Juror 13, Volume 1

Publishers Weekly

Taut, terse and unrelenting, this one-shot volume comes as a breath of fresh air in the glutted manga market. While the art is standard for the genre, the story rules supreme here as readers are dragged into the life of insurance claims investigator Jeremy Rosen, a life that inexplicably spirals down a path of suspicion, betrayal and an eventual horrifying murder. His fiancee dumps him, an unctuous lothario of a best friend appears to be setting him up to take a fall for corporate embezzlement, and federal enforcement agents dog his every move-all of which raises the question "Why?" Getting to that answer is a harrowing ride that leaves the reader right alongside the protagonist as the walls close in around him. Unpredictability and a feeling of crawling paranoia provide a smorgasbord of fear within a mundane, nine-to-five world that seems utterly plausible and equally inescapable. To reveal more would ruin a shocking plot twist, so suffice it to say that this volume is an unsettling nail-biter that will leave readers shaken when all is revealed. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.