Written by John Allison
Art by Max Sarin
Published by Dark Horse Comics
I went into this book without any knowledge or understanding of the actual genre.
I don’t watch British cooking or baking shows as they are not my thing.
Furthermore, my least favorite genre of any sort of pop culture story is when it is like an “Agatha Christie” mystery. I usually immediately tune out when I see it described as such.
But, I figure that I would give it a chance. It is good to open your mind to other forms of entertainment.
And honestly? This book isn’t half bad!
The best part about is that writer John Allison makes the book very fun and very funny!
Allison I remember as being one of the first people to really be a force on early web comics. It is great to see him still writing. And it is great to see him including some of the same tropes and even some of the same characters as his earlier work.
There are a lot of characters in this book. But Allison infuses them all with a unique and memorable personality, so it makes it easy to follow. The plot, if you can’t tell from the title, involves murder set in the world of British competitive baking.
Our main character, Shauna Wickle (a character we have definitely seen before in Allison’s work), decides to enter the competition to try out her skills and possibly even make some new friends. That is when murder rears its ugly head and her world is turned upside down.
Shauna finds herself in the center of this maelstrom of craziness.
Everyone is a suspect.
As the series unfolds, we get to see the various suspects. It seems everyone had an axe to grind and an opportunity. The way the story is told is pretty hilarious. Things don’t go where you think they might. In the midst of it all, Shauna learns very quickly that she really can’t trust anyone. She also learns that the murder that is being investigated might just be the tip of the iceberg as well. Something much larger may be in play, and clues keep appearing left and right.
Watching Shauna go from wanting to be a baker to an actual sleuth is a real wild time. She continues in the competition but is sort of undercover as she does it. Every judge, contestant and host provide her clues to the actual crime. The plot becomes very interesting and intertwined. Every panel seems to have a clue, whether it be big or small. But something else is happening behind the scene as well to poor Shauna.
As she becomes the detective more and more, her baking skills start to suffer. She almost has to make a choice: continue investigating this crime or focus on her baking career. But then she realizes also that she has to keep in the competition and avoid a soggy bottom. If she gets sent home, she is out of the investigation and her access to the suspects will be gone.
This also puts a heck of a rather large target on her back. The competition hates her because they don’t want her to win. The people she is asking questions of dislike her because she is getting too nosy. The whole thing leads up to the revelation of who the killer really is. It is both well done and hilarious and leads to a memorable conclusion. The last few pages are extremely well handled as well.
I have to say the characters are especially delightful here as well. They make the plot move to some pretty interesting places. Shauna’s character is especially well developed and I love all of the little intricacies she has. I am sure she will be used again in future works by this team. They clearly have affection towards her.
John Allison has written a script that is both intelligent and fun. I have to commend him for keeping the pace going throughout the book. Max Sarin’s artwork is perfect for the story as well. It is a bit cartoonish for my tastes but that’s just a personal preference.
Overall, this is a strong book. This isn’t something that I would normally seek out, again, but I am glad I did.
RATING: B+
