptations
| 2022 | Film: Bullet Train | Starring Brad Pitt, directed by David Leitch |
| 2023 | Stage Play | Adapted for Tokyo theater |
| 2021 | Audio Drama | Full-cast Japanese production |
The 2022 film adaptation notably expanded the story’s international appeal, though it made significant changes to characters and plotlines from the original novel.
Who should read this book?
- Fans of darkly comedic crime fiction
- Readers who enjoy multiple-perspective thrillers
- Those interested in Japanese contemporary literature
- Admirers of unconventional antagonists