Brutal, ominous, and suspenseful. The Inoryuu Hajime and Itou Shouta duo is back with another crime/thriller/mystery series that uncovers the dark depths of the human psyche and behavioral patterns.

I loved their previous work ('My Dearest Self With Malice Aforethought') and so far, 'A Suffocatingly Lonely Death' is living up to the high bar set by the duo's former work.

Keep in mind you'll be in for a lot of gore and disturbing themes/art. The first chapter showcases this right off the bat with the case's premise, featuring grotesque emaciation, cannibalism, and child murder.

ART

I'm happy to see there's no decline in the art quality compared to before. The only somewhat irksome element is the weird way most characters' lips are drawn. Main or side, every single character has their own distinctive features and attention is paid to backgrounds or action/violent sequences.

Shouta-sensei is GREAT at drawing human anatomy and gore, as well as sometimes ludicrous facial expressions. I look forward to seeing more of that.

PLOT

Plot-wise, every single chapter keeps to a heavy, grim, mysterious feeling with small plot twists building up. If you've read Hajime-sensei's works, you know how much he loves going insane with the plot twists to the point of something I'd call 'overdose on unexpected turns'.

14 chapters in, and 'A Suffocatingly Lonely Death' has plenty of headscratchers, possible suspects, and just the right amount of unexplained (yet) mystery to keep you on the edge.

OVERALL VERDICT

A solid 8/10 and a possible 9/10 if things go as well as how 'My Dearest Self With Malice Aforethought' went.

I'm glad that once more we have an adult cast, a gripping and dark premise/case, and fantastic art at hand. The series is unsettling and mixes several genres in a way you'd expect to see in high-end crime/thriller literature. I've always thought that Hajime-sensei and Shouta-sensei blend some Western aesthetics and thematical approaches with how the usual manga medium constructs its messages and character building. Their works can be equally captivating if presented as crime TV series or a novel.

Definitely give this a try if you're into the world crime/mystery/thriller. Even if you're not into that, the Hajime x Shouta collaboration is great to expand your horizons with!

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Thanks Netgalley and publisher for giving me a chance to explore more of author-sans other work! (My Dearest Self With Malice Aforethought is also good too!)

It’s pretty much dark enough with nearly everyone in this story who had tough lives living with an abusive parent. It just breaks your heart for the characters like it defo reflects on real life! The story is really well done and you do want to find out more about the cult mansion with Mickey Knox-lookalike (Natural Born Killers fans where you at lol) and who really was the murder suspect in this case?!

Definitely worth checking out this manga if you love your horror and mystery!

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