Book Review: Death Note, Volume 2: Confluence

Tsugumi Ohba (author) and Takeshi Obata (artist), Death Note Volume 2: Confluence. San Francisco, CA: VIZ Media, 2005. ISBN: 9781421501697.

Genre: manga

Subgenre: horror, suspense, fantasy 

Format: trade paperback

Source: I own this one

 

Light Yagami, the brilliant but bored school student who holds the Death Note notebook, strives to stay steps ahead of the law. Using the power of the Death Note to kill criminals is one thing. When he has to kill some law enforcement agents to cover his tracks, things get complicated. Things get even more complicated when one of the dead agents' fiancee, who is now a retired agent, decides to get involved in the case. 

The plot thickens, and the drama and tension increase. L, the genius investigator, reveals himself to a select police group to intensify the hunt for the mystery killer. Light will need all his genius and smarts to stay a step ahead; this includes anticipating and eluding police surveillance. He is the son of the national police chief investigating the case, and L has surveillance on his police team suspecting a possible information leak. The story becomes an intense cat and mouse chase as we keep reading to see if Light gets caught or not. 

Overall, the story is good with a good amount of suspense. The gauntlet gets harder for Light. You'll have to read to see if he comes out ahead. Along the way we learn more rules of the Death Note, some that may be helpful to Light. This is a good entry in the series, and it sets things  up for the next volume. I really liked it. 

4 out of 5 stars. 

This book qualifies for the following 2023 Reading Challenge: