The Pie & Mash Detective Agency, by J.D. Brinkworth (REVIEW) — Detective Dreams and Millennial Mishaps

Millennials: The demographic cohort born between 1981 and 1996, they were the first generation to grow up with internet technology and digital literacy, and are typically described as tech-savvy, socially-connected, and civic-minded. 

Also, Millennials: The Snowflake Generation (derogatory). Often used to imply members of this generation are fragile, oversensitive, and entitled. 

It is the (untaught, though clearly passed-down through the ages) duty of every generation to mock the generations that follow. [Not convinced? Ask yourself if you’ve ever heard a parent, grandparent, or elderly neighbor starting a sentence with, “When I was your age,” then end it with something like, “...walked three miles in the snow, uphill, to go to school,” and you’ll likely understand.] 

Anyway, all of that was firmly in the back of my mind during my read of J.D. Brinkworth’s amusing detective mystery, The Pie & Mash Detective Agency. 

Thoroughly-Millennial Jane Pye and Simon Mash could be part of a Wikipedia entry depicting coupledom within their generation. 

She’s sweet, shy, and studious—a no-makeup, bespectacled, knitted-by-herself cardigan-wearing young woman—and as of very recently, sadly unemployed from her back-end programming job. 

He, on the other hand, is more of a hothouse flower... bolder and brasher, he’s happily-bisexual and forever scouring the internet—between constant phone calls for his “collaboration consultancy” position—for the next great fashion find. 

And together, they’re a couple... marriage not remotely in their plans, but living together congenially (and saving a bundle, by sharing the rent). 

When the out-of-work Jane gets a wild hare and enrolls them in a private detective class, Simon is understandably surprised... but, as an understanding boyfriend, gamely agrees to attend the sessions with her. 

But what initially sounds like a neat diversion—learning the secrets of sleuthing! maybe a new side-hustle!—starts feeling like A LOT, as the instructor piles on the reading. 

When he hands out assignments for the final—giving what he views as his absolute worst students an impossible case to “solve”—Jane and Simon are sure they’re in over their heads... but Jane refuses to bail on the class. 

(It’s not like all those applications she’s been filling out are leading anywhere promising, after all.) 

So, the case. A man just reported his girlfriend—one Nellie Thorne—going missing, but the police haven’t had any luck (or that much interest, frankly) in finding her. 

The kicker? She’s far from the first “Nellie Thorne” to vanish—there’ve been at least half-a-dozen others, over the past few decades. 

Jane feels for the boyfriend, who’s clearly devastated. As for Simon, well... he’s picturing how very smart they’ll look, as detectives for the just-established “Pie & Mash Detective Agency” (hey, he made business cards and everything!), clad in matching trench coats and armed with iPhones. 

The problem for the (not-precisely-intrepid-but-at-least-trying) duo? Nothing in their coursework prepared them for an actual, ongoing case... with real consequences. 

Yet even as they bumble about, they actually do unearth a few legit clues to pursue... which lead them to some very unexpected locations—including the current whereabouts of a totally different Nellie than the one they’ve been tasked with finding. 

They may not have the life experience—nor any of the insightful, Sherlockian insights so crucial to solving fictional cases—but they do have gumption, and Jane, in particular, is positive that’s all they need. 

The Pie & Mash Detective Agency was—I’m not gonna lie—sometimes as challenging for me as the whole concept of “everyone deserves a medal (trophy, award, whatever) for participating (attending, showing up, etc.)” mindset that sprang up in the twenty-first century. 

In other words, Jane and Simon are... A LOT. 

But honestly? It seemed like that’s how the author felt about the pair, as well, with exasperation about their helplessness and haplessness seeping through continually. 

[I wasn’t sure how to take that, in truth. I’m used to authors being pro their protagonists, so this left me decidedly off-kilter.] 

Don’t get me wrong, though. There’s definitely a fun little mystery afoot, here—with a clever premise (multiple missing women of the same name), interesting protagonists (a weird modern-day Tommy-&-Tuppence detective duo), and plenty of helpers (both helpful and not-remotely-so) and kooky characters—to keep me engaged. 

Except... for the entire middle portion of the book, which positively dragged for me. (Would this have benefited from tighter editing—condensing a lot of thoughts and nothing much going on? Yes, absolutely.) 

Still, I came around again toward the final third of the story, when everything picked up again, from the action to the addition of new characters (including Simon's mom and her living-large gal pals). 

And the ending? It worked... which is essential for any mystery. 

So, The Pie & Mash Detective Agency gets a thumbs up from me... with the caveats that you may need to exercise patience (these two really are snowflakes, often), and be willing to wade through a middle-third that’s sorely lacking in action or anything terribly interesting, at all. ~GlamKitty

[Thanks to Penguin Random House and Berkley Publishing Group for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.]