Dauntless Stories

RapidFireReviews 6 months ago

Who Killed Sarah Shaw?
Dauntless Stories

W: Frankee White
A: Adam Markiewicz

Synopsis…WHO KILLED SARAH SHAW? follows Jes & Dave, two struggling true crime content creators who insert themselves into a 40-year-old cold case. But secrets like to stay buried. Can they solve Sarah Shaw’s murder or will they end up in an early grave like her?

Thoughts…This was a really well thought out story, this does a great job of setting the scene and building the mystery as it goes. As the story unfolds we get to see more and more of the impact this murder has had on the town and the people that interacted with Sarah. This is a story for people that like to get into the life of the characters as much as the murder mystery itself.

I like the way the story evolved and shed more and more light on what really happened and the way the rumours and fear can spread. Each chapter felt like a character study, showing a different version of Sarah as seen by the person narrating their story to the interviewer. It also gave us an insight into the person being interviewed, revealing past indiscretions or parts of Sarah's life that weren’t known before. While the mystery of Sarah’s killer is the main focus there are other threads woven throughout the story as well, calling into question people's motives and actions not only in the past but in current times. There are a number of twists and turns along the way and few things to throw us off the scent as well.

I liked the black and white art style that was used throughout the book, it suits the story and gives it an older feel to it all. The illustrations are great and there are moments where you can really feel the emotions coming off the page. There are a number of pages that will give you a shock when you see them, especially around the images of Sarah later in the book.

The story unfolds at a good pace and I could not stop reading until it was all done. I like that the mystery kept you guessing right til the end and added more layers as it went on. The mystery seems to have been solved by the end of the book, but there is room for a bit of speculation as to what really happened. This is a great self-contained story, though there is room for more stories involving solving murders and digging up the past. I would give this an 8 out of 10 overall and would be interested in whether other people thought it was so cut and dry at the end or not.