The Dark Maidens

"The Dark Maidens", was there a better title for this story? This work is a murder mystery following the pattern of unreliable narrators. Story (9): The plot is rather interesting. Several students of an all-girl High School are assembled for what the first narrator, ex-vice-president of the Literature Club Sayuri Sumikawa, describe as the "Mystery Stew". These girls are all members of the Literature Club and they have gathered in the club's room one week after the incident that occurred in the school, which is the death of the former president, Itsumi Shiraishi. Each of the girl is demanded to bring a story to the table regarding Itsumi'sdeath and, at the end, they will try to understand one thing. Was that a suicide? Was that a murder? If it was so, who is the culprite? All this will be done while they eat from the Mystery Stew (which will be described in the first part of the book, I'll leave the details to you). Art (6): The art is nothing special and does not add anything to the story. It's just fine, not bad and not exceptional. Characters (10): What really shines in this story are, of course, our girls. Everyone of them wrote a piece honoring the victim, Itsumi, while bringing their perpsective about who is the murderer. Each story is rich with details, interesting to read and with one or several plot twists. Really enjoyable! What is real? What is not? Will you be able to understand it by the hints given in all their stories? Overall (10): A story is composed of several important aspects, the beginning and the plot are fundamental, as well as the development, but nothing holds more importance than the ending. What stands out in this Light Novel are the last two chapters, which I found incredbile, enough to let my mouth gape in surprise several times! They perfectly wrap up this beautiful story and give us those missed pieces of the puzzle we were all building in our minds while reading this. The ending is such a perfect cherry on this cake, that I decided to give it a 10. What are you waiting for? Make yourself an Earl Grey Tea and enjoy this Light Novel.