Detective Xeno and the Seven Locked Murder Rooms

TL;DR: Not the fairest of mysteries and the mystery quality may vary, but the murder rooms are fun. I'd say read it for the plot. Story: 8/10 Overall, the storyline is great and probably the main selling point. Even it it wasn't what I would call stellar, it was still pretty fun to read all the way through. Most of it is too much of a spoiler to add in here though. I can only say that it's a shame the final chapters got increasingly rushed, which I can only suspect are due to an impeding axe. I was really looking forward to seeing how the authorwould elegantly tie up the storyline, but I guess the wonderful journey was still worth the few loose ends. Characters: 5/10 I would have like to see a bit more of was character development on the side characters, and even the main characters could have used more "emotional" exploration. The characters were definitely interesting to watch run around and a couple did have some backstory depth, but I realise now that I didn't connect deeply with any of them beyond the knee-depth level. There were hardly any character relationship explorations either, which is a huge missed opportunity when the story features a Watson character and even a few mini-rivals perfect for pulling this off. On the other hand, the MC was pretty damn charismatic for an emotionless amnesiac who does nothing but solve mysteries for ~80 chapters without break. Every character was at least fun to watch and they do interact with the storyline well. Hence why I'm a bit mixed on this point. Art: 8/10 It's nothing that stands out, but does manage to fit the setting and atmosphere perfectly. Simple, yet sufficiently detailed to be effective with both dark and comedic moments emphasised well for the most part. I have little else to say about it, but I guess that also means it's doing its job splendidly. (Bonus Section) Mystery: 6/10 Although there was a fair bit of action, I did like that it was primarily mystery focused. The MC did a decent job at solving the cases and the logical reasoning is solid enough. However, I think it's more of a thriller than a fair play mystery for the reader, if that is specifically what you came for. You can expect missing or late clues for the sake of dramatic twists and the MC looking smart, though this also varies between arcs. With that said, you should be able to half-solve some of these as the clues come in, and at least a few tricks will be obvious even if a little ridiculous. Also, don't expect any locked rooms. Despite it being the literal title, it would have been more accurate to just leave it as seven "murder rooms". They do share a few characteristics of common locked room setups, but they are actually just fancy settings that engineer "interesting spectacles" (given you admire them from a safe distance of 20km away). The closed room part is often ignored.