Case Closed, Vol. 3

Gosho Aoyama, Case Closed, vol. 3 (ViZ, 1994) I've come across a lot of really, really good manga in the past few years-- a Bleach book even hit my Best Reads of 2007 list-- but volume 3 of Case Closed may be the best manga I've yet read. Vol. 3 follows the same rhythm as the rest of the series, with two stories. The first has Conan and the gang solving a mystery on a cruise ship, and it's your basic Case Closed; good, solid stuff, a lot of fun, but nothing special. It's the second story that really got me-- a doctor who has been getting a million yen a month, accompanied by toys for his child. Unable to figure out who's sending him these gifts, he turns to Conan and co. to help him figure it out. This story shows Aoyama's ability to inject real depth of character into the folks in the stories, and it works very well. Excellent stuff, this. *****

Conan, Rachel, and Detective Richard Moore go on a cruise, but little did they know they embarked on a new and exciting case. Looks like Conan is going to have to solve the case and let Detective Moore get all the credit again. With a series of crimes committed on the ship, who do you think did, see if you can solve the case before Conan does. What I liked most about the book is the exciting and creative cases Conan solves throughout the entire book, but since there is so much dialogue in the book I get confused sometimes on whose talking. My friend character of course was Conan because he solved all the thrilling cases and had a keen eye for detail. Even though everyone thought he was a little kid he solved them but had to let Moore take credit on everything. My favorite scene in the book was when Conan said," A series of crimes have been committed on this ship and I know who the culprit is...After I read that it left me at he edge of my seat and had to read more.It always leaves you wondering what is going to happen and all the suspense in the book just makes you want to read more and more. Even though this is a great book I always wonder when everyone will find out Conan's secret identity. I highly recommend this book because it NEVER gets boring so go to a bookstore and find Case Closed by Gosho Aoyama!