Thank you so much for the opportunity to listen to this brilliant book. I had actually just recently read the book and while I loved it, I was at times confused by who was who and keeping track of the characters, listening to the book took all of this away. A brilliant audio experience, loved the narration .

Stylish, twisty, funny and hard to put down thriller about a number of different killers on varying missions all staying in the same hotel. . Hugely original, very entertaining and I had no idea where the story was going but really enjoyed the journey and the conclusion was deeply satisfying.

Recommend to anybody who enjoys a thriller and appreciates a fresh take on this genre and will be strongly recommending the audiobook.

So I have now read and listened to Hotel Lucky Seven, I really hope I get the opportunity to watch it on the big screen next! It would make a brilliant film.

A bunch of assassins chase each other around a hotel. This is the fourth book of the series that I have read. The only one that I really liked was “Bullet Train”. I thought that this book had too many uninteresting characters and an extremely convoluted plot. I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

Hotel lucky seven by Kotaro Isaka

Well nothing brings your intrigue into a story like peculiar names like pillow and blanket when it comes to the opening scene of a book with two hotel maids.

This books was odd and interesting all at the same time. Definitely an interesting read and kept my attention with the slew of violence and a good crime fiction get away.

Thank you NetGalley and RBMedia

I enjoyed this latest instalment of the Assassins series much more than the third even though, at times, I did get a bit confused with the characters.

I listened to the audio version, which was well narrated by Pun Bandhu. Bandhu has a nice relaxed delivery even when the action becomes slightly crazy. He had good delineation between characters without resorting to "doing" voices.

The story this time sees Ladybug delivering a birthday present - nice and simple right? Of course it never is when Ladybug is involved. Unfortunately he finds himself caught up in a complex operation where a woman with an eidetic memory is being chased by 6 sadistic assassins who need to bring her to their client intact. It's certainly not what they are used to. They'd much rather do horrific things to anyone who gets in their way.

Add to this cast of characters a politician and his sidekick who were part of the first in this series, an old lady called Koko who is an expert hacker, two "cleaners" called Pillow and Blanket, several other assassins, numerous helpful hotel employees and one or two purely innocent bystanders - all chasing each other round a hotel and you've got the perfect crazy story.

Loved it. Highly recommended whether you've read the other books or not. Funny and clever with one or two twists to keep you guessing. You have to feel sorry for Ladybug.

Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for the audio advance review copy. Most appreciated.

If you like creepy, well-developed, fun to love/hate characters and a great plot about various competing groups of apparent sociopaths, this is the book for you. I don't know what it says about me, but I loved, Hotel Lucky Seven, which I read in audio. Unfortunately, it is the fourth and apparently final book in Kotaro Isaka's "Assassins" series, but it is an easy book to read as a stand alone. I have acquired Book 1 to see if it is worth reading the first three. Usually, if characters are unlikeable, I don't like a book. But some evil characters are fun to read about even though they have few or no redeeming qualities. It helps when some of them get their comeuppance. There is a moral code in this book although you have to look for it.

So, I'm just going to list some things about the characters, all of whom have funny code names. The story's arc is about a young woman who cannot forget anything she has ever seen or heard. She has been used by a kind of puppet master who oversees a number of criminal enterprises. He has suggested he might need to do away with her when she has served his needs. She will know too many of his deepest secrets due to her memory. The girl with the memory is running off and decides to stay in this hotel, rumored to be a hotel where nobody dies.

The puppet master character weaves through the book as a player in politics and a successful businessman in noncriminal enterprises, as well as a crime boss. Two of his "employees" who never seem to get paid, are young women who clean hotel rooms as a cover for more sinister work. They met as school girls. Then, we have "The Six" who are a gang of gorgeous looking criminals with a particular task involving the girl with the memory. They are known for using unique weapons very effectively in well-coordinated attacks. We have a famous ex-politician who lives quite well and is always seen with his sidekick bodyguard. He lost his wife and child to a devastating accident. He then made national news when his bodyguard and he took down a crazed man with a knife in front of a lot of school children on public transit, thus rocketing to even more fame for his bravery. He is out of politics, but still powerful and beloved.

Two interesting female criminals play important roles. One, is an older former female criminal who is a computer whiz and sets out to help the girl with the great memory. There is an older current female gang leader who has given one of her employees a task that, as usual for him, goes wrong and turns into one huge mess. This employee plays a large part in everything that goes wrong in what was set up as a well-thought out plan he knows nothing about. There is the porter in the hotel who uses bad judgment. There are a couple of bodyguards meant to help the girl with the memory and the older former female criminal who never show up for the job but ultimately have roles to play. And so forth. There are some gruesome deaths and near misses. These are, after all, sociopathic people.

After listening to this intricate but not hard to follow plot with all these characters whose natures make them easy to remember-- honest-- there is a quite satisfactory conclusion. I hope reading the first three entries in this series will be just as satisfying. Also, the narrator, Pun Bandhu, is fabulous!

Book Title: Hotel Lucky Seven
Series: The Assassin #4
Author: Kotard Isaka
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Pun Banahu
Publisher: RB Media
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: November 19, 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages 304

I was drawn to this when I read the names of the lead characters - I was sure it was going to at least be somewhat entertaining.

Story starts when Nanao - code name Ladybird - a professional assassin is given what seems to be a simple enough task-deliver a painting to a man in a specific room in Tokyo’s Winton Palace Hotel. However nothing is ever simple to this assassin.

Other characters in this story are the professional team of Pillow and Blanket, who are hotel maid at the hotel.

This story or I should say this misadventure did keep me curious!
My first Kptard Isaka and I am looking forward to another.

Want to thank NetGalley and RB Media for granting me this early audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 19, 2024.

This is another thrilling book by Kotaro Isaka. This is the 4th instalment, with books Three Assassins and Bullet Train before this. The story follows Nanao aka Ladybug on his next mission. But if we do know Ladybug, we know he is plagued with terrible luck, turning seemingly simple missions into wild, chaotic adventures. True to Isaka's style, the story is fast paced, unpredictable and compelling, keeping the reader hooked.

This was my first ever audiobook experience and while the story itself was great, I didn't enjoy the narrators delivery - it wasn't to my taste. That said, I have never experienced an audiobook so I have nothing to compare it to. This could just be my personal preference, rather than a reflection of the production quality.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kotaro Isaka for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC audiobook for Hotel Lucky Seven coming out November 19, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was so excited to receive this audiobook! I absolutely love Japanese novels. Translated works are amazing to me. I also really love books set in hotels. I’ve actually only read Bullet Train, so I need to read the other two books. I think this book was really fun! I didn’t feel like there was as much action as Bullet Train, but I really enjoyed the storyline. There was assassin drama, which I loved. I definitely loved the narrator and it felt like I was in on the story. I would definitely read more books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Japanese stories!

A frenetic and often confusing novel about assassins and politicians in Tokyo. By the author of Bullet Train. Even though this is #4 in the series, there were quite a few references to the bullet train episode in which many people were killed and the two men who managed to take down the gunman were injured. We are especially interested in the one who subsequently rose to political power by the time of this novel. I cannot tell what the author intends to be serious vs humorous. Some of the characters have funny names, like the two women, Pillow and Mattress, who work in a hotel, or the agents Cola and Soda. I felt like I was inside a Connections puzzle. Lots of poison-tipped blow gun darts, close calls, and a high body count. It seemed almost slapstick. Assuming that is the intent, then 4 stars.
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for access to the audiobook for review purposes. Happy publication day! #HotelLuckySeven is now available.

I enjoyed the heck out of Bullet Train when I read it a number of years ago, and I absolutely loved the criminally underrated film version that came out a couple of years ago. But I’m thrilled to say Nanao (aka Ladybug) is now back for another adventure. And like last time, he really has the worst luck. Like last time, it was only supposed to be a simple job. All he had to do was deliver a package to a hotel room. But in typical Nanao style, mistakes happen and things go wrong…and fast. And I mean fast. There is very little preamble to the start of this crazy tale. As with Bullet Train, Kotaro Isaka has filled this book with fast-paced, wild situations and some truly over the top characters (think Bullet Train type craziness only happening in a hotel instead of on a train). The book was translated by Brian Bergstrom and I think he’s done an admirable job. As for the audio narration, that was carried out by Pun Bandhu and he did an excellent job. This book is just so much fun, and I would absolutely love to see this one get the feature film treatment as well. I’d like to thank RBmedia | Recorded Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review an advanced copy of the audio version of Hotel Lucky Seven.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R7DTX2PTTLWLD/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Ladybird from Bullet Train is back in Hotel Lucky Seven by Kotaro Isaka.

"Ladybird has a simple task. Deliver a painting and leave. But his serial unluckiness has him fighting bodyguards and assassins and government officials. All he wants to do is go home."

Isaka uses a hotel instead of a train this time for Ladybird and his unluckiness. You have to suspend belief a little that no one would notice a group of assassins and bodies in several rooms. It seems like there are several storylines going on but Isaka ties them all together at the end - lots of surprises. Isaka has an interesting world of 'professionals'

Pun Bandhu does a nice job with the audio.

Good pick if you're looking for some humor with your crime fiction.

This is the 4th book in the Assassins series. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series and it didn’t hinder my understanding or ability to follow the story. enjoyment of the book.

The entire book takes place in a hotel. There are lots of assassins, murder, random names (blanket, pillow & ladybug) and surprising humor.

I enjoyed Kotaro Isaka story/writing and Brian Bergstroms translations. Pun Bandhu did an excellent job with the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley & RBmedia for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Being a fan of Bullet Train, I jumped at the advanced audiobook copy of Hotel Lucky Seven. This is a reciew of the audiobook, which did not really work for me. I was just totally lost with the narration. There was not much to distinguish the narrator's rendition of the diffenent characters, all the more difficult as (i have read others say, but i could not really confirm on the audiobook, it was written as a screenplay). Moreover, the narrator was monotonous and droning, flat and emotionless. I will need to get a copy to read. DNF

This is an interesting one.. overall this is a solid thriller. It has a lot of action and violence but also has some cheek to it.

That being said it wasn’t for me personally for several reasons. For one while it’s a very good translated book changing it into another language does interrupt the flow of the writing which takes me out of the story especially when there isn’t a direct translation for a part of the material.

I listened to the audio book and the narrator was fine although since two of the characters that start the story are females named Pillow and Blanket (which was another part I had trouble with hearing) and it is a male narrator which doesn’t mesh in my head well.
But he does a good job with the material. I sped it up to 1.25x to have a more natural pace.

Lastly, I have a fear of elevators and this book didn’t help! As I said all me personal issues! But I’m not going to allow my challenges affect the rating of a good book! I was also happy as one of my challenges is to read a translated book so now I can open my prize!

I am thankful to have gotten an audio ALC for free from Netgalley and Recorded Books to enjoy which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

What an exciting ultra fast paced novel. So much fun to read. With characters named Pillow, Blanket and Soda, how could you not love it! From the same author as Bullet Train, this was a rip roaring wild ride. Weapons such as blow darts, sheets and explosives. Multiple assassins at the same hotel trying to assassinate each other. Throw in a corrupt politician for good measure. There is lots of gore and violence.

The narrator (Paul Bandhu) was great. Very high production quality.

Thank you to RB media for the advance listener copy.