By Mai Mochizuki and Shizu Yamauchi. Released in Japan by Futabasha. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Minna Lin. I think the thing I find most amusing about Holmes of Kyoto is how it can’t seem to settle down in one particular genre. It’s supposed to be in the ‘light mystery’ genre, mostly involving forged antiques, and it definitely is that for a good deal of the book. The SOLUTION to said mysteries, though, is rarely the point and often an afterthought – at one point the book sets up an elaborate locked room mystery, complete with witnesses giving testimony that the reader is supposed to use to deduce the truth… and then solves the mystery immediately. There’s also the “let’s tour Kyoto and talk about how...

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