I hope you're enjoying your Monday more than I am, but if not, we can all raise our spirits talking about an enjoyable comic.
It's the newest season of UK Bakery Tent, a competitive baking show. Set in a tent. Also in the UK. Or the tent is set in the UK. Or the tent is like an embassy, so it's UK soil no matter where it is. Intrigue!
Your main character is Shauna, who I understand from the comments section of House to Astonish, appeared originally in a different section of John Allison's bizarrely interwoven fictional universe. But she's here to win a baking competition, not do, whatever it was she did in her prior appearances. Unless it was solve crimes, because one of the contestants is killed, and Shauna promised to catch the killer. Further intrigue!
So, the first competition? round? bake-off? is interspersed with Shauna trying to narrow down suspects and not screw-up her cake commemorating the birthday of architect Le Corbusier, who the cat co-host (??? is this the British TV version of celebrity hosts? Because it's an improvement, to be sure) tells me was a fascist. The mistake Shauna makes is assuming a cat would think that's a bad thing, but I digress. Point being, Shauna is probably not doing very well on either point by issue's end, and may have aroused the suspicion of one of the other contestants.
Actually, Maisie seemed like the first guess for the killer, even before Shauna zeroed in (and ultimately dismissed her). When Jill ushers everyone out the tent as tempers flare, Maisie is the only one whose presence I can't confirm in the panel. But I don't know how long elapsed between that panel and Shauna finding Neal poisoned, so that may be irrelevant. But Sarin's not the sort to omit details unless it's relevant, so. . .
But Maisie's occupation is listed as "buyer", whatever the hell that means. The pharmacist or the retired midwife seem more like to know about drugs you could kill someone with. Maybe the dental technician, but he got a panel of him specifically giving Neal the death glare, which seems too obvious. It's probably the human co-host, of the nose that stretches all the way to the peak of her skull. Flippin' terrifying.
Anyway, I didn't laugh out loud, but I grinned at several points. A large cast lets Sarin really go for a variety of looks and body types, and the nature of the first competition allows for Allison to express their personalities through brief segments about their choice of event to celebrate. Will's making a cake to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Netscape Navigator. Aw, my first web browser! That reminds me of dial-up modems. How depressing. On the other hand, no Twitter or Facebook, so not all bad.
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