Secret Volume 3

Secret Volume 3

Well, that was abrupt. I had no idea this “revenge among the student survivors of a bus crash” series only ran three volumes, making this the series conclusion. That keeps it moving quickly, though, as I had hoped.

And it’s about time. We’ve found out who the three murderers promised to us in the first volume were. Now, the mystery is “why did their counselor sow dissension among them by giving them a week to confess?” One of the students has begun wondering that himself, particularly once someone tries to kill him.

Secret Volume 3

The students bond a bit more with each other as they are hunted, making this volume also one of suspense, but a different type from the earlier books in the series. This is more in keeping with Yoshiki Tonogai’s previous translated works, which involve trapped kids trying to kill each other.

The overall motive is typically overheated and outrageous, far outside the normal realm of behavior. These aren’t mysteries, deducible by the reader, but soap operas, presenting far-out motivations and actions for perverse entertainment. The art is competent, letting the reader know what’s happening, mostly through images of faces and bodies, but most of the storytelling comes through the characters’ dialogue. (The publisher provided a review copy.)



One comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *