『奇妙な集まり』

「探偵はその跡を見てなんくせつける…ただの批評家に過ぎねーんだぜ」
『名探偵コナン』

"You detectives are nothing more than critics who look at what we leave and complain about that",
"Detective Conan"

The second part of this series of....  memos...? What I thought about the series and the stories as I re-read them. So once again expect spoilers, as I link things with future cases, if such a link happens to pop up. The first 10 volumes were a bit uneven in quality, but from these volumes on, the series really starts to shine.

And I decided just now that I'lll discuss the Conan movies too. If I'm writing a series of Conan posts, I might as well include them as well, right?

Detective Conan manga & movies:
Part 1: Volumes 1 ~ 10
Part 2: Volumes 11~20; The Timebombed Skyscraper (1) / The Fourteenth Target (2)
Part 3: Volumes 21~30; The Last Wizard of the Century (3) / Captured in Her Eyes (4)
Part 4: Volumes 31~40; Countdown to Heaven (5) / The Phantom of Baker Street (6)
Part 5: Volumes 41~50; Crossroad in the Ancient Capital (7) / Magician of the Silver Sky (8) / Strategy Above the Depths (9)
Part 6:  Volumes 51~60; Private Eyes' Requiem (10) / Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure (11)
Part 7: Volumes 61~70; Full Score of Fear (12) / The Raven Chaser (13) / Lost Ship in the Sky (14)
Part 8: Volumes 71~80; Quarter of Silence (15) / The Eleventh Striker (16) / Private Eye in the Distant Sea (17)
(You will find the links to the reviews of volume 70, 72~76, 78, 82~87 and the films Quarter of Silence (15), The Eleventh Striker (16), Private Eye in the Distant Sea (17), Dimensional Sniper (18) in the library)

Movie 01: The Time-Bombed Skyscraper
Release: April 19, 1997
Characters: Moriya Teiji
Police: Lieutenant Shiratori Ninzaburou 

The first Conan movie and it sets the more action-oriented tone for the rest of the movies. A bomb-terrorist is not a common enemy in Conan, but they occasionally pop in the manga. The movie only has two 'suspects' though (of whom one is ruled out pretty much immeditately), so it's not must-see for the whodunnit. The trick  with the train-bombs is pretty neat though. Oh, and I totally forgot: the first movie also introduced the Conan movie must-have: the introduction! Movies based on running series are usually hard to get into, as they require extensive knowledge of the series, but the Conan movies always begin with a short introduction of the main story and the important characters of the story. It changes every time, depending on the storyline in the movie and no Conan movie would be complete without such an introduction!

Volume 11
Keyhole: Kisaki Eri
Cases: Snowy Mountain Villa Murder Case; TV Station Murder Case; Coffee Shop Murder Case; Mist Tengu Legend Murder Case
Characters: Kisaki Eri
Item: Button-shaped speaker
Location: Nichiuri TV
Plot: Ran attempts to get mother back

I really like the opening story, which is an inverted story, where a TV show hosts commits a murder while on air. Reminds me very much of Furuhata Ninzaburou's Sayonara DJ ("Goodbye, DJ") episode and is just as fun. It's also the first time Kogorou is invited to a TV-show in the series and he makes some comments about his time at the police force annd not being all to great with firearms (which is expanded upon in the second Conan movie, The Fourteenth Target). A second story introduces the lawyer Kisaki Eri, Ran's mother, which establishes her as a smart independent woman (with judou skills learned from Kogorou). Strangely enough, in the recent live action TV special of Conan set 100 days before Kudou shrinked, he interacted with Eri, while he doesn't recognizes her at all in this story. Finally, a great impossible crime story with a Tengu who hangs people (another of those Japanese myth stories). Also the first time Conan uses the speaker on Kogorou, allowing Conan to move around a bit more in later stories.

Volume 12
Keyhole: Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko
Cases: Secret of the Moon, Stars and Sun; Game Company Murder Case; Holmes Freaks Murder Case
Black Organisation: Tequila
Plot: Tequila dies, discovery that the BO wants a list of programmers

The first Detective Boys/Agasa code cracking story. Many, many will follow. Sigh. The story does explain that Agasa earns money with patents, like with the technology used for Conan's voice changing bow-tie. The second story is actually quite important, as it introduces the new Black Organisation member Tequila. Who is killed off in the same chapter. The story is important as it is the first time we 1) get to see more BO members, 2) we get to learn a bit more about the scale of the organisation and 3) a bit about what the BO is trying to do. A small organisation wouldn't blow up a whole cafe just to cover tracks. As for the BO's goal, the list of programmers the BO wanted will turn out to be important many, many, many volumes later. The same story also introduces the game company Mantendou, not sure if that pops up again though. The final story is another important one and the second of Hattori Heiji's appearances. The Holmes Freaks gathering is pretty funny (especially Hattori's comment that he likes Queen more, which is met with a lot of glaring). The comment that he likes Queen more actually makes a lot of sense. Anyway, hilarity ensues as Conan tries to convince Hattori that he's just a normal boy. It's also the first time that Hattori and Conan help each other with their deductions, using the other as a soundboard. It makes the story more enjoyable to read, as just reading thoughts is a bit strange. With two equal minds, the story/deductions develops more naturally.

Volume 13
Keyhole: Suzuki Ayako
Cases: Holmes Freaks Murder Case; Triplet Mountain Villa Murder Case; Illustrator Murder Case; Great Kaijuu Gomera Murder Case
Characters: Tomizawa Yuuzou, Gomera
Location: Taihou studios
Plot: Hattori discovers Conan's real identity

Hoho, Hattori Heiji finds out about Kudou's problem. Which is pretty interesting, as Hattori deduced it from the way Kudou deduces, something he has heard only once. Anyway, they become best of friends rather fast. The murders themselves weren't too interesting, except for the first one which, for an alibi trick, was quite good. The second story is a classic which-of-the-three + alibi checking problem, although it's interesting as the three suspects are triplets. Tomizawa Yuuzou is the fiance of Suzuki Ayako, who we hadn't seen for many volumes. They don't appear that often in later stories. Or not at all, maybe. The third story is an inverted story, which reminds me a lot of Higashino Keigo's Ochiru ("Fall"), using a complex mechanical contraption to arrange for an alibi. Both stories are very similar in their execution. I'm pretty sure this story precedes Ochiru though. Finally, the final story introduces us to Taihou Studio's Gomera, a kaijuu movie series.The premise is good, with a kaijuu killing somebody, but the trick is rather easy. As kaijuu series are meant for children, many if not all of the following stories featuring kaijuu feature the Detective Boys/Agasa.

Volume 14
Keyhole: Kudou Yukiko
Cases: Cornered Great Detective! 2 Great Murders After Another (1); Cornered Great Detective! 2 Great Murders After Another (2); Ski Lodge Murder Case
Police: Yamamura Misao (Gunma)
Item: Earring-shaped Cellphone
Plot: Yukiko poses Conan off as own child

The first story in a long time where Ran suspects that Conan is Shinichi. It took her a while to see through Conan's Clark Kent glasses. Even though she grew up with him. Anyway, also the first story that establishes contact between Eri and Kogorou (over the phone) and the first time magicians appear in the series. A locked room murder with a strange message is solved rather quickly, but anyway, magicians! It might be foreshadowing for an upcoming guest appearance? One of the magicans here actually appears two volumes later. The second story is a more classic murders-in-a-rich-family Conan story. Fun because: Yukiko saves Conan from Ran's suspicions by saying he's a distant relative, because Yukiko later introduces Conan as her second child to a friend and because of the first appearance of Inspector Yamamura Misao, the worst officer ever in the police force. It's a miracle he makes it to chief inspector later. His design is a bit different from later though. Yuusaku is also portrayed as being way better at detecting than his son. It was hinted at in the first story featuring him, but we'll see again and again that Kudou's father is brilliant as a detective. The final story with an old teacher of Ran and Sonoko may be a sign of the Jessica Fletcher-trope of bumping into an acquaintance at the strangest places. Also introduces the Earring-shaped Cellphone, which has a direct connection with Conan's bowtie. Too bad cellphones become mass consumer products very soon. Why would Agasa make a earring-shaped phone for Conan anyway?! And I wasn't really looking for him, but I think this was also the first time we saw the infamous shadow commiting a murder. You know, when they want to show a murder is being commited without showing who.

Volume 15
Keyhole: Hattori Heizou
Cases: Ski Lodge Murder Case; Popular Arists Kidnapping Case; Money Lending Business Director Murder Case; Unnatural Deaths in an Illustrious Family Case
Characters: Deputy Commissioner General Hattori Heizou (Osaka; first actual appearance), Takayama Minami (TWO-MIX), Nagano Shiina (TWO-MIX)

I really, really like the story with Ran's teacher by the way. I think that the atmostphere was a bit more Kindaichi Shounen-ish, but I really liked it. The ending, with Ran solving the case instead of Shinichi was pretty nice too, as interaction between the two characters (if we see Conan apart from Shinichi) is few. The second story, the TWO-MIX kidnapping, is hilarious in a meta-way, as Takayama Minami is the voice actor of Conan (and at a later stadium even the wife of Aoyama Goushou). The case itself is not very interesting, but this is one of the few times real world artists make the jump to Conan in the anime. The third story, with a murder in a money lend-shop, is very much like the karaoke box story in volume 5: figuring out how the victim got poisoned. This time recorded images aren't the vital clue, even though the visual is still very important. The which-of-the-three formula is used very often in Conan, but they're usually quite competent stories. And finally a longer story where we first meet Hattori's father Hattori Heizo, Police Chief of Osaka. He mentions he played kendou, although it hasn't been established yet that Hattori himself plays kendou.The story, featuring a bandaged man and some misdirection is pretty good too.

Volume 16
Keyhole: Kaitou KID
Cases: Unnatural Deaths in an Illustrious Family Case; Seven Mysteries of Teitan Elementary Case; Conan vs. Kaitou KID; Famous Pottery Artist Murder Case
Characters: Kobayashi Sumiko, Kuroba Kaito (= Kaitou KID; Or.: Magic Kaito), Nakamori Aoko (Or.: Magic Kaito), Suzuki Shirou, Suzuki Tomoko
Police: Superintendent Chaki Shintarou (Tokyo MPD), Police Inspector Nakamori Ginzou (Tokyo MPD; Or.: Magic Kaito)
Plot: Volume 7's trauma; crossover with Magic Kaito

^But also a bit tragic. Conan's trauma he got in volume 7 is explored a bit, in turn influencing Hattori. Editor Yamada (volume 7) is mentioned again by the way, as he has left a message on the answering machine! The second story, featuring some school urban legends mostly serves as an introduction of the new homeclass teacher of Teitan Elementary 1B, Sumiko Kobayashi. She'll appear quite a lot in later stories, especially in the last few years. And then our main course, the crossover with Magic Kaito. It was of course just a matter of time before the protagonist of Aoyama Goushou's first full-fledged series would battle with Conan. And it's actually written fantastic. The first chapter sets people on the wrong foot, first by showing Kaito (who looks a lot like Kudou), but not Aoko. At this point, the reader probably doesn't realize what's happening. The story continues with references to kaitou 1412, a name never used in Magic Kaito. Only near the last couple of pages, Agasa tells that a young writer (turns out to be Yuusaku) read the codename 1412 as KID. And then it all makes sense. It's also only from the second chapter on that we actually see Nakamori Ginzou, the main antagonist in Magic Kaito. Aoyama then continues with the red herrings by using a couple of old characters again (Hatamoto Shouji, vol. 3; Mifune Takuya, vol.9; Tomizawa Yuuzou, vol.13; Manada Kazumi, vol. 14),  who all might be Kaitou KID. It's not explained in Conan why KID targets the Black Star, though readers of Magic Kaito will know why KID's targets are always jewels.  Oh, and fridge brillance: Kaito and Aoko have different school uniforms from Ran and Sonoko's, so it's not strange they don't know each other. The only strange thing is that Conan hadn't heard about KID at all, even though a later story confirms that KID and Kudou met once before. The final story, a murder in a pottery, is decent, but not memorable at all, right after the KID story.

Volume 17
Keyhole: Okino Youko
Cases: Famous Pottery Artist Murder Case; Scuba Diving Murder Case; Hospitalized Robber Case; Mysterious Mansion of a Gang of Robbers Case; Jidaigeki Actor Murder Case 

A somewhat tedous volume. The first story with Eri and Kogorou interacting directly with each other and it does show that Kogorou isn't a complete moron, but the case itself is not interesting at all. What follows are a very short story (the only single chapter story in the series?) and a story featuring a house with a hidden secret. While the premise, a house where all the clocks strike at the same time, is interesting, the explanation for it all is rather boring and too farfetched. Strangely enough, houses with hidden mechanisms and such are more a Detective Boys speciality, rather than a Mouri Kogorou one. The last story is the best of the bunch, an inverted story which isn't too hard to solve and I think most readers will get it by the time they finish the first chapter. It's actually pretty much a modern version of one of Queen's more famous stories. What I'm wondering about is why people still try to use Mouri Kogorou for their alibi tricks. It was somewhat logical in volume two, when he wasn't very famous yet, but by now The Sleeping Kogorou should be feared by everyone. Even if I had an alibi trick I believed in, I still wouldn't go with the best-of-the-best detective.

Volume 18
Keyhole: Haibara Ai
Cases: Jidaigeki Actor Murder Case; Memory of a First Love Case; The Girl Who Came from the Black Organisation: The University Professor Murder Case (1);  The Girl Who Came from the Black Organisation: The University Professor Murder Case (2)
Police: Sergeant Takagi Wataru (Tokyo MPD)
Black Organisation: Sherry (Miyano Shiho=Haibara Ai)
Plot: Haibara moves in with Agasa

The first story is the first appearance of inspector Takagi Wataru, who is actually named after his voice actor in the anime (when he (his character) was asked his name, the voice actor adlibbed with his own name). The first 'normal'-leveled police detective we see in the series and one of the more popular characters, I think. I at least like him very much. And then a strange start of a story: Conan, Ran and Sonoko clean up the Kudou mansion as nobody lives there at the moment. Q: why doesn't Conan or his parents get someone to clean up occasionally? It's not like they don't know nobody is living there. Anyway, the mystery club is a theme used quite often in Kindaichi Shounen, as Kindaichi and Miyuki are both members there, but it's actually used pretty much never in Conan. Except here. I don't know, why, but the criminal here has always been one of the more memorable ones to me, even though... he is rather bland. Hmm.  And then we have the introduction of Haibara. Once again a nice piece of misdirection like done with the KID story. The dialogue makes you think that Gin is hunting for Kudou Shinichi, but it's in fact Haibara. We learn a lot more about the organisation, like that they have labs (which they blew up), the workings of the poison APTX4869 (meant to break off cells) and that the Organisation has visited the Kudou mansion twice to see if he's really dead and that Haibara filed Kudou Shinichi away as dead. The final case with a locked room murder is pretty smart, but also very easy to see through as one thing is just way too unnatural.

Volume 19
Keyhole: Tomoya Kazuha
Cases:  The Girl Who Came from the Black Organisation: The University Professor Murder Case (2); Mystery Writer Disappearance Case; Naniwa Serial Murder Case; Stadium Indiscriminate Threatening Case
Characters: Matsuda Samonji, Shinmei Kaori, Tomoya Kazuha
Police: Chief Superintendent Toyama (Osaka), Police Inspector Otaki Gorou (Osaka), Lieutenant Satou Miwako (Tokyo MPD)
Black Organisation: Numabuchi Kiichirou
Location: Osaka
Plot: Information about the BO gained from Haibara; first visit to Osaka; meeting with Numabuchi

The locked room is solved by Conan using Agasa as a proxy in front of Chief Inspector Yokomizo, so Agasa  is slowly making a name as a detective. We also discover that Black Organisation is in possession of the Night Baron virus mentioned in volume 8 and that Haibara is in fact the sister of Miyano Akemi, who died in volume 2. Like I said then, long-game foreshadowing. The second story features the show Tantei Matsuda Samonji, written by Shinmei Nintarou. Shinichi and Ran are said to be fans of the show. Writer Shinmei seems to have disappeared and Mouri is requested by his daughter to find him. The clues are hidden in a manuscript, but pretty much the funniest moment is when Hattori calls the publisher's office saying he solved the code, right when Conan and the gang are there too. It's also the first time Conan tranquilizes somebody whose voice he doesn't know (so he can't use his bowtie). Editor Yamada also appears again (volume 7, 16)! volume 19 also marks the first time the gang vists Osaka. We're introduced to a group of new characters like childhood friend Kazuha and chief inspector Otaki. Aoyama really, really likes his childhood friends, as we have the obvious suspects Shinichi/Ran, Heiji/Kazuha, Kogorou/Eri, Kaito/Aoko and a lot of others to be revealed later. Oh, and here we begin to see why Hattori is more a fan of Queen: with a high-ranking police officer as his dead and a great relation with Otaki, he definately mirrors the Inspector Queen/Ellery/Velie dynamic. The serial murder the gang has to solve in Osaka is OK (looking for a missing link), but not nearly as engaging as the second Osaka story. The story does feature serial killer Numabuchi Kiichirou, who will turn out to be a lower-level Black Organisation member. It's also the first story featuring Hattori where he suffers a big injury near the end of the story. Almost very time he works with Conan, he seems get some kind of injury, strangely enough. And we see that Kazuha's self-made omamori work wonderfully good. The last story is the first in a series where our detectivs needs to determine a single suspect amongst a crowd (here: a football stadium). It's a smart story and it also features a non-speaking cameo of Akagi Hideo (the soccer-player from volume 7) and the first appearance of MPD inspector Satou Miwako, even though she is not named here.

Movie 02: The Fourteenth Target
Release: April 18, 1998 
Plot: Explains why Mouri left the police; seperated with Eri. Conan has learned to use a gun in Hawaii with his father.

The second Conan movie is one of my favorite Conan movies. It's a classic whodunnit murder case with a neat motive for the murders. The movie also explains why Ran's parents don't live with each other again and also explains a bit about Mouri's time at the police. This movie also introduced that strange, strange recurring joke of Shinichi having learned practically everything in Hawaii with his dad. Gunshooting, handling cars/boats/planes/spaceships. Every time Conan needs to do something out of the ordinary in the movies, they say Hawaii. Oh, and Conan actually used the elasticity suspenders in this movie!

Volume 20
Keyhole: Takagi Wataru
Cases: Stadium Indiscriminate Threatening Case; Magic Lovers' Murder Case; Locked Bathroom Murder Case; Search in the Old Blue Castle Case
Characters: Kuroba Touichi (Or.: Magic Kaito)
Plot: Magic Kaito confirmed to be in the same world as Conan 

The murder amongst a group of magician lovers is the main story here and a great one too. The impossible murder, with a body lying in a field of untouched snow is visually impressive, as you actually see all the white (instead of reading about it). The reference to the deceased magician Kuroba Touichi is foreshadowing the end of this story. The fact Conan has caught a cold and wears a cough-mask will actually prove to be very important, as it is used several times to fool the readers in later stories. The appearance of KID is a surprising one though: the appearance in volume 16 might just have been a one-shot crossover (like KID vs. Yaiba in Magic Kaito volume 3), but here KID is finally established as a recurring character. It's also the first time KID gets involved with actual murder, as Magic Kaito was a more light-hearted series. The second story, with a locked bathroom murder is not very memorable and neither is the last story, a Detective Boys/Agasa code solving story in a mansion with mechanical contraptions and hidden doors and stuff.

Wow, volumes 11~20 are much better than the first ten volumes. By now, the formula has been perfected, with the Sleeping Kogorou being asked to assist in a wide variety of cases (or something a murderer tries to use him for an alibi trick). The somewhat clumsy, childish stories have been replaced with more mature stories, with stories that make optimal use of the visual medium of comics and most of which are plotted quite good. More innovative stories and also slowly more stories that are.. modern. Alibi tricks using (cell)-phones and other technology are pretty mainstream in Conan now.

The crossover with Magic Kaito was probably a somewhat bold move, as the KID in Conan is very different from the one in the original series. In the more recent Magic Kaito stories, KID has indeed been more like the Conan!KID rather than the original KID. In these volumes, KID makes no less than two appearances, while Hattori seems to pop up every other volume. By now he acts as the default character to turn to when Aoyama wants an equal speaking partner for Conan. The introduction of Haibara is also interesting, as until now all the leads to the Black Organisation... err.. died. Haibara does make the Detective Boys stories more enjoyable, as the ratio is now 3 brats to 2 smart kids, rather 3 to 1. Haibara serves as the main catalyst for the Black Organisation stories up until around volume 50, so yeah, she's quite important for the main plot.

Original Japanese title(s): 青山剛昌　『名探偵コナン』第１１巻～２０巻 / 『名探偵コナン　時計じかけの摩天楼』 / 『名探偵コナン　１４番目の標的（ターゲット）』

『平成のホームズ』

「推理に勝ったも負けたも、上も下もねーよ、真実はいつもたった一つしかねーんだからな」

『名探偵コナン』

"There's no winning or losing, no better or worse in deductions; 'Cause there's always only one truth"

"Detective Conan"

Something new: re-reading Meitantei Conan from the beginning. I'm up to date with the Japanese release, but it's been almost ten years since I first started reading Conan. I've forgotten a lot of the stories by now, so I decided to revisit the series again.

By the way, for a short introduction on all things Conan: I recently wrote about the series on Criminal Element.

With this series of posts, I intend to discuss ten volumes per post. These posts won't be real reviews however, nor summaries of the individual cases. It just wouldn't add much to great (Japanese) sources like The Decipherment of Conan, the official Detective Conan Case Report website, or the Mouri Kogorou Detective Agency (in the linkbar). My posts will mostly serve as a short overview of my thoughts on the individual stories, what I noticed about the story-telling and more importantly, how all of the stories interconnect with the overall storyline of Conan. My writings may seem a bit unconnected, as I just jot down keywords while reading everything and sometimes I don't have keywords for large parts of a volume.

I'll be writing this with the power of Hindsight, so I'll sometimes connect stories/characters/themes/motives in earlier volumes with later stories. It's therefore not really spoiler-free, I'm afraid. The series just passed the 70s this year, so this will turn out to be a series of eight posts, if I manage to finish it this year.

Each new recurring character is noted, as well as new gadgets, important locations, etc. Case names are taken from Shounen Sunday's Detective Conan Case Report .

Detective Conan manga & movies:
Part 1: Volumes 1 ~ 10
Part 2: Volumes 11~20; The Timebombed Skyscraper (1) / The Fourteenth Target (2)
Part 3: Volumes 21~30; The Last Wizard of the Century (3) / Captured in Her Eyes (4)
Part 4: Volumes 31~40; Countdown to Heaven (5) / The Phantom of Baker Street (6)
Part 5: Volumes 41~50; Crossroad in the Ancient Capital (7) / Magician of the Silver Sky (8) / Strategy Above the Depths (9)
Part 6:  Volumes 51~60; Private Eyes' Requiem (10) / Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure (11)
Part 7: Volumes 61~70; Full Score of Fear (12) / The Raven Chaser (13) / Lost Ship in the Sky (14)
Part 8: Volumes 71~80; Quarter of Silence (15) / The Eleventh Striker (16) / Private Eye in the Distant Sea (17)
(You will find the links to the reviews of volume 70, 72~76, 78, 82~87 and the films Quarter of Silence (15), The Eleventh Striker (16), Private Eye in the Distant Sea (17), Dimensional Sniper (18) in the library)

Volume 1
Keyhole: Kudou Shinichi
Cases: Jet Coaster Murder Case; Director's Daughter Kidnapping Case; Idol Locked Room Murder Case  
Characters: Kudou Shinichi (= Edogawa Conan), Mouri Ran, Mouri Kogorou, Professor Agasa Hiroshi, Okino Youko.
Police: Police Inspector Megure Juuzou (Tokyo MPD)
Black Organisation: Gin, Vodka (unnamed)
Items: Voice-changing bowtie
Location: Beika-chou, Teitan High School, Kudou mansion, Tropical Land, Mouri Detective Agency
Plot: Shinichi shrinks, moves in with the Mouris

A somewhat uneven start for the series: it's very clear that Aoyama Goushou worked on the light-hearted adventure Yaiba and more importantly, Magic Kaito, before starting this series, as the art-style, the style of jokes and maybe more importantly, the intended readers are definately the same. It results in somewhat easy detectives stories clearly meant for younger children, not unlike a series like Himitsu Tantei Holmes ("Secret Agent Holmes") (which started two years later, but anyway). The first case, the murder on the rollercoaster is spectular, but surely not without its flaws, while the kidnapping case is kinda forgettable. The third story is mostly important as it is the first case to feature the voice-changing bowtie, an unconcious Mouri Kogorou (this time knocked out by an ashtray) and the introduction of idol Okino Youko, who will serve as the series' main link with the entertainment world by introducing new cases to Mouri. Gin and Vodka make one of their rare appearances (of course), but aren't actually named here. I guess that Magic Kaito readers would have related these two gansters to the secret organisation that appears there, though the members of that organisation have different codenames (animals).

Volume 2
Keyhole: Mouri Ran
Cases: Akaoni Village Fire Festival Murder Case; A Strange Search Murder Case; The Haunted Mansion Murder Case 
Characters: Yoshida Ayumi, Kojima Genta, Tsuburuya Mitsuhiko
Black Organisation: Miyano Akemi, unnamed Miyano sister
Items: Power-enhancing kick shoes, criminal tracking glasses, elasticity suspenders
Location: Teitan Elementary
Other: Yaiba on TV
Plot: Conan is placed at Teitan Elementary 1B; is witness of the murder of Miyano Akemi

The first inverted story in the series and also the first in a long range of stories where recorded images (photo's, film) are used and where Mouri Kogorou's testiomony is used for an alibi trick. All very Conan-ish. Conan also gains three items, of which only the power-enhancing kick shoes are used regularly to protect himself and others. The criminal tracking glasses are nowadays usually used to track his own friends, while the elasticity suspenders are rarely, rarely used. It seems they are used more effectively in the movies than in the manga. And of course, volume two contains two important introductions: firstly, Miyano Akemi, a member of the black organisation. She is the one who actually confirms that their trademark is black clothing. And we have long-game foreshadowing as she mentions her sister just before she dies. And secondly, the first appearance of the Detective Boys, even though they don't have that name yet.

Volume 3
Keyhole: Mouri Kogorou
Cases: Luxary Cruise Serial Murder Case; Once-a-Month Present Threatening Case
Characters: Hatamoto Natsue, Hatamoto Takeshi
Items: Stungun Wristwatch
 
The first long story, featuring serial murders on board of a ship chartered by the Hatamoto family. Starts out very Kindaichi Kousuke-like, with the large rich family and even the drawing of a family tree to clear things up. While the story is a bit clumpsy, I think this is the first story where we see that Aoyama is trying to write more mature detective stories for Conan. The previous stories were rather stereotypical for children's detective manga, and here we see it move towards the longer, complexer stories like we see in Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo (which started two years earlier). Actually, it's pretty clear from his earlier works that Aoyama liked detective stories, so it might have even been Kindaichi Shounen's popularity that prompted him to start with his own pure detective series. Also the first time that Ran suspects that Conan is in fact Kudou. It won't be the last. Oh, and the introduction of the stun-gun wristwatch, which is also a staple of the series. It does change the series a bit, as it allows Conan to directly state his own deductions rather than giving hints to the people around him. Probably made writing easier for Aoyama too.

Volume 4
Keyhole: Megure Juuzou
Cases: The Museum Owner Murder Case; Shinkansen Explosion Case; Metropolis Coded Map Case 
Characters: Kamen Yaiber
Black Organisation: Gin, Vodka (names known)
Items: Glasses-shaped hidden microphone
Plot: Second meeting Gin and Vodka, hears their code names

The opening story ends on a poetic note, something Aoyama likes to do. The image of the man killed by a bloody knight is pretty impressive and even now a story I remember well. It's also another story wher recorded images play an important role. Conan meets Gin and Vodka again (actually learns their codenames this time) in the second story, but loses the track almost immediately. In the last story, Ran meets the Detective Boys for the first time (still not named as such though) and the first of a long, long series of Detective Boys Code Cracking stories. They actually catch a couple of gangsters, so they start to make a name.

Volume 5
Keyhole: Agasa Hiroshi
Cases: Mountain Villa Bandaged Man Murder Case; Karaoke Box Murder Case; Edogawa Conan Kidnapping Case 
Characters: Suzuki Sonoko, Suzuki Ayako, Edogawa Fumiyo
Plot: The Sonoko Zaibatsu is introduced

The first time we see Ran's best friend, Sonoko. Who is immediately portrayed as a man-hunting rich girl. Which has not changed much in the last couple of years. Her sister Ayako doesn't make many appearances after this one, but I think you see her occasionally. The first story is the second of the longer stories in Conan and this one is already an improvement on the first. Also because it contains dismemberment. Also important as Conan uses Sonoko as his proxy in this story and high school-detective Suzuki Sonoko will return often (and the police actually starts to believe her as a great detective). The second story is about a murder in a karaoke-box, wherein Conan contacts Megure as Kudou. He does make Megure promise to keep his name out of the papers. And finally, the appearance of Conan's mother, Fumiyo! (?) Who is probably named after Akechi Kogorou's wife in Edogawa Rampo's novels.

Volume 6
Keyhole: Yoshida Ayumi
Cases: Edogawa Conan Kidnapping Case; Antique Collector Murder Case; The Disappearing Corpse Murder Case;  Tenkaichi Night Festival Murder Case
Characters: Kudou Yuusaku, Kudou Yukiko, Night Baron
Police: Police Inspector Yokomizo Sango (Saitama)
Items: Detective Boy Badge
Plot:  Yuusaku & Yukiko learn of Kudou's problem; the Mouris are officially asked to take care of Conan; Detective Boys established

We officially meet Shinichi's parents and learn things about them that are used in future stories, like Yukiko's talent for disguise and Yuusaku being a famous detective writer and about his fictional character Night Baron. The second story (a man slashed to death) uses a visual clue, which really has become a characteristic of this series by now. Also: kendou is a recurring theme in Aoyama Goushou's work, most prominently in Yaiba, but the Hattoris in later volumes are all skilled kendouka. In the third story, the Detective Boys finally get their transceiver badges and also their group name. They also encounter their first dead body and it won't be their last. Nobody considers sending the kids to therapy or something. And finally, an inverted detective story introducing Chief InspectorYokomizo Sango of the Saitama police. The first non-MPD cop we meet in Detective Conan, and one who often asks Kogorou's cooperation in his investigations in later cases. Foreshadowing of all the other cops we're going to meet in the series?

Volume 7
Keyhole: Yokomizo Sango
Cases: Tenkaichi Night Festival Murder Case; The Moonlight Piano Sonata Murder Case; Pro Soccer Player Threatening Case  
Characters: Yamada (editor); Asai Narumi, Akagi Hideo
Items: Portable bentou fax
Plot: the end of the Moonlight Sonata case serves as a trauma for Conan

The editor in the first story (Yamada) is actually a recurring character, though never in the limelight. You'll be sure to see his name mentioned again later. Volume 7 for me was a turning point in the series. The Moonlight Sonata murder case is really a representative story of the series and I think the anime special is rated amongst the better ones by the fans in Japan. It's really creepy, a series or murders all accompanied by the Moonlight Sonata and the minor code cracking, as well as the linguistic clue to the identity of the killer is something that made impression on me. The next story is more like a cute one where we see how viciously jealeous Ran can get and it also introduces the utterly useless portable bentou fax. With real food. With the introduction of cellphones, the bentou fax, as well as the later introduced ear-ring phone quickly disappeared. They were silly anyway. Also the first mention of star soccer player Akagi Hideo, whose name will pop up once in a while.

Volume 8
Keyhole: Suzuki Sonoko
Cases: Pro Soccer Player Threatening Case; Night Baron Murder Case; June Bridge Murder Case 
Characters: Matsumoto Sayuri
Police: Superintendent Matsumoto Kiyonaga (Tokyo MPD), Police Inspector Yokomizo Sango (transferred to Shizuoka)

The Night Baron murder case, the first of a long series of murders when Conan and the others visit Izu. Yokomizo of the Saitama police has conveniently been transferred to Shizuoka, so they meet again. Together with the Moonlight Sonata case of the last volume, this case symbolizes the slight change in tone from a slightly serious kids-oriented series to a more serious detective series. Also a case featuring computer programmers, whichi is interesting considering later stories. The last story introduces us to Super Intendent Matsumoto and his daughter Sayuri, who used to be teacher of Kudou, Ran and Sonoko. Matsumoto often appears in big cases as the direct superior of Megure.Oh, and high school-detective Suzuki Sonoko makes her first appearance in front of the police.

Volume 9
Keyhole: Kojima Genta
Cases: Ayumi's Kidnapping Case; Kogorou's Reunion Murder Case; Investor's Daughter Murder Case 
Items: Turbo-engine skateboard
Plot: Kogorou is established as an accomplished judouka

Another 'code cracking' story with the Detective Boys, this time by vague descriptions of a location. First appearance of the solar-powered turbo-engine skateboard, which is probably what set of the whole action theme the Conan movies have. If he can ride a turbo engine skateboard, then why not a helicopter/boat/car/train/plane/etc, script-writers must have thought. The second story (a favorite!) is with Kogorou's old friends. It shows that Kogorou is not as dimwitted as he might seem and that his years as a cop weren't for nothing. His considerable talents in judou are also first shown here. The story itself, featuring a Benkei motive, is the first one in Conan using Japanese legends as a motive. Many are to follow and they're all very memorable.

Volume 10
Keyhole: Hattori Heiji
Cases: Investor's Daughter Murder Case; Diplomat Murder Case; Library Murder Case; Snowy Mountain Villa Murder Case 
Characters: Hattori Heiji
Police: Deputy Commissioner General Hattori Heizou (Osaka)
Plot: Discovery that Paikaru acts as an antidote to the shrinking (ironic because it's an alcohol?)

First a regular story with no real interesting features, except for the fact that I 'recently' saw the alibi trick used in a Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo story, but much more complex. But the main meat of this volume is the introduction of Hattori Heiji as a rival to Kudou (Hattori of the West, Kudou of East). A layered locked room mystery and the return of Kudou Shinichi make this a very entertaining story. After ten volumes, Conan and Agasa finally seem to have a clue as to how to turn Conan back into Kudou. Heh. There's also a short Detective Boys story, with our kids' second meeting with the dead, set in a library. The last story is the first of the trademark Conan dying message stories, which are hard to solve if you're not familiar with Japanese culture. And even then they're not easy.

With the first ten volumes read, I'm actually quite surprised that some Conan staples aren't even established yet. I would never have thought that by volume 10, Professor Agasa and the Detective Boys hadn't met yet!  Or that Chief Inspector Yokomizo is the only identified non-Tokyo cop! Some of the older stories were quite hard to read after this many years and if you compare the stories nowadays with those of the first volumes, it's very clear that they are so widely different. Aoyama really grew in the years he wrote Conan, with the stories nowadays much more better structured and in general, better detective stories. The first volumes are clearly more meant for a younger public, but by volume 7~8 the tone does seem to have changed.

Volumes 11~20 tomorrow!

Original Japanese title(s): 青山剛昌　『名探偵コナン』第１巻～１０巻

Ellerius Bibliophilus

"I can understand a chronic bibliophile having this bizarre collection on his desk, for some dark purposes of his own (...) Your employer does not impress me as having the intellectual potentialities of a paleontological field worker, who is a stamp-collecting addict, who has a passion for medieval comerce, who knows so little of music that he must read a child's history of it, and finally who indulges in the sickening horseplay of the year's best - or worst- vaudeville jokes! ... Wes, old boy, there is more here than meets the vacillating eye."

"The French Powder Mystery"

Another Ellery Queen in just a few days? In fact, this was the only Western detective I actually planned to read this year, all the other books just happened to cross my path...

Reviews of Ellery Queen's 'nationality' novels:
The Roman Hat Mystery
The French Powder Mystery
The Dutch Shoe Mystery
The Greek Coffin Mystery
The Egyptian Cross Mystery
The American Gun Mystery
The Siamese Twin Mystery
The Chinese Orange Mystery
The Spanish Cape Mystery 

The French Powder Mystery is the second novel in the EQ series and starts very promising. Every day at noon, an exhibition of a living/bed room is held in a window-booth of the French department store. A girl is supposed to show the various products in the booth and lure the bypassers on the street by her demonstration. But when she pulls down the bed-built-in-the-wall, she, and the onlookers are in for a big surprise as the dead body of a woman falls down from the bed! She is quickly identified as Mrs. French, the wife of the department owner. Inspector Queen is charge of the case, even though he is busy enough with the new Commissioner (who demands reports every day by every officer on the force, checked by Queen) and a drug-ring in the City. Son Ellery on the other hand sees no problems in the French case, as he quickly and steadily deduces himself to the killer.

Wow, I really liked this book! It starts off great, with the public exposition of a dead body and then the logical progress of the story: Ellery Queen notices something at place A, which logically leads him to place B et cetera. Reading the story is like following Ellery's train of thought and that's precisely what I like about the early Queen books: carefully plotted stories that develop at a steady pace that ultimately lead to the one solution. And whereas Inspector Queen and Velie seemed more present than Ellery in The Roman Hat Mystery, Ellery is no doubt our protagonist in this book.

Queen classics like the search of an open, public space (looking for suspects and clues within a department store) and the profiling of the killer through several characteristics indicated by the clues are executed flawlessly. Add in the public display of the dead body, the complete team of Inspector Queen, Velie, Prouty and the others, a Challenge to the Reader, introducing quotes (!), thematic chapter-naming and we have a Classic Queen that has all the elements I love. I especially like the part where Queen uncovers several vital clues by looking at a couple of books and deducing something is not all quite right with them.

My one complaint is maybe that Ellery states his own deductions at several stages of the story, leaving almost no new material for the conclusion: most of his explanations we already know. While the deductions are presented a lot more structured in the conclusion, I think this made the challenge to the reader a bit too easy, as too much of the deductions were already voiced by Ellery, rather than leaving it up to the imagination of the reader.

And that was actually the last of the Nationality novels I needed to read. Still got some Queens left to read, but Classic!Queen is still the best of all Queens, and I doubt I'll encounter something as fun as this amongst the remaining ones.

「解けない謎はないんです」

"Look, a ladder!"

"That's a "step"-ladder"

"So? What's the difference? You need to stop judging things based on narrow-minded cultural assumptions, Nick!"

"Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney"

Oh, something Dutch! But Japanese!

Whereas modern criminal court-room drama mainly focus on a) defense attorneys, b) prosecution, c) lay judges or c) expert witnesses, you seldom see one featuring judges. Which is logical, I concur, but in the old, old times, judges in Asia were pretty much the only factor of importance in the courtroom, which were more like civil courtrooms, with individuals prosecuting each other and the judge as acting as the one who decides who was right. Probably the most famous example in the West would be Van Gulik's Judge Dee. Which is a pretty amusing series, featuring a Chinese judge who acts as a detective.

Bertus Aafjes did something similar like Van Gulik. Van Gulik based his Judge Dee on the historical Judge Dee (see also Parallel Cases under the Pear-Tree, a translation by Van Gulik of real Chinese court records). Bertus Aafjes wrote several stories starring Judge Ooka, who was based on Ooka Echizen, a famous judge presiding in Edo in Tokugawa Japan and who is still revered as a wise judge, who was able to find solutions for seemingly impossible problems. Like Van Gulik, Aafjes didn't 'storify' existing Ooka legends, but came up with original stories. Een Ladder tegen een wolk ("A Ladder against a Cloud") is the first short story collection by Bertus Aafjes featuring ten  original stories with Ooka. They're all quite short, maybe ten pages, sometimes less and usually feature a problem that is seemingly impossible to solve, until the wise Ooka intervenes (note that my summaries are really short this time, as the stories themselves are short too).

De haan heeft gegaapt of de zaak van de vele moordenaars ("The Cock Yawned or the Case of the Multiple Murderers") is about three old friends who accuse each other of murder. One says he did it, the other she did it and the last one says they both did it. Which of them is the real murderer?

In Een ladder tegen een wolk of de zaak van de afperser ("A Ladder against a Cloud or the Case of the Blackmailer"), an old couple is forced to steal in order to pay a blackmailer who had found out they had illegally left the city of Edo. The old couple gets caught while stealing. Ooka wants to be lenient on the old couple, but that would mean that he would have to let the blackmailer go.

In Wie de schaduw liefheeft krijgt het koud of de zaak van de wanhopige samoerai ("He Who Loves the Shadow gets Cold or the Case of the Desperate Samurai"), Ooka gets a strange request by a woman: her husband, an ex-samurai, is unhappy now he has to work in a store (rather than carrying a sword) and because of that, they lose clients everyday. How is Ooka able to make the ex-samurai content again?

In Wie zich met vermiljoen mengt wordt rood of de zaak van de identieke verdachten ("He Who Mingles with Vermillion turns Red or the Case of the Identical Suspects"), Ooka is confronted with the ancient problem of unreliable witnesses. The witnesses point to two different men as the thief of their store. Ooka is sure one of them is the thief, but which one? 

In De ware mens is geen werktuig of de zaak van de woedende winkelier ("A True Man is Not a  Tool or the case of the Raging Retailer") a woman begs Ooka to help her son: he works at her brother's store, but gets abused a lot. Ooka takes the case and uses his wisdom in sorting things out.

In Een wilde gans is honderd goudstukken waard maar men moet er eerst drie uitgeven voor een pijl of de zaak van De Wenkende Kat ("A Wild Goose is worth 100 Gold Coins but You have to Pay 3 Coins First for an Arrow or the Case of the Inviting Cat"), Ooka gets out to find decisive proof that one of the suspects in his custody is the person they're looking for.

In Zelfs de koelies bemerken nog wie de geliefde van de keizer is of de zaak van de zonderlinge spion ("Even the Coolies know who the Emperor's Lover is or the Case of the Strange Spy"), Ooka has to sort out a strange case wherein one family has planted a baby as a spy in another family.

In Ook een aap valt wel eens uit een boom of de zaak van de dief van Toranomon ("Sometimes even a Monkey Falls Out of a Tree or The Case of the Toranomon Thief"), Ooka is having troubles catching the Torananomon Thief and a different judge, Kujou is appointed to take over the case of Ooka.

Ooka faces his biggest challenge in Beter zijn leven te verliezen dan zijn gezicht of de zaak van het vrijwillige doodvonnis ("Better Losing His Life than his Face or The Case of the Voluntary Death Sentence"), as thanks to a trap by his enemies, Ooka is forced to sign his own death sentence!

Finally, in Als men er drie jaar op gaat zitten wordt zelfs een rotsblok wel warm of de zaak van de beide eerstgeborenen ("If You Sit On It for Three Days Even a Rock Will Become Warm or The Case of the Two First-Borns"), Ooka has to identify which of the identical twins is the first-born in an inheritance case.

The stories are amusing, very much like the cases in Parallel Cases under the Pear-Tree (even though that's Chinese). The focus on finding solutions for seemingly impossible problems is fun, even if sometimes it's not nearly as brilliant as the text tries to make you think. As someone studying Japanese studies though, I sometimes had to let out a Marge Simpson "hmm...." moan though. While I gather that Bertus Aafjes has visited Japan and it's mostly correct, some details do seem a bit iffy. Which is also a reason I don't think Judge Ooka's as fun as Judge Dee. At least, this particular short story collection was OK to read as a snack, between other books, but it sure didn't leave me satisfied.

Original Dutch title: Bertus Aafjes, Een Ladder tegen een Wolk

「ヤツはとんでもないものを盗んでいきました・・・ あなたの心です！」

"Do you have any proof of what you're saying?"

"None whatsoever," replied Lupin. "But proof is sometimees less convincing than logic." 

"La Cagliostro se Venge"

Oh, look, an Arsene Lupin review of something not written in Japanese! Oh, and this planned posting thing is awesome.

While not as big an adventure like 813 or Les Dents du tigre, La Comtesse de Cagliostro ("Countess Cagliostro") was one of the more engaging Arsene Lupin stories, chronicling his earliest big heist as a thief and his battles against and affairs with the mysterious Countess Cagliostro. As I couldn't find an English translation at the time, I read the whole thing in German and it's the only German book I own. I love Lupin that much. Anyway,  while Lupin had seemingly won in La Comtesse,  readers knew that a horrible plan had been set in motion by Cagliostro for her revenge. It was just a matter of time.
 

Well, time and availability. I had wanted to read La Cagliostro se Venge ("Countess Cagliostro's Revenge") for some years now, but it wasn't until last year that an English translation (bundled with an English translation of La Comtesse) was published. Even worse that release had kinda slipped under my radar too!  But now, a year late, I finally got to continue in the Lupin saga. In La Cagliostro se Venge, set many years and books after La Comtesse, master-criminal Arsene Lupin is finally confronted with Cagliostro's revenge. It starts out with a normal day for Lupin, who is doing reseach on a potential target, but little does he know that soon he, a young architect who lives in his mansion and the neighbours are soon to get involved with a murder. The murder is the starting sign of a long adventure of lovers, of people trying to blackmail Lupin (don't try it!), about old friends and enemies and the culmination of Cagliostro's revenge.

Like always, an Arsene Lupin novel is more a swashbuckling adventure by our master-criminal (compared to the more 'classic' short stories), but they seldom bore. I am kinda disappointed in the novel though; if I was an evil Countess woman with a criminal organisation to my disposal, I would have planned my revenge... more detailed? More sure? More... I don't know, hate-inspired revenge rather than a I'll-see-what-happens-revenge. The story is short too, so no awesome epic like 813. Which is still the best novel-length Arsene Lupin novel. This novel is somewhere in the OK-ish ~ not-really-worth-it range.

I only recommend reading this Lupin novel because it forms a set with the La Comtesse de Cagliostro, which does belong to required-reading list of Arsene Lupin. Some Lupin novels are best read in groups anyways, like Les Dents du tigre is best read together with 813, or how to a lesser degree Arsene Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes and L'Aiguille creuse form a set within the Arsene Lupin timeline. But the plot-twist at the end of La Comtesse is really strongly connected with La Cagliostro se Venge, which automatically turns it into an important book within the Lupin world. Few qualities of its own, but recommended reading for the fans.

『揺れる警視庁１２００万人の人質』

「官憲の権力（ちから）なしでこの明治の世に、剣一本ではもはや何もできんのだぞ。」

「剣一本でも、この目にとまる人々くらいなら何とか守れるでござるよ。」

『るろうに剣心』

"Without the power of the government, there is very little you can do in the Meiji period with just one single sword."

"Even with just a single sword, I can at least protect the people around me."

 "Rurouni Kenshin"

Heh, reading English is a lot easier than Japanese, I can easily finish one or two books a day now! Of course, this does mean that I spend fewer days on Japanese books, which in turns means it will take longer for me to finish my backlog pile...

In Ellery Queen's Cat of Many Tails (Dutch translation: Paniek op Manhattan / "Panic in Manhattan"), a mysterious serial killer has been creating chaos in Manhattan. During an unbelievable hot summer, men and women from all classes and ages are found strangled, without a single clue to the identity of the murderer. Who is this "Cat", as the press call him, and how many lives is the Cat going to take? The police isn't able to find any connections between the victims and it seems like anyone in Manhattan could have committed the murders. Inspector Queen is made head of  the Cat investigation, but the police is stumped. What makes things even worse is that the population is getting very restless under the stress of the unknown assailant and the killer-heat. Ellery is appointed as a special advisor to the mayor to assist in the man-hunt, but can our man create logic out of chaos?

After several trips to Wrightsville better left unmentioned, Ellery Queen finally returns to his home-base: Manhattan! But the story is quite different from what we're used too: instead of a real mystery, a manhunt, a thriller, the search for that single killer amongst the population of Manhattan. And how to stop him! Or her! Or it! For who is the Cat, and why is he killing everybody? It's an interesting problem and the 'missing link' between the victims was wonderfully devious! Leave it up to Queen to find that single thread of logic. Of course, the search for something within a confined space was a specialty of Queen: see the search of the theater in The Roman Hat Mystery and The American Gun Mystery. Or compare to that other specialty of Queen, the reducing of suspects by comparing them to a list of characteristics of the killer (the killer is 1) left handed, 2) blind and 3) deaf, therefore it was A). Looking for a single killer within Manhattan is in fact a blown-up version of this, though executed in different way, as we don't even know what we're looking for.

I see many, many positive reviews of Cat of Many Tails, but I am not as enthousaistic about it as other, I think. It just feels too different from classic Queen. By the time you reach the plot-twist near the middle of the book, it's way too easy to see who the Cat is going to be and it's annoying to see post-Wrightsville!Queen angsting over everything, while we know that classic!Queen wouldn't have been so slow in getting to the truth. Seriously, it might be cool and post-modern and I don't know what for a detective to angst over his abilities to save mankind or something like that, but I sure don't like it (note: I'm very sure that I feel this also partially because I read Cat of Many Tails right after Rouletabille chez le Tsar, where Rouletabille ends up freaking out too at the end).

Cat of Many Tails has some great parts in the beginning though, with the descriptions of the lives of the victims of different layers of New York society. Similar passages are found in The ABC Murders, but the big difference to me is that our victims here are all inhabitants of Manhattan; the city is alive more than in other Queen novels, with the population feeling as one big entity. You feel that the fear for the serial killer is slowly but surely rising in the city and the culmination of that fear in riots was one of the more captivating parts of the book.

The way the victims are linked is smart and I like the depiction of Manhattan in this novel, but it's just so far away from what I expect, want from a Queen novel that I doubt I'll ever really like it as much as other people seem to do. Sure, Cat of Many Tails ranks amongst the better late-period Queens, but that is not saying much.

"I have eaten all your caviar. I am your guest. I am your friend"

Sometimes one only imagines things," said Rouletabille, keeping his hand on the door.

"Oh yes," said the other, growing more and more melancholy. "So a man suffers.He is his own tormentor; he himself makes the wheel on which, like his own executioner, he binds himself."
"Rouletabille chez le Tsar"

While I love Maurice LeBlanc's Arsene Lupin novels, I really regret I can't read them in the original French. I just can't seem to get feeling for the language. Strangely enough, I had few problems with Latin at school, but French... I just can't do it. I feel the same regret about Gaston Leroux's Rouletabille series, which I have read in English. While not perfect, it's hard to not acknowledge how some problems in Le Mystère de la Chambre Jaune were simply brilliant. I have to be honest and say I can remember absolutely nothing about the crimes in the sequel Le Parfum de la Dame en Noir, but as I don't feel an instant obnoxious feeling coming up like I feel with some Sayers' novels, I am going on a limb here and say it was at least entertaining.

The third Rouletabille novel picks up right where the previous left us. In Rouletabille chez le Tsar ("Rouletabille with the Czar", US: Secret of the Night), young French reporter Joseph Rouletabille is requested by the Czar himself to protect General Trebassof, responsible for subdueing a Nihilist revolution in Russia and the death of countless of young students. Designated as an enemy of the people for his deeds in the revolution by the Nihilists, there have been several attempts at the life of Trebassof. With his legs injured by a previous attempt with a bomb, Trebassof is confined to his house together with his wife and daughter. Despite an all-out security, somebody seems to be able to get into the house though, and it is up to the eccentric reporter to put a stop to this all.

Not sure what to think about the story. While the previous novels weren't that fair either, this novel was mostly a clueless mystery, with Rouletabille walking (crawling/swimming/etc.) around and then revealing unbelievable things we didn't know about. Yet, near the last two chapters some strings of plot were knitted together nicely and I felt positive about the book when I finished it. But I suspect I was just being fooled by a sweet aftertaste.

The poking around for the ways the Nihilists are going to attack the general is a big change from the previous two novels, which centered on good old crime scene investigation. Add in the change in writing style (no longer the notebook-style narration) and the new, rather antagonistic environment of Russia right after the subdueing of a bloody revolution attempt and and we have a novel that feels quite different from the previous novels. I guess you could do something really fun with the pre-emptive locked room mystery (solving how they're going to enter a locked room). But that is not really what Leroux did here. Too bad.

From the tone of my writings you can probably guess I am not really excited about this novel. If I think about the previous novels, I just see too much potential gone to waste. It's not completely awful, but it takes too long for just a small sniff of something nice.