I'm starting Halloween a day early and bringing you the second Death Note novella: the Los Angeles BB Murder cases! Seeing as I really liked L: Change the World. I was eager to give this one a try. However, where the previous book was an action story, this one is a straight up murder mystery with all the complicated twists and turns you'd expect from Death Note. Let's begin.
Naomi Misora, an off duty FBI agent, never could have expected her time off would be interrupted by a message from none other than the world famous detective, L. L has taken a peculiar interest in a certain case going on in her home of LA, three suspicious and violent murders all taking place within the span of a few days, with the promise of a fourth on the way. Unable to turn down the offer to get back into the field, Naomi agrees to be L's eyes and hands on the case and get it solved before the next murder takes place. Her efforts aren't exactly helped (or are they?) by the appearance of a very strange private investigator who calls himself Ryuzaki.
This book, like Change the World before it, knows just the right amount of balance between what to bring in from the source material and what to make original. It's already noticeably darker than Change the World and, indeed, maybe even more than Death Note itself. The murders depicted in this book are very violent, something the manga didn't actually have despite all the death that took place in it. However, it knows better than to make the story a gore fest and keeps it on what made the source material such a success: the intelligence. Each murder is a puzzle that needs to be solved and the story does a good job at bringing the reader along for the ride. Naomi Misora is a great character to serve as our lead. She was a promising character from the manga (who was sadly underused) who makes quite a comeback in this story. She's savvy and smart and has a very likable personality. The book is also pretty good at not giving too much about her away, helping us to rediscover her as the story goes on.
The puzzles in this story are incredibly complex and, at some points, I did kind of wonder who would be able to even begin to solve these but then I thought: of course. L would. This really does give you an idea of what L's career was like before the events of the manga and you come to really believe that he'd be capable of solving a case as complicated as Kira's. The book is also written from the point of view of Mello, another favorite character, and one I was glad to hear more from. You get to know Mello a bit more from this book, how much he looked up to L and what being his successor meant to him. There's also the killer of the book, the mysterious Beyond Birthday, and the secret that binds him to both L and Kira. He makes for a great villain, and a deeply intimidating one.
While it is a pretty serious and violent book, it doesn't shy away from a bit of fun every now and then. This is L we're dealing with and his personality and mannerisms come through all throughout the story. Mello's commentary is riddled with interesting facts and tidbits from the Death Note universe as well as a lot of hate thrown at Kira and Near. Probably the only thing that kind of bothered me about this book, and I'm seriously nitpicking here....what the heck is with these names! Seriously, the names of these victims are just silly! Who in their right mind would name their child, their girl child Backyard Bottomslash?! You're just asking the other kids to make fun of them! I don't know if this was a translation thing or what but I seriously don't think that these could ever be real names of real people. But...then again...what do I know?
Final Verdict
Gripping, complex, entertaining, and just the perfect little gem for Death Note fans. With sinister twists leading up to the very last line of the book, this story is thrilling, fun and defiantly worth your money at your local bookstore.
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Next Time: These ladies make Regina George look like a sweet angel....
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