Ghost Hunt 8 by Fuyumi Ono and Shiho Inada: B-

From the back cover:
Inside a beautiful restaurant overlooking a serene cove lurks a deadly secret that makes people go crazy… literally! Mysterious deaths are not uncommon in this evil eatery. The ghost hunters from Shibuya Psychic Research decide to tackle the case, even though past mediums have never survived their own investigations. To make matters worse, Naru becomes possessed during an exorcism, leaving the remaining SPR members not only to save the day, but to rescue Naru himself!

Review:
This volume was rather boring, largely because the case at the restaurant did not make a lot of sense. People were possessed by ghosts that made them do violent things, then Naru got possessed, then Mai had a bunch of confusing dreams, and then there was lots of talk about driftwood.

Naru’s possession was, of course, the most interesting thing, and it was revealed that he has some dangerous “capabilities,” so if the spirit were able to access them, they’d all be in trouble. It also seems possible that the Naru who has been appearing in Mai’s dreams may actually be the real Naru serving as a guide. It’s hard to tell about that, though, and who knows if we’ll ever get any kind of confirmation.

Even here, in volume 8, some of the supporting characters were little more than familiar faces. Of the exorcist consultants that SPR regularly hires, only Monk-san has received any kind of development. John Brown, the Catholic priest from Australia, has particularly been neglected.

I’m reading volumes 8 and 9 from the library, since I only own through 7, and had originally been thinking I would buy copies for myself at some point. Now, I am not so sure. I’ll still continue with the series, but with the slide in quality, I think I might be surly if I had to pay for it.