Amalgam Hound – Criminal Investigation Bureau: Special Investigation Unit Volume 2 Review

Last year, Yen Press debuted the futuristic sci-fi crime series Amalgam Hound – Criminal Investigation Bureau: Special Investigation Unit, which follows detective Theo and his Amalgam partner, Eleven. Having got off to an excellent start, will the second volume manage to deliver another gripping instalment? Let’s find out!

This book opens with Theo and his group investigating a suspicious medical company that’s claiming to be able to restore lost parts of the human body. As this is coupled with some gruesome murders, Theo is starting to suspect that Amalgam is involved.

Of course, getting to the bottom of this one is no easy task. The culprits have done a good job of keeping their hands clean, so as suspicious as Theo is, he’s not going to be able to do anything without hard evidence. So when they discover that the target is going to be holding an event on a luxury cruise ship, it’s time for an infiltration mission. But are our investigators about to get embroiled in something much more dangerous than they first envisioned?

Since Volume 1 handled most of Theo and Eleven’s backstory, this instalment feels more focused on the single case that the group are investigating. It is high stakes, but it doesn’t feel it in comparison to what we saw in the first book – for better and worse. I appreciated being able to spend time with the cast without having the author trying to juggle telling their backstories as well as the current mystery.

And we go to spend more time with Emma and Tobias, who I felt got sidelined last time. I wouldn’t say they’ve had their chance to shine in the same way as our leads have, but I at least felt that they had purpose and roles that only they could accomplish.

Away from the crime they’re trying to solve, the other storyline here is that Theo is starting to see Eleven as more than just a tool or a weapon. The events of the first book made him see her in a new light and even accept her as his investigative partner, but now he’s slowly realising that he’s begun to feel like she’s an irreplaceable part of his life. When they go undercover on the ship, Eleven acts as his romantic partner, which only further muddies his feelings toward her.

I’m somewhat conflicted about that element because while it felt inevitable that Theo was going to develop some kind of feelings for Eleven eventually, there’s no path forward from here. At the time of writing, there has been no third instalment of the series, and Volume 2 came out in September 2022. It doesn’t sound like from the author’s afterword that this was the final volume, and while it may continue in the future, this large a gap after so few books generally suggests it won’t be.

That’s perhaps my biggest issue with Amalgam Hound #2. Although it’s an interesting case that they’re investigating, it doesn’t feel as strong as the first outing, especially when you consider there’s no more. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it (I still found myself gripped by the mystery of it all!) but when we started so strongly, any kind of step down from that was going to be noticeable. Still, even without more in sight, I’d recommend this for anyone who enjoyed their time with Volume 1.

As mentioned, Amalgam Hound comes to the West thanks to Yen Press under their Yen On imprint and has been translated by Jocelyne Allen. As with the first book, this one read well with no issues. There are also some colour pages at the beginning, which, along with the front cover, focus on Emma and Tobias instead of Theo and Eleven.

Overall, Amalgam Hound – Criminal Investigation Bureau: Special Investigation Unit Volume 2 is a worthwhile read for fans of the genre or those who especially enjoyed its first outing. Despite there being no more forthcoming, this was still a series that I had fun with, and I would certainly read more of author Midori Komai’s work in the future should anything be published.

Our review copy from Yen Press was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.