The GBBBO

The Great Brindlewood Bay Bake-Off

Complexity: 7 If the mystery isn’t solved by the end of the competition, the
investigation can extend over as many hours or days as are
famously went home after an explosive, on-camera argument
with Paul about a pan of over-baked muffins. Many viewers,
Presenting the Mystery needed. The Suspects won’t be allowed to leave Brindlewood
Bay until the culprit is brought to justice.
however, believe there’s more to that story, with some
suggesting the two were secretly lovers. In a bit of stunt
casting, the show’s producers have invited Scott to partici-
The most popular television program in the world, The Jolly Establishing Question: The Jolly Good Baking Show is
pate in this special episode, going so far as to rent him an
Good Baking Show, has come to Brindlewood Bay to find the connected to one of your favorite memories. What is that
apartment in town so he can technically be said to “live” in
town’s very best baker. A number of qualifying rounds have memory?
Brindlewood Bay.
been held, and our Murder Mavens are among the bakers to
make it through to the final, televised portion of the show, Quote: “It’s very important to blind bake the pie crust so you
where they will meet the charming presenters and have their Suspects don’t have a soggy bottom, because believe you me: Paul likes
confections judged by the notoriously strict Paul and Jane. a neat, firm, uncomplicated bottom.”
Sue Mellon, a presenter
The first scene depicts the opening round of the competition:
Boisterous. Punny. A hugger. Sue had been a very successful Melanie Blair, a contestant
pies. Go around the table and ask each player to describe
what sort of pie their Maven is making. Then, ask the player comedian in the U.K. She took this presenter job when her Seemingly frazzled. Actually intense. Sensibly-dressed.
to their left whether the pie is a triumph or rather disappoint- comedy career started to flatline. She is secretly jealous of Melanie has lived in Brindlewood Bay all her life, and learned
ing. If a Maven’s cozy activity is baking, their pie is automati- Paul, who is the breakout star of The Jolly Good Baking Show. to bake from her parents, who used to own The Sweet
cally a triumph. Then, the other players and the Keeper Quote: “Bakers! Lattice be a warning to you: only five Sensations bakery before it went out of business.
should each offer a detail about how the pie was beautifully minutes remaining in the pie round!” Quote: “Yes, it’s true my parents’ bakery went out of business
executed if it was a triumph, or a detail about how it was a when Paul’s bakery chain opened a location in Brindlewood
disaster if it was rather disappointing. During this process, Timothy Boosh, a presenter Bay, but I won’t hold that against him. I love The Jolly Good
the entire cast of Suspects should be introduced, as well as Baking Show, and I’m just so honored to be here.”
Weirdly large. Broad humor. Gothy. Timothy is mostly along
the steely-eyed, silver-haired judge, Paul Riviera. You can do
for the ride. He doesn’t know the first thing about baking, and
this by having the Suspects interject with commentary or
feels very lucky to have stumbled into this gig. Heath Hendricks, a producer
words of support, or have them do something technical
related to the television production. Quote: “Bakers! You have thirty minutes remaining in this Stern. Balding. Excessive use of “3… 2… 1” fingers. Heath is
round!” Pours a glass of water over his head and then does overworked and irritable. He is furious that Paul Riviera has
There is a short break in filming after the pie round, during
an awkward cartwheel for some reason. been threatening to leave the show if his (ridiculous)
which a Suspect (your choice) will find Paul Riviera dead in
contractual demands are not met.
his trailer, his face covered with flour and his hands tied
Jane Leaf, a judge Quote: “Do I sometimes daydream about him being dead?
behind his back with beautifully-plaited nylon cords.
Members of the production team will naturally be quite Sweetly judgmental. Elderly. Posh. Jane is a beloved celebrity Absolutely. But did I kill him? No way. Paul Riviera may be a
shocked, but they insist that everyone keep calm and carry on in the U.K., having published dozens of cookery books and pompous, arrogant ass, but he’s our pompous, arrogant ass.”
with the show. A local police official, perhaps Sheriff Wyman made hundreds of television appearances over a career
Dalrymple, will ask the Murder Mavens to help figure out spanning nearly sixty years. Like all the other stars of The Buck, a cameraman
who did it, since they’re in the mix and therefore in a position Jolly Good Baking Show, her contract is up for renewal, and Good-humored. Handsome. Poetic. Buck, an American, has
to question people during the filming of the remainder of the she has lately grown frustrated with Paul’s hardball negotia- only been with The Jolly Good Baking Show for a few
competition. If they can solve the crime without causing a tion tactics, which threaten to shut down the show entirely. months, after his secret lover, Donna Riviera, got him the job.
stir, all the better. Quote: “Don’t fret, dear—your pie has a perfectly adequate Quote: “This whole situation is just so unbearably tragic. The
During the investigation, two more rounds of judging (with taste. It just looks a bit… informal.” Jolly Good Baking Show is one of the few lights we have in
breaks in-between) should take place: biscuits and cakes. Do this dark, dismal world. Tell me another show that can bring
the same procedure for judging the biscuits and cakes as you Scott Lamb, a contestant people together like this one can—young and old, rich and
did for the pies. The winner of the competition is determined poor, black and white. It’s something we can all agree on, you
Organized. Fond of bow ties. Twink. Scott was a contestant
by the Keeper. know? And now that Paul is gone, it will never be the same.
on The Jolly Good Baking Show three years ago. He
That light is just a little bit dimmer now.”
Donna Riviera, the wife  Buckingham Palace invite to the cast and crew of The Jolly
Good Baking Show, with one name conspicuously
Bottle blonde. Leopard print. Piles of make-up. Like her
missing.
husband, Donna Riviera is a celebrity, having starred in the
short-lived reality television program, The Real Scousewives  Stacks of love letters from the British Prime Minister.
of Liverpool. She has been having an affair with Buck for the  A dressing-down from the head of the BBC.
last few months.
 Extremely valuable diamond earrings shaped like tiny
Quote: “I can’t believe someone would kill him, like. Mind you, loaves of bread.
he was always doing my head in—if anyone had a reason to
sack him off, it’s me. But I didn’t do it. And now if you’ll excuse  A plea for financial help.
me, I need a bifter and a bevvie to take the edge off, like.”  A sheet cake with a very hateful message written in
blood-red icing on it.
Paint the Scene  A pair of plane tickets to somewhere far, far away.
 Ball gag, handcuffs, and a riding crop.
Jane’s trailer
 Outtakes suggesting a very tense, off-camera relationship.
As you step into the trailer, what do you see that reflects
Jane’s very posh femininity?
 A rolling pin flecked with blood.
 Paul’s body has signs of him being poisoned.
Sue’s trailer
Sue clearly has a reverence for the great comedians that Void Clues
came before her. What do you see in her trailer that
reinforces this idea?  A baked good seems to scream when cut into.

Timothy’s trailer  A swarm of insects where food should be.

What do you see in Timothy’s trailer that suggests he is a  For a short time, the people of Brindlewood Bay are seen
deeply lonely person? wearing featureless wooden masks.
 The shadow of something unnatural crawling atop the
The judges’ tent baking tent.
The judges’ tent is normally decorated to look like a quaint  A tray of gingerbread men engaging in obscene acts.
cottage somewhere in the English countryside, but has been  A food canister that smells of urine, semen, and sweat.
given an “American” flair for this special episode. What sort
of “American” gewgaws do you see?

Clues
 A baking sheet sprinkled with rat poison.
 A text message of someone professing their love.
 A cookbook authored by Jane Leaf and Paul Riviera, but
with one of Paul’s recipes torn out.
 An unreasonable contractual demand.
 A missing chef’s knife.
 A pile of receipts suggesting extravagant expenditures.
 A shattered Britty award.
 A dangerously-frayed electrical cord.
 A heated argument about British politics.