I have to say that this book was more engaging than the previous one (technically the third book, although I read it first). The first story was extremely creepy, with the drawings and the way they fit together. What was interesting to me was that it took the writer of the blog, Raku, so long to actually figure out the meaning behind the drawings. For me, the drawing of the adult woman was especially creepy…even without the added context of what the drawing actually meant.
This book had a very horror-psychological feel at times, especially when Naomi and her son were being followed. I have to say that, while I could understand the actions that Kumai ended up taking, I don’t really agree with them…especially as they could have resulted in Yuta (a child who was innocent) being affected.
I found the Prologue at the beginning to be really interesting, as I’m not entirely sure I could blame Child A for the actions she took, considering the abusive situation she grew up in…and the details about what she went through were pretty horrible. However, that obviously didn’t excuse any of the actions that she took throughout the book…and by the end of the book, I had some really mixed feelings. There were at least two people who didn’t deserve to die…and part of me wonders if Child A should have had more support after she grew up. I mean, rehabilitation is all very well…but justified or not, killing someone isn’t something that can just be got over. I would assume so anyway, considering I don’t have personal experience with it. Even if Child A had had been put in touch with a therapist, or had someone constantly check in with her, maybe things would have been different. Or maybe not. I will say that my empathy for Child A had disappeared by the end of the book, considering what was revealed about why she continued doing what she did.
Unlike the previous book, this one didn’t actually have any appearances by the author, although it did wrap up everything right at the end. I also really liked the use of the drawings in this book. I thought they added a lot to the narrative style, and helped me to understand the characters a bit more…especially as I personally believe that those who create something actually put a piece of themselves into it.
I did find the short story about the art teacher to be really interesting, as most of the time, when people die, those who knew them seem to have an unspoken agreement not to speak ill of the dead. In this case, though, the people left behind didn’t hesitate to talk about how much they disliked him…but as I got to know more about the art teacher, he actually felt like a more complex person than he’d first appeared, which was good.
So far, out of the two books I’ve read by this author, this one is my favourite…but I have started reading Strange Houses, so we’ll see what I think when I finish that. But if you enjoy mystery books, I highly recommend this author to give a try.
Ink of Blood 