Volume 3 of Bad Machinery returns to small, but mystery filled, town of Tackleford. Jack and Shauna are spending a lot more time together, leaving both teams of investigators short a member. Sonny and Linton decide to look into a series of small fires that have caused barns to burn down around the town. When the new kid, Colm, joins them, they are petrified that Jack will be upset that they have replaced him.
Mildred and Charlotte find a 'troll' living under a bridge and decide to teach him manners and find him a girlfriend. Specifically, they want to set him up with their teacher, Miss Perks. This leads to shenanigans, culminating in an angry mob out to find the firebug. And now I have the Angry Mob song from the My Little Pony movie stuck in my head again, so that's fun.
Colm takes the fall for the fires, and the boys have to seek help from their nemesis, journalist Erin Winters, in exchange for one unspecified favour, to be collected at any time.
Bad Machinery continues to have a quite complex, engaging plot, lovable characters who start to feel like friends, cute art and all round wholesome vibes. I will definitely keep reading with Bad Machinery Volume 4: The Case of the Lonely One.
Bonus Fact: In case anyone was wondering, as I was, where the title of the series came from, it is named after a song by the Carolina Indie band Let's Active.