Case Closed, Vol. 33 [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

"Case Closed" is almost entirely made up of standalone mysteries, with suspects and murders that will probably never be referred to again. But in the thirty-third volume, Gosho Aoyama strings together these mysteries on some dark, ongoing plot threads -- in particular, a pair of mysterious people who are clearly more than they appear.

First Conan has to help poor Takagi work out who the culprit is in a difficult robbery case, where none of the suspects fit the description of the culprit. To make matters worse, Sato has entered a shocking bet with Santos: if Takagi doesn't come to get her before sunset, she'll marry Santos.

Then a Valentine's Day vacation at a mountain resort turns deadly -- a man is found dead in the woods, with a heart-shaped chocolate (made by a guest who couldn't have put it there) placed next to his body. Of course, a massive snowstorm cuts them off from the outside world, and their only clues lie in the dead man's camera. But all is not as it seems, and only Conan can unravel the facts.

Then, Conan and his little friends agree to help a man find a lost watch in his apartment -- only to have an obnoxious neighbor murdered in the very next room. And finally, a lunch with Serena, Rachel and their teacher Jodie goes horribly awry when they overhear a conversation that leads to a man's murder. And as Conan tries to work out the answer to this puzzle, he begins to wonder what is really going on with Jodie...

"Case Closed" usually focuses completely on Conan's deadly tango with the mysterious, evil organization that shrank him, or on his standalone cases. "Case Closed Volume 33" is a little different from the norm -- sure, Conan is solving all the murders and stuff, but the mysterious man in a knit cap is lurking nearby, and Jodie Saintemillion is pretty obviously much more than a sweet flaky American.

The mysteries are pretty well done, although there are a few moments that slightly stretch credibility (the whole clue involving the dog at the resort). Lots of splattered blood, nasty victims and tangled-up clues that may or may not be all they appear to be. But there's also a fair dose of humor, such as Makoto's epic butt-kicking entrance and macho protests.... which turn out to be a big mistake. He and Serena are actually pretty cute together.

While he's understandably focused on his cases, Conan appears to be doing some soul-searching about his relationship with Rachel, and the effect his prolonged absences are having on her. And it's becoming pretty obvious that Jodie is not just a kindly, flaky American with very broken Japanese -- she drops some unsubtle hints about her connections and background, as well as her knowledge about what may be approaching Rachel.

"Case closed Volume 33" is a solid round of murder mysteries, but the real attention-getters are the mystery people hanging around Conan and his friends.