Fantastic! We get to see a lot more facetime for mr. monster, even if he isn't doing anything particularly nefarious on screen. None of this is so much cat-and-mouse as it is a delicious character study. The tale is suspenseful and I'm very unsure about everyone's real motivation. The power of the writing is so strong that I feel like I really should know, and I can back up every theory, but just below the surface there's very interesting reversed currents.

It was shocking to see such a monsterous sociopath cry with abandon. I mean, what the hell was that?

If I once needed just a little more inducement to continue through this whole manga, then it all just got thrown out the window. ( )

This volume was basically composed of two parts – the first part, with Tenma, his ex-fiancee, and Roberto, and the second part with Karl. Tenma continues to be doggedly good, saving two people who he knows could be dangerous to him. Seeing what Tenma's ex, Eva, had become, it was hard to imagine them ever being a couple – she was broke, her home had burned down, she drank all the time, and she even slept with Roberto.

The second part is odd. I have no idea what Johan's goal is, but I'm willing to continue and find out. It puts me on edge, knowing how much danger Karl, and his research partner Lotte, are in. I wouldn't be surprised if Johan either kills them or frames them for Edmund's death.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

http://mscongeniality.vox.com/library/post/reading-2007-january-820.html ( )