Cain is back to solve another slew of mysterious happenings around London.

Not much is done to further any sort of overarching plot in volume 2, and as far as the individual mysteries were concerned, the quality varied wildly.

Perplexingly, the most involved of the mysteries, 'Butterfly Bones', was easily the weakest, and author Kaori Yuki appeared to have bitten off more than she could chew, all of the elements coming together so clumsily that the 'reveal' of the villain at the end felt like a failed attempt at a twist rather than the logical conclusion to a twisty tale of intrigue.

The others felt as though they carried less weight plot-wise, but perhaps because she didn't weigh them down with too many plot elements, they felt cleaner in terms of overall execution.

The illustrations, however, were just as if not more gorgeous than in volume one, with a real lushness that suits the Gothic Victorian setting.

Not bad enough to put me off of the series, and I was fine going along with the ride as I was reading, but certainly not a super strong installment.