Read: "Miss Don't Touch Me" by Hubert & Kerascoet

Read: Miss Don't Touch Me by Hubert and Kerscoet, 2007 (France), 2008 (English translation), 9781561635443.

Plugged a couple times by the Unshelved guys.  Both writer (Hubert) and artist (Kerscoet) use one name only.  I liked the artwork quite a bit; K. uses plenty of color and mixes in plainer, simpler panels with detailed street scenes and extravagantly decorated rooms.

Sisters Blanche and Agatha are housekeepers in 1930s Paris. Agatha is a party girl who regularly attends popular dances in the parks and woods of Paris.  A serial killer "Butcher of the Dances" has been killing women.  Blanche worries for Agatha.

In their shared attic bedroom Blanche hears a noise from the abandoned home adjoining their building.  Blanche peeks through a small hole in the wall and sees a dead woman and two men.  she runs to find Agatha.  Agatha disbelieves Blanche, peeks through the whole in the wall and is shot.  Blanche runs for the police.  Police arrive and find Agatha dead  with a pistol in her hand.    Blanche is kicked out of the employer's home for the scandal.

Blanche reads that the Butcher of the dance's most recent murdered victim was a hooker.  Blanche discovers the hooker worked a high end whore house.  Blanche determined to find out who killed the latest Butcher victim and sneaks in.  Blanche offered a dominatrix type job.  Blanche takes job as way to investigate.

Things happen.  Blanche clashes with several of the hookers.  Blache makes friends with one hooker.  Blanche suspects the whorehouse owner and his pal, Red.  Blanche gets Red thrown out.  Red is a vile woman-beater, rapist, and sadist.  Blanche chased by Red on the streets and ambushes him, killing him.  Blanche makes friends with tranvestite hooker.  Blanche kidnapped.  Tranvestite finds out what happens and rescues Blanche.  One hooker and a couple guys were kidnapping women from dances (and the occassional hooker) and offering them to sadistic clients who would beat them to death.  Blanche shoots the killer hooker.

Comments:
1.  Interesting story and setting.  High end whorehouse with big name politicians, celebrities and industrialists as clients.  Yet, the women are forced to live in an attic dormitory and share beds.  The women have limited privileges and get to leave the building on with permission.
2.  Blanche is not that rounded as a character.  She is hell-bent on revenge and does not want anyone to touching her.  That's about it.
3.  Pimps are human garbage.
4.  Hookers is much easier to type than prostitute.
5.  There is a sequel.