Murder Mysteries

Murder Mysteries is metafiction in the form of a graphic novel. It's short, only 64 pages long, and easily read over a lingering cup of coffee. It's two stories, both told as flashbacks, one of a man who ten years earlier spent the night talking to a homeless man on a trip to Los Angeles, and then the homeless man's story. The homeless man's story takes up the bulk of the book. He tells a story Raguel, the "Vengeance of the Lord" sent for by Lucifer to discover the identity of an angel who murdered another. Raguel learns the true horror of being an aspect and a function of the Lord at the event horizon of Lucifer's fall. Raguel's story though is both a cautionary tale and a framing device for the truth behind the protagonist's last night in Los Angeles. Everything he tells before meeting the man at the bus bench needs to be re-evaluated in light of Raguel's story and the final warning whispered at the close of the nighttime tale. I thoroughly enjoyed Murder Mysteries and was both drawn in and repulsed at the same time. The mixture of emotions and the fact that I'm still think of the book more than week after reading is the reason behind my giving it a full five stars at GoodReads.

The more I read by Neil Gaiman, the more I want to immerse myself in his world. I was not familiar with this story when I read this graphic novel, which apparently was first published as a short story. The story itself is many layered. It is about love, death, free will, and the consequences. All of these topics are complex. Then Neil Gaiman has it take place in heaven, among angels. While the angels go about their work in creating what is presumably our world, a murder has taken place and it is the job of Vengeance to find out who committed it and why. But when his job is done, instead of resolution, he only finds more questions. And as the reader, we are left pondering many of the same questions. What I love so much about Neil Gaiman's writing is that he assumes the reader is educated and able to come to his own conclusions. He leaves things open, asking more questions than answering them. I don't feel like he is leading me by the hand, trying to show me what he wants me to see, rather that he is opening a door and letting me explore a different world. I wasn't as big of a fan of the art but after reading the last section where P. Craig Russell explains his methods and his reasons for pacing and paneling, I definitely have a greater appreciation for it.

I got this on a cheap sale, and honestly I'm glad I only paid a few bucks for it. While I like the premise of the short story I feel like the ending really came out of the left field. It came as a bad taste at the end of a so-so tale. I wish it was tad longer in detail. It is very short only 69 pages or so.