I Became a Monster After My Childhood Friend Died

Thinking, Growing, and Struggling: Stories With Smart Protagonists

If you've read too many power fantasies and everyday romances, here's some mystery and detective fiction with smart protagonists. Watch them struggle to survive or satisfy their own desires, planning far ahead and pushing themselves to exhaustion. They earn everything through their own efforts, not through lucky breaks or a golden finger. By the way, some of these books have transformation and pure romance, but no harems.