Lonely Deaths Lie Thick as Snow by Hajime Inoryū and illustrated by Shota Itō (Kodansha)

Synopsis: A routine call regarding a burglary at an empty mansion leads cocky young police detective Jin Saeki to a gruesome and shocking discovery. The corpses of 13 children, along with the presence of a strange symbol, spur a manhunt for Juzo Haikawa, the mysterious absentee owner of the house. So begins an investigation (and an obsession) that will take Jin all over Japan and into the darkest recesses of both the past and the human soul.

Review: Lonely Deaths Lie Thick as Snow is a seinen crime thriller series that ran from 2021 to the present (though apparently entering its final arc). There will be 11 or 12 volumes in total. Kodansha has licensed the titles for US release with the first five volumes scheduled for 2026 (vol 1 in March and every other month to follow). It is available in print, digitally, (and I don't yet see it on library apps like Hoopla and Comics Plus).

The protagonist detective is young, brash, and full of himself. When he arrives on the crime scene in the opening moments he does so by announcing his presence as the ace detective and finger guns the beat cop that called him to the scene. He just thinks he's the tops. This early on it's hard to tell what his skill level is. Is he any good as a detective? Will he be able to handle the case? Luckily he's at his most annoying in the early parts of the story. Turns out he's a doofus with a history.

The enigmatic man who owned the house where the grisly crime scene was discovered, Juzo Haikawa, lies at the heart of this volume. At this early stage in the investigation he's the main suspect. We learn about his past seemingly helping children who are being neglected by their own parents and that those children, who are now adults, think kindly of him. Who is this man and what was he doing in that house?

As the investigation proceeds and the layers get peeled back, we'll get some insights into the past, introduced to new characters, meet characters in the present that we were introduced to in the flashbacks and character histories, the case will land close to the young detective's life and become personal, and will end with a big hook to carry over to the next volume. As to be expected with a story like this, at this early stage, more questions will be asked than answered. While it does present the crime scene and what happened as horrific, there is no indication that this story will take a supernatural or fantastical turn. So far just a procedural crime thriller grounded more in realism.

I had a good time reading it and am curious to see where it goes. This is a new series, out now with a March 3rd release date. I don't really know much about it or where the story goes. So this is good opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a new manga crime series. We can read it together if you want. 

Verdict: positive/recommended

Availability:  Print & digital

(cw: child neglect, child abuse, child death)