Review by Ian Keogh

This ninth volume of the InvestiGATORS series is a departure for the series since Class Action, not least because John Patrick Green is co-writing with Steve Behling and letting Chris Fenoglio draw the book. Case Files is also a selection of six puzzles in which readers follow the clues with Brash and Mango, then try to solve the case before they do. However, be warned, no-one should get hooked on the idea of actually solving any mysteries as the content is just as silly as the regular series.

Some pretence is made, though, as Brash and Mango gather clues via their G.R.I.D. device. Green loves a daft acronym, and this one stands for Gator Reasoning, Inquiry and Deduction. A couple of points during each short mystery take stock of the clues gathered and who the suspects might be, but as the solutions are as joyously ridiculous as the usual InvestiGATORS cases, guessing is the only way anyone’s going to hit on the culprit.

Were they not credited, you’d not know others helped with the creation of Case Files as they’re so close to Green’s own style. The situations and jokes are delightfully bonkers, Brash and Mango have their authentic voices, and the lunacy is symbolised by new character Fred Herring, a fox who’s always at or around the scene of the mystery, but never the culprit. Chris Fenoglio’s cartooning takes its lead from Green’s work, with simply drawn and constantly cheerful characters.

From missing mayonnaise through fairground rides to the mystifying case of power cuts Case Files offers the quality, laughs and adventure we’ve come to expect from InvestiGATORS.