Alice in Murderland

Alice in Murderland Volumes 1-4 by Kaori Yuki, 704 total pages

Alice in Murderland revolves around a wealthy family and it's strange customs. The first being every so often the family must get together for tea. This is not optional, unless they want to die, because if they do not drink this tea every so often the poison coursing though their system will kill them. The second strange custom involves how the inheritance is dispersed. Basically at a time of their choosing (now) the parent gather everyone and oversee a battle royal, with the last surviving child pronounced the sole heir. If this was not crazy enough, each child also have special powers related to, or at least named after Alice in Wonderland themes.

I really wanted to like this series, and as I write this I do not know why I didn't. It has plenty of action, violence, horror, and is loosely based around the Alice in Wonderland theme, all of which I love in a manga. Maybe it was the confusing overlapping backstabbing and plotting that was so overdone it was the norm and no longer unexpected. Or perhaps it was the constant reviving of characters that took away part of the danger, and suspense of this murder mystery. Either way I would give this series a pass, unless you really have nothing else to read.