Gosick
Simultaneously published has novels and magazine serialized short stories, there are currently five Gosick novels and two Gosicks short story collections.
The Watson figure, Kujo Kazuya, is a rather uptight, honorable third son of a Japanese Imperial army soldier, studying abroad in a fictional European country in 1924. He's a little isolated, since horror stories have sprung up around him, so he finds himself in charge of delivering class notes to the school's biggest legend -- the student who never comes to class, never seems to leave the library, and is regularly visited by the police. The school library is of unusual construction -- absurdly tall, there are no floors, merely dozens of staircases strung between bookcases and landings over a huge drop. At the top is a conservatory, and there Victorique sits, reading the entire contents of the library at lightning speed, when not interrupted by an absurdly hairstyled policemen who, despite refusing to acknowledge she even exists, needs her to solve mysteries for him. Her gothic lolita style is rudely undercut by the pipe she constantly smokes, a voice that sounds like a little old lady, and a personality like acid.
Series order
Like many Japanese series, the chronology is a little confusing, since there are both novel length works and short story collections, which were published out of chronological order. The Gosick novels are full length works, and the Gosicks books are short story collections. The Gosicks books are serialized in a magazine, so come out much later. For the curious, in chronological order:
The first meeting between Kazuya and Victorique is a far better introduction to the characters than Gosick I, if a significantly less interesting mystery. The short stories here link together, gradually building up to the first novel.
Kazuya and Victorique solve the death of a fortune teller, and cash in the favor for a yachting expedition with the policeman. When plans fall through, they find an invitation to a cruise addressed to the fortune teller, and use it. Soon, they are wrapped up in a mystery involving ghost ships, old secrets, and a rabbit run that predicted where the cards would fall in WWI.
More of a pulp adventure/action story than a mystery, really -- I mean, I solved the mystery, and I am terrible at figuring mysteries out. Straight entertainment, but a very intense, gripping read despite a slow start.
An newspaper ad calling for the descendants of the Gray Wolves to return home leads to Victorique sneaking out of the school, with Kazuya tagging along, and heading to a small, isolated, mysterious village in the mountain. Victorique's mother was exiled from the village at the age of fifteen for murder...
The gothic horror angle plays up this time, with eyeballs in water glasses, wolves, and prophecy. Also sheds just enough light on Victorique's background to keep us from feeling cheated, while still leaving lots to uncover in future volumes.
While Victorique is sick in bed, Kazuya gets mixed up with a department store that 'eats' children, and a missing diamond called the Blue Rose. Only an autistic street urchin knows the secret...
A murder in the school clock tower and the discovery of an alchemists memoir bring Victorique down from the library, forcing her to interact with Avril. Meanwhile, Kazuya has a run in with a mysterious illusionist with ties to Victorique's mother...
- Gosicks II
- Gosick V
- Gosick VI
- Gosicks III
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