Review: Mystery Novel That Will Appeal to Adults and YA Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 10, 2014
“Legendary Detective at the World’s End” is a mystery novel comprised of three stories about Kirin, a seventeen-year-old detective who has an abiding passion for solving mysteries both large and small.The first story, “A Tale with Two Endings,” finds Kirin at an attempted murder scene in a bordello, using his reasoning skills and wit to discern the real killer; “A Day is a Lifetime” starts with the mystery of a missing almond in a chocolate sweet, but leads to a dangerous situation involving gamblers; and “An Empire and Its DJ” sees Kirin facing off against the captain of the City Patrol and involved in a situation with a girl and her brothers who have illegally breached the city borders.Each story can be read as a self-contained tale, but I think they are best read in order—characters are introduced in each that carry over to the next. The first story was easily the one I enjoyed the most; it has a classic noir feel and drew my interest to the dangerous, ominous Grey Forest. My favorite character was the carefree and ever-optimistic Jake, who has street smarts but is eager for a friend in Kirin; he soon learns that Kirin’s baby face and small stature are deceiving. Kirin himself is smart and analytical, and the mysteries he chooses to investigate may come from his circumstances or his own whimsy (I found his focus on the Chocolate Grenadier to be quite amusing).The mysteries themselves, though occasionally containing adult themes, are mostly light-hearted and there’s no graphic violence, so this novel is appropriate for adults as well as YA readers. I would recommend “Legendary Detective at the World’s End” to readers who enjoy mysteries with quirky characters who will grow and develop over the course of the series.