Mystery as a genre doesn't always intersect well with speculative areas of fiction like fantasy or sci-fi. Most people will tell you that's because mystery is rooted in logic and fact-finding, things that can be easily manipulated in worlds where magic and magic-like technology exist. While there have been notable exceptions (Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files comes to mind), it's a mesh of genres that doesn't pop up all that often.

That's part of what makes Mareho Kikuishi's Your Forma series stand out. Unapologetically a science fiction/mystery hybrid, the series takes place in a version of our world that had a different sort of pandemic at a slightly earlier time. The disease in the story's world affects people's brains, and to help them, scientists developed a synthetic smart thread that could be inserted into the brain. Called “Your Forma,” the thread could restore brain functions. It also quickly took on much more commercial uses, becoming the ultimate wearable technology. When the series opens, people have the thread implanted in their brains not for medical purposes (although that's still a function of them) but to keep them constantly connected to the internet. This led to the rise of things like a constant add overlay to reality, ease of communication via the internet, and electronic drugs, which use the Your Forma's access to brain function to give people a different kind of high. To maintain and access the smart thread, people also have access ports (USB) installed in the backs of their necks, giving the entire setup a vague air of body horror. Naturally, some people decline this, and they live in low-tech zones, specially protected areas for people without the implant.

Alongside this tech is another significant development: Amicus. Amicus are androids, synthetic humans, who have taken on many roles in society, from drudgework to companionship. Amicus are required to be programmed with something similar to Asimov's Laws, known in-world as the Laws of Respect, and most of them have basic AI that allows them to be human-like without being too human. Views of Amicus are varied, with some people vouching for their human rights and others eschewing them. Echika Hieda, the protagonist of the series, isn't a fan of Amicus, partly because of her late father, an Amicus and Your Forma engineer who conducted unethical experiments on his young daughter. Those experiments resulted in Echika having a brain that processes information at an impressively and unusually high speed, which is something of a mixed blessing. She's a crackerjack Electronic Investigator for INTERPOL, a new branch of law enforcement that involves “diving” into a suspect's brain via connecting USB cables. Brain diving requires a second person as a safety net, and Echika's speed is such that she typically burns her partners out.

This brings us to the inciting plot incident: Echika's new partner isn't human. He's an Amicus, one of only three specially designed for the British royal family. Harold operates on a higher level than other Amicus, and he's got an overall more human sensibility: he can think and feel in ways other Amicus cannot. He's also much more self-aware. To say that Echika isn't happy with her new partner in volume one might be an understatement, and Harold is very well aware of this. Throughout these first three volumes, we see them working through their relationship, and it is through their interactions and feelings that most of the series' character growth is established. Echika and Harold may not always agree or get along but they are integral to each other, especially after volume two, when Echika learns some unsettling truths about Harold from his creator.

Although each volume has its own self-contained case, each book feeds into a larger, interconnected narrative. Echika's past emotional scars play a significant role in the story along with the murder of the man who took Harold in after he and his brothers were kidnapped from the British crown. Harold ended up in Russia, where a detective essentially adopted him, and his murder has driven Harold in ways that even the staunchest of Amicus lovers might find unsettling. Alongside this is another story thread that looks at the ways the Your Forma can be misused and taken advantage of, which ultimately leads to volume three's main plot about militarized luddites with a strong anti-Your Forma stance.

Kikuishi has some points about our world that they're using the story to mull over. A major one that spans all three of these books is the idea of a technology barrier creating a new class system: the haves can afford the smart thread and Amicus while the have-nots cannot – or choose not to, making them second-class citizens in an increasingly connected world. The character of Bigga is the key to this plotline; she's a member of the Sámi people (the indigenous people of what is now Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula, and Sweden). The Sámi aren't permitted the same technology as others and many become “biohackers” as a result, learning to install implants in people that help them to keep up with Your Forma users. Bigga is keenly aware of how the world functions differently for her, with things coming to a head in volume three, and her inner conflict – her love for her culture and her sense of dissatisfaction with the world – make her a key element of our understanding of the series' world. Volume three also brings up the ways that conspiracy theories can take hold of people; Kikuishi's bibliography for the volume includes a book about Q-Anon and we can easily see how that influences the book's plot.

Although all three books are good, volume two is the weakest of this opening set. Mostly this is because it treads ground that is more familiar than the other two volumes; its central question is caught up in ethical AI technology and what makes a human human. That's not to say that it isn't important to have this debate, but if you're reading for escapism, this is the book least likely to give it to you. Still, Kikuishi is skilled at building on what they've already written, and the way volume two treats both Echika and Harold's character growth is impressive, even if it also gives us one of the most trope-laden characters in the series in Harold's creator.

Your Forma's first three volumes are, on the whole, excellent. A perfect blend of science fiction and mystery, the stories deal with strong plots and characters that are constantly growing. With an anime adaptation announced as of this writing, it's a good time to dive into Kikuishi's world. It may help you to see our world in a slightly different light.