ARC Review: The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J. D. Brinkworth

The Pie & Mash Detective Agency
Author: J. D. Brinkworth
Publication: Berkley (March 10, 2026)

Description: 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 Thoughts: This mystery follows the adventures of an inept pair of students in a private investigator class. Jane Pye has lost her job as a backend programmer and is wondering what to do next. Simon Mash is her live-in and a man who plans corporate events. She decides to take a class to become a private investigator and he tags along.

As a part of their class, they are assigned a case to work by their instructor. The case they are given concerns the disappearance of a woman named Nellie Thorne. She just up and left her boyfriend one day leaving him distraught. However, Nellie doesn't prove easy to find. She doesn't have a digital footprint. No passport, no driver's license, no birth certificate. 

The fledgling investigative team of Pie and Mash seems to have bitten off more than they can chew. Jane is good at details and is persistent. Simon is good at coming up with ideas. But, when they learn that their target is not the first Nellie Thorne to go missing and that their teacher tried to track on down in the 1990s, they know they are in for a difficult time. 

Their searches lead them to a Goth librarian who has been keeping track of Nellie Thornes for much of her career and a man who does ghost tours who swears he's met Nellie in a ghostly woods. They interact with other strange characters too. 

The story also has flashbacks to their teacher Gavin's own investigations as he hunted for Nellie as a young, inexperienced private investor in the 1990s. 

This was an interesting mystery with many quirky characters.  I enjoyed the setting and getting to know these quirky young detectives. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.