I’d never just jumped into the middle of a series before, but the nature of Case Closed made it an entirely painless process. The “case briefing” laid out the basic premise (including a helpful list of detecting equipment), and it was pretty easy to grasp the essential relationships between the characters. Coming in at the beginning of a murder mystery at a skating rink also meant that I wasn’t totally lost story-wise.
There are two complete cases in this volume, each featuring a slightly different cast of supporting characters. I found it impossible to venture a guess at the culprits, since at least one murder method was insanely convoluted, but was entertained nonetheless. The way Jimmy had of attributing the solutions to an adult detective was slightly silly, but I did enjoy it when he’d be forced to feign childish exuberance over some random thing in order to bring about the discovery of a crucial bit of evidence.
In the final two chapters, Jimmy and some friends were more concerned with escaping criminals rather than apprehending them, and in the course of events, Jimmy was seriously injured. The volume ended on a cliffhanger, but with thirty or so more volumes of this series left to go, even I know enough not to be worried.
I definitely enjoyed what I read here and am intrigued enough that I have already made plans to acquire the first volume so I can try reading this series from the beginning.
Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.
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