The boy detective as an adult is consumed with grief and must find the answers to things including death. He believes he is a great detective and much of his experiences are seen by him as cases with characters. Although tinged with sadness, the story is also light in that he is still in the dream world of childhood. Some of the other characters are children and the lessons they learn are satisfying. Despite a certain depressive quality you feel good. The mystery is whether he can learn to cope and actually live.