Mitsukazu Mihara: the Embalmer, Volume 2 Book

So Vol. 2 is a bit better, because we get more background on Shinjyurou. He's got an American father, who was also an embalmer - for the Embassy and the military. He was an outsider as a kid too, got beat up a lot.

We also learn more about Shouko Koyuki - a hot female hospital doctor who is both an advocate for Shinjyurou's embalming practice (she refers him a lot of clients) and seems to either shamelessly flirt with him, or be hooking up with him. (Kinda hard to tell - especially after the story of her past marriage is told.)

Some of the stories are a bit creepy, but... people react weirdly to death. And actually one of the things I like about Mihara is the twisted, dark way she portrays humanity. It's not horror, and it's not done for laughs, it's just that human drama, emotions, and predilections are disturbing at times. (This is more overt in the "Doll" series - which deals more with sexuality, perversion and humanity, but I note the underlying themes are present here too.)

For manga, and for the minuet/short story format, Mihara is very good at making you care about her characters. You may not like them, but you want to know their stories. So I'll have to seek out the other books in this 6 series set now.