The Pie & Mash Detective Agency
- Judith D Collins
- Mar 10
- 5 min read
By: J.D. Brinkworth
Narrator: Rhys Tees
Penguin Audio
ISBN: 9798217187256
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: 03/10/2026
Format: Other
My Rating: 4 Stars (ARC)
BLOG TOUR STOP MAR 10
Oddball couple Jane and Simon take a private detective class and must use their (admittedly limited) skills to solve a series of mysterious disappearances in this delightful debut mystery.
Jane Pye and Simon Mash are a millennial couple with a little extra time on their hands. Jane was recently let go from her position as a back-end programmer, having never been quite sure what that meant. And Simon’s career as a corporate collaboration consultant seems to be less collaborating and more scrolling the internet in search of matching velour tracksuits and well-balanced charcuterie boards. When they sign up for a private detective class on a whim, they quickly realize they’ve bitten off more than they can chew.
Their instructor, having a feeling his two worst students don’t have a chance of solving anything beyond finding the classroom, assigns them the case of Nellie Thorne, a woman recently reported missing. But she's not the first Nellie Thorne to disappear. In fact, she's the fifth in fifty years. Jane and Simon set out to solve the case, armed with just a few days of notes, matching trench coats, and a feeling they should have enrolled in a different class. The investigation leads the newly minted Pie and Mash Detective Agency to places they never thought they'd go, including haunted woods, mysterious archives, and, most terrifyingly for Jane, Simon's mum's house.
As clues emerge, more questions than answers begin to pile up. What links the missing Nellies? Why do locals think she's a ghost? Is their teacher hiding something? So what if they’re heavy on heart but light on experience. Jane and Simon are determined to uncover the truth in time to pass the class and save the day.
My Review
In "The Pie & Mash Detective Agency" by J.D. Brinkworth, readers are invited into the whimsical world of a millennial couple who embark on a journey of amateur sleuthing. This charming tale intricately blends the classic elements of cozy mysteries with the relatable uncertainties and pressures faced by today's younger generations.
As they navigate a series of intriguing mysteries, the couple grapples not only with quirky suspects and puzzling clues but also with the modern anxieties of adulthood in a fast-paced world.
Characters...
Jane Pye:
A recently unemployed back-end computer programmer. She is the driving force behind their new hobby, often characterized as a "serious go-getter" with a passion for true-crime documentaries.
Simon Mash:
Jane’s partner is a "lackadaisical" corporate collaboration consultant. He primarily joins the class for moral support and is known for his eccentricities, such as his love for matching velour tracksuits, yellow raincoats, and well-balanced charcuterie boards.
Gavin Smith:
A grizzled, semi-retired private investigator who teaches the night class. He assigns Jane and Simon the "unsolvable" cold case of Nellie Thorne—a case he personally failed to solve decades earlier in 1997.
Nellie Thorne:
The central mystery figure. Five different women with this exact name have vanished in Kent over the last 50 years, roughly one every decade since 1971.
Dev Hooper:
A local schoolteacher and the boyfriend of the most recent Nellie Thorne. His desperation to find her leads him to accept help from the bumbling amateur duo.
Highlights...
The Unlikely Duo:
Jane Pye, a recently unemployed programmer, and her neurodivergent partner, Simon Mash, an unfulfilled corporate consultant, enroll in a "Level 1 Detecting" night class on a whim.
The Assignment:
Their instructor, Gavin—a semi-retired detective—assigns them the case of Nellie Thorne for their final project. Gavin believes the case is unsolvable, having failed to crack it himself decades earlier.
The Urban Legend:
Jane and Simon discover that the current missing woman, the girlfriend of schoolteacher Dev Hooper, is actually the fifth Nellie Thorne to vanish in Kent over the last fifty years.
The Connection:
As they dig deeper, they realize that all the missing Nellies were roughly the same age, with similar appearances and tastes, leading them to investigate whether the disappearances are a hoax, a romance scam, or something supernatural.
The Resolution:
The amateur sleuths eventually join forces with Gavin to uncover a secret he had been keeping, leading to a "satisfying twist" that ties the multiple disappearances together.
My thoughts...
THE PIE AND MASH DETECTIVE AGENCY centers on an "oddball" fun millennial couple full of humor, who enroll in a private detective night class on a whim. Both protagonists are at professional and personal crossroads; Jane is navigating unemployment while Simon feels unfulfilled in his corporate career, making their detective pursuit a search for purpose.
Through dual timelines (present-day and 1997), the book examines how unsolved cold cases and past failures haunt the people who left them behind, particularly their instructor, Gavin. The central mystery of the "recurring Nellie Thorne" plays with the line between local ghost stories and a more sinister, tangible truth.
The story emphasizes how "quirky" or neurodivergent traits—like Simon's specific fixations—can be assets in non-traditional environments like private investigation. A humorous recurring theme is how bumbling efforts and accidental discoveries can sometimes yield results where systematic police work failed.
Themes...
~Amateur Sleuthing & Curiosity
~Millennial Uncertainty
~Urban Legend vs. Reality
~The Weight of the Past
~Eccentricity & Modern Connection
~Incompetence Leading to Discovery
Literary Motifs...
~Matching Attire:
Their velour tracksuits and trench coats symbolize their status as a "team" despite their lack of experience.
~Food as Comfort:
References to charcuterie boards and "Pie and Mash" (both the dish and the character names) anchor the "cozy" tone of the narrative.
~The Red Candle:
A mysterious recurring object found at burial sites serves as a physical link between the missing women across decades.
Blog Tour...
Check out my blog tour stop on my website, pub date, March 10!
Recs...
If you enjoy cozy and quirky mysteries like Pie and Mash, check out The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman and Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano.
Special thanks to Berkey and NetGalley for sharing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Mar 10, 2026
My Rating: 4 Stars
Blog Tour Stop
Praise
"A highly amusing debut." —Kirkus
"This quirky and witty series starter will be perfect for fans of Janice Hallett and cozy mystery readers looking for something new."
—Booklist
"Absolutely delightful! Fast, funny, mysterious. A delicious debut!"
—Janice Hallett
About the Author
J. D. Brinkworth is the pseudonym of London-based writing duo Jo Dinkin and Catherine Brinkworth. Catherine is a comedy writer with credits across TV and radio. Jo has won the Green Stories writing prize and was nominated for Best Screenplay at the British Horror Film Festival. They both recently graduated as private detectives from a suspiciously cheap online detecting course.
Their debut novel The Pie and Mash Detective Agency will be published in Spring 2026 by by Century (UK) and Berkley (US).
