This was a very quick read and, like the anime and manga of Death Note, is intense and exciting even with little real action. The silly names of some of the characters are a litte strange at first, but I got used to them. I would reccomend anyone who reads this book watch at least the first 7 or 8 episodes of the Death Note anime or read the first volume or two of the manga BEFORE reading Another Note. Anyone totally unfamiliar with Death Note just won't get the full effect of the story.

I ordered this book on july 31st, and got it the very next day. And I gotta say, it is an amazing book. There is so much mystery, puzzle solving, I felt like I wouldn't stop reading. For everyone who are Death Note fans, I recommend this book. You get to know a lot more about Beyond Birthday, I think he was mentioned in the manga; I'm not sure, cause I didn't read most of them, only 7 through 12. The story is also a bit funny, consisting Ryuzaki; going on all fours looking for clues.

Lots of twists and turns in a merely 176 pages novel! Stay true to the original death note spirit. Though with a few flaws as stated by other readers, I'm more than happy and excited to know more about "L". Beware of another "Death Note withdrawal syndrome", I finished this book in less than four hours at B&N, LOL!

Short and simple this is a very good book to just sit down and read but there's something about the item that just isn't very good. The place where this book shipped out of is 100 miles South of my house, guesse how many days the package took to arive at my house? It took 8, 8 days to ship a book 100 miles, I could walk that distance in 2 days if I tried hard enough. So in short, this is a good book but the shipping on this book is only something a saint could tolerate.

I love this book. It's a bit short but the whole mystery is entertaining to the last page and even makes you laugh out loud in some parts. There are times when I want to slap Naomi's head for missing the obvoius but sometimes that made her more fun. I'd like it if the other 2 cases mentioned in the book were made into novels as well. (weather these would be told by Mello or someone different would be the authors choice)

Of course, it goes without saying that those who aren't fans of Death Note need not even consider reading this book. Similarly, those who spent the series rooting for Light (you poor saps!) may be a bit bummed out by the story found herein. Another Note has little to do with Shinigami, with Kira, or with Yagami San. Thankfully, it also has nothing to do with Misa. God, I hate Misa. No, this is not a key extension of the Death Note saga. Instead, it tells the story briefly alluded to in the series, the story of the bizarre series of murders that resulted in L working with Naomi Misora. It's a proper detective novel, in the sense that it features a group of sleuths working to solve a mystery whose solution isn't known to the audience until the very end (although they are invited to play along). The mystery in question is that of the Los Angeles BB murder cases, a series of grizzly homicides scattered throughout L.A. The scene of each killing is laden with hidden clues that can point those clever enough to decode them to the next victim. For reasons all his own, L sees this as a direct challenge to himself, and after three murders have taken place, he steps in to prevent the fourth. He uses his substantial influence to recruit Misora (whom he chose virtually by chance), manipulating her through his own clever and indirect means.

The strengths of the novel are many. First of all, it's a dream come true for L fans (trust me, I adore the hell out of that sugar-sucking insomniac, so I know what I'm talking about). It reveals a good deal about his background and the nature of his work, allowing readers a peak behind the smoke and mirrors with which he operates. It cements his legend as the greatest detective the world has ever seen, and simultaneously reveals his most dangerous weaknesses and compulsions. Indeed, this is as much a study of L's passive-aggressive ego as it is a look at his phenomenal detective skills. And then there's the fact that Another Note is simply a gripping story- it's got a dark atmosphere, great characters, and a labyrinthine plot (with a solution that'll turn your brain inside out). It's also quite refreshing to see a story where Naomi Misora isn't a wasted opportunity (from a narrative standpoint). Her death in the series itself was stunningly untimely, as her obvious intelligence and resolve could have made her a truly compelling character. Here, she reaches her potential, working beside L with startling ability and intuition.

A few flaws knock this book down a peg: The beginning is a bit boring, and the ending (despite the cool denouement) feels rushed and dry. The final chapter is a dreary, abstracted explanation of the mystery's solution, its tone suggesting that the author simply wanted to finish the damn novel and get on with his life. It's a strangely anticlimactic way to finish things off, and it saps the story's resolution of its inherent drama. In addition, there are a few other hackneyed plot contrivances. And the character names are terrible.

But these little things aside, Another Note is an excellent novel, and author's hints that a couple more prequels are forthcoming fill me with smiles.

I absolutely love this series, and after reading the summaries for the book, I immediately bought it. The book itself was interesting, and I didn't mind spending $18 for it. Mello's voice in the novel is pretty funny. He says "To hell with Kira. I'm only interested in L" (Finally, someone said it). Anyway, there wasn't as much information on L as I had hoped, so if you buy this book in hopes of learning more about the detective, you're not going to be satisfied.

well, this book is probably a page-turner. I couldn't stop reading until the reach the last page of it.

It is nicely designed and the content itself worths the money. It contains all elements you look for in a mystery book: the tension, the thrill and the twists. The narrating might be a bit biased, well, to be precise, it IS biased against Kira, I meant Kira was really underestimated here ( not that I care, he's never been my favorite in Death Note), but it came from Mello, I think it's tolerable. A fact that the names of the victims sound stupidly weird didn't bother me much. The way the book was narrated is abnormal already.

Basically, Nisioisin did a good job at depicting the characters; the way they think and act just like how they would be in the manga. His writing is witty, descriptive and contains a dry sense of homour. The strings of clues did make me spinning a little bit but once you take it slow and in a proper reading-pace, everything is just crystal clear.

As a lot of people have said, you should be a Death Note reader in order to catch on the details which are relevant to the series. If you can't, "Another Note" alone is still a good mystery book once you can tolerate the said details.

Well, I was a bit disappointed at the ending with the same reason as Sekuiro "sekuiro". That's y it's 4 stars to me.

A great buy from this seller. The book was in excellent condition, arrived very quickly at a fair price. I love these Death Note novels!

This book was actually very good, told from Mello's POV, the writing and details of the story were good, it was a nice look into L's mind and how he works, and BB of course. You'll definitely get good laughs from BB's silly antics. I recommend it for all Death Note fans, though I don't recommend it as a standalone novel, if you don't know about Death Note, then the whole story and characters will be lost on you. All in all it's quite a interesting story and the book cover is awesome, so it's definitely worth the read.

From the first page I knew the book would be entertaining. With such a blunt and opinionated narrator, the book was well written, as well as having a pretty complex plot for such a short book.

The twist at the end was riveting, though I kinda did see it coming.

I really enjoyed the book. I couldn't put it down and now all my friends are dieing to read it.

I was really disappointed the fun was over after the Death Note series ended, so it was a no-brainer I'd pick up "Death Note: Another Note" when I saw it in a bookstore one afternoon. I had no expectations, and all I can say is "what a page turner it is!" This novel does what I wish more books would do when based on an existing property. It's fleshes out the backstory hinted at of major characters, and secondary characters that served their purpose in the main story, but you wanted to know more about. Best of all, you don't feel let down with the new knowledge. DNAN keeps up the suspense and tension that the original series had, and manages to throw in some unexpected twists that really surprised me, especially considering this is a prequel of sorts (you'll understand soon enough). Author, Nisiosin is to be commended on an excellent addition to the Death Note mythos, and I hope to read more translations of his work.

what's not to say about this product?
I've been waiting for a translation of this for a long
time, and to have it in my hands is great.

The book is well written and Mello does an
excellent job of narrarating.
does contain spoilers if you haven't seen the whole
series or past manga book 7.
I highly recommend it for all readers.

If you're a fan of the anime/manga, this novel is definitely worth reading. The writing is funny, clever and engaging, the dialogue and characterization is spot on, and the plot kept me guessing. It's not without problems, though. Other reviewers have already mentioned the bizarre, distracting names--my "favorite" being "Blues-harp Babysplit" (Really, what the heck?) My biggest problem with this book, however, was the ending.

WARNING, HUGE SPOILERS. DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HATE SPOILERS.

I found the ending a huge disappointment. Why? I must admit a personal bias at this point. L is my favorite character. I bought this novel primarily because I thought it was about L, and this was not an inexpensive book--$18.00 for a lean 175 pages, which I devoured in one night. I thought I was getting my money's worth, but in the end, it's revealed that Ryuzaki--the character we're led to believe is L for most of the novel--is a fake. So in reality, L is hardly in this book at all. I actually felt cheated and tricked, since the introduction and inside cover seem to indicate that this novel is about him. And that's really the only reason this book didn't get five stars from me. Well, that and the names.

Great book, nice to find out about certain characters from the series. The names are a little strange too, you'll find out if you read it.

First let me say, that this book should probably only be read if you are a fan of the Death Note Series. The book as a standalone would not be a very good read. Now that I got that out of the way onto the review.

The book itself was of quality and had thicker pages than I'm use to. The book also contains a built in book marker which was useful.

As you may have guessed I'm a fan of the Death Note series and was disappointed when I finally finished it. I then came across this book and figured I would give it a shot. The book has a lot of the same plot twists and turns that we all became use to in Death Note. The pace of the novel was decent and did not drag on.

This novel gives you some insight on Naomi Misora and L. The book is narrated by Mello, which may or may not be a good thing depending on who you are. I did not particularly like Mello as a Character in the Anime, but as a narrator he is tolerable. You also get to learn a little more about the inner workings of Watari's Orphanage.

There were several things that I did not like about this novel:

1. The names for the murder victims were absolutely ridiculous such as "Backyard Bottomlash" and "Quarter Queen". It became very annoying reading this names over and over again.

2. A lot of the twists and turns were not as witty as in the Anime and were quite easy to figure out on your own.

3. The "major" twist at the end did not appease me. It made me feel like the whole book did not do what it was intended to do. You might see what I mean after you read it, but I can't go into more detail without giving away the story.

4. The writing was a little awkward at moments, but overall the flow was alright.

As I said earlier, this novel is a good read for Death Note Fans but it does have some flaws. I would NOT recommend this to anyone who has not read the manga or seen the anime. The characters and parts of the story would be lost on you.

Ordered for my 13y daughter, she enjoyed this book very much. Product shipped fast/ arrived earlier than estimated delivery date actually. All around good experience.

This was a nice prequel to the anime series Death Note and well worth the money spent. If you want to own all the items pertaining to Death Note then this book is a must. Filled with our favorite detective and a few surprises , it kept me hooked to the end.

I did a pre-order and it was well worth the wait. The book itself is of high quality, from the cover to the pages, which impressed me from the start. For the story itself, it's enough to want to keep you reading to see what will happen next just like the Managa and anime did. You find yourself trying to see if you can put the puzzle together before reading the next page. This adds something to L's character that was known but not discussed much in the Deathnote series. Most people wanted to know why "L" was so great, and some of his other famous cases. At least this book answered some of those questions!

Suggest this book to any Deathnote fan!

A prose novel spinoff of the popular manga?
It's about L instead of Light?
Huh. Sounds worth a look.
And it was...kind of.

This book is a prequel to the Death Note series. It covers the Los Angeles BB Serial Murders that are briefly mentioned in the manga. It tells of the first time L ever worked with FBI Agent Naomi Misora, arguably his greatest collaborator.

What's interesting is that, unlike a lot of whodunnit mysteries, this one is actually more effective with a second reading. As a Death Note fan, I found the first reading of chapter two mildly intriguing. When I reread it after finishing the book and knowing who the killer was, that chapter became much darker, creepier, and more engaging. The same can be said about other parts of the book, but it was most effective here.

Another unusual thing about this book is the way it's written. Essentially, its narrated by L's protege, Mello. He starts out by trying to write about the case like he was writting a true crime report; very straight forward and admittingly speculative. Very quickly though, his tone changes to that of a novelist. He ends up writing down what the characters are thinking or feeling. Only occasionally does he catch himself and revert back to the other style. Mello even interrupts the story at various points when he has a problem with how he worded a certain sentence or how he had a character speak. It gave me the feeling that I was looking over Mello's shoulder as he was writing it. This all provided some quirky, self-aware humor at parts where the book risked becoming too ridiculous. Also, it was an interesting way to provide infodumps and backstory when it was needed.

There were some problems though.

First, is a bizarre contradiction with the rules established in the Death Note canon. Not only that, but it's never really explained. Both Mello and the real author just expect us to accept it without question.

Second, when you finally get to the final chapter and realize what was truly at stake if the mystery wasn't solved, you want to yell out, "So What?" Although L admits in the manga that he's childish and hates to lose, his reasons (and Mello's justifications for those reasons) for getting involved in the BB case make him come across as uncharacteristically petty.

Third, the names of most of the characters are unbelievably stupid. The best example would be "Backyard Bottomslash" (no, I'm not joking). Unless Mello "changed names to protect the innocent", there is no reason for having such bizarre names. If they had been used in a comedic manner (much like Mello's inconsistent narration style), that'd be one thing. They weren't, and they really weakened the parts of the book that we're expected to take seriously.

This book is only recommended for fans of the manga. If you're a Death Note fan, you'll have certain expectations while reading the book which will make the twist ending that much more surprising. For anyone else, the twist will lose all of its power because they will not have said expectations.

This book was decent, but it "cooled" my enthusiasm for any future Death Note Spinoffs. If you want something truly great, stick with the original.

I preordered this book back in November...and it was worth the wait. It is easy reading, full of ingenius "riddles" for Misora and Ryuzaki to follow (left by the killer Beyond Birthday) (That was not a spoiler, BTW)
It's so interesting and gripping, you can't put it down. In my opinion...
The author did a great job on this, though I laugh at "Ryuzaki's" behavior. Scuttling around on all fours looking for clues the police overlooked, he reminds me of Gollum from Lord of the Rings.
I really recommend this book to all Death Note fans.