After two seasons of mostly non-canon, original material, the Kuroshitsuji series returned to Yana Toboso's manga canon with the famous Book of Circus. After its success, the story of a demon and his young master continued with a next chapter : Book of Murder !
Book of Murder adapts its plot from the Phantomhive Manor Murders arc from the manga. It is a nicely done arc, with an intriguing story, which evolves like a detective story, so that the viewer can participate to its solution. As every good mystery, it has many nice twists and it also uses the famous pattern of the closed room murders (something that gave me some Umineko no naku koro ni vibes). Except from that, another thing that serves as a homage to the genre of mystery was the many references to Sherlock Holmes.
As for the art, it has the same quality of the previous seasons, especially Book of Circus. About the sound, however I was a little disappointed because there wasn't a new opening or ending this time, due to the small number of episodes I suppose. The rest of the soundtrack was ok and it really set the atmosphere, as usual.
Next, we have the characters. Many of the old ones returned, like Lau and Ran Mao, but because of the feeling of isolation that this arc tries to give it omits many fan-favourites (but also a bit unrealistic) like Grell or Undertaker. As for the main protagonists, we see once again the competitive side of Ciel and also his more sentimental side. In this arc, Sebastian mainly follows Ciel's orders, while his hunger for his master's soul grows. It's also the first time that we see Charles Grey (who had first made a cameo in Book of Circus), one of the most interesting characters from the manga, in action. There is also a young author, named Arthur, whose real identity is easy to guess, but that doesn't make him less memorable.
So, it's a very good addition to the Black Butler series and a successful adaption from the manga. Much like Book of Circus, it's a fun to watch series, that everyone can watch, even if they're Kuroshitsuji fans or not.
