The Pie & Mash Detective Agency

The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J.D. Brinkworth, 368 pages

Jane Pye and Simon Mash are a fairly bored and fairly weird couple that signed up for a private eye class on a whim. Their classmates and instructor certainly don't take them seriously, though when their instructor gives them a case that not even he could solve as homework, Jane and Simon attack it with the same misguided enthusiasm with which they approached the class. As they consider everything from serial killers to coincidence to a ghostly urban legend, Jane and Simon bumble their way through the investigation and attempt to stay out of hot water.

I don't mind hapless amateur investigators in mystery novels, but there's something annoying about the way Jane and Simon are characterized. So much of what defines them are the stereotypes of "millennial," which they are derogatorily called so many times throughout the book that I considered creating a drinking game (I did not, as I didn't want to pass out after two chapters). It was distracting from a story that went in so many different directions (probably too many directions) and needed careful concentration to crack. All in all, it was a miss. 

The Missing Half

The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers, 272 pages

Since her sister, Kasey, went missing several years earlier, Nic has been having a rough time, stuck in a dead-end job and fighting alcoholism. But then Jenna walks into her life, offering a new sense of purpose. Jenna's sister, Jules, disappeared not long before Kasey did, and Jenna is convinced that she and Nic can do what the police were unable to accomplish and find their sisters. However, as they go further and further down the rabbit hole of investigation, Nic becomes even more unstable and unpredictable, making questionable choices and taking untold risks in her quest to find Kasey.

This was a twisty thriller with a very unexpected ending. It's a solid tale, with a few credibility-stretching moments (I had trouble believing that Nic and Jenna could find obvious clues that the authorities overlooked years earlier), though it doesn't really stand out from the crowd of thrillers that come out every year.

If Something Happens to Me

If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay, 324 pages

Five years ago, Ryan Richardson and his girlfriend Alison Lane were spending some quality time together when they were attacked. Ryan was knocked out and Alison (and her dad's BMW) disappeared. When the ensuing investigation turned up nothing, everyone assumed Alison was dead, and many people thought Ryan murdered her. But now, the missing BMW has been pulled up from the bottom of a lake, and there are two dead guys inside, who nobody at all seems to know. There's definitely something more to this story.

This was a quick read and fine for a summer afternoon, but it also felt a bit underdeveloped, like I was reading out an outline or Cliff's Notes version of the story instead of the novel itself. If you want twists and turns and don't really care to read too deeply, this one might be for you. Otherwise, there are better thrillers out there.

Daughter of Mine

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda, 354 pages

Hazel has never enjoyed returning to her hometown of Mirror Lake, but when her father (a longtime detective with the Mirror Lake police department) dies, she has no choice. She's always had a difficult relationship with her two brothers, and the revelation that their dad left his house and everything in it to Hazel has certainly not helped anything. Complicating matters even more is the fact that two cars have now been dragged out of the depths of the lake, and one can only have gone in from the yard of the house that is now Hazel's. And now, when she stays in the house, she can't fight the feeling that someone is watching her.

This was a quick read, and a fun way to spend an afternoon. However, I wouldn't put it on the top of my list of thrillers and it probably won't stick with me for much longer than it takes to type out this review. It's a solid OK in my book.

Flight Risk

Flight Risk by Cherie Priest, 312 pages

Seattle homicide detective Grady Merritt is looking for his dog at Mount Rainier National Park when the formerly lost pooch returns with a human leg. Meanwhile, psychic karaoke queen and travel agent Leda Foley gets hired by a man who would like her to use her psychic abilities to track down his missing sister. But as it turns out, their cases are connected and the odd-couple investigators must once again work together to solve their linked mysteries.

The first book in this series, Grave Reservations, was one of my favorite books of 2021, so I'm not at all surprised that this one is just as delightful. I feel like I could read about Leda and Grady's investigations for ages, so I'll happily devour whatever Priest throws at us next.

Moonflower Murders

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz, 224 & 357 pages

Several years ago, a flamboyant advertising executive was murdered while staying at a posh hotel in the English countryside, and an immigrant maintenance man was sentenced to prison for the crime. But nearly eight years later, Cecily, the daughter of the hotel owners, believes that the man was wrongly imprisoned. Her proof? The book Atticus Pund Takes the Case, written by the late author Alan Conway and based loosely on the murder and hotel staff. But when Cicely goes missing, her parents track down Conway's editor, Susan Ryeland, to review the book and search for clues that may help them find their daughter — and find out if the right man is in prison for the initial crime.

Much like the initial Alan Conway/Susan Ryeland book (Magpie Murders), Moonflower Murders is a book-within-a-book. While it's a clever puzzle mystery, I felt like this gimmick was a bit played out — why couldn't there be a different way for this book to work? Had I not read Magpie, I think I would've enjoyed this one more.

Gathering Dark

Gathering Dark by Candice Fox, 319 pages

A year after being released from prison, former pediatrician Blair Harbour is trying to keep on the straight and narrow, in the hopes of regaining custody of her young son. However, the appearance of her strung-out former cellmate, who is looking for her missing daughter, throws a wrench in Blair's plans. Meanwhile, LAPD detective Jessica Sanchez (who coincidentally put Blair behind bars) has recently inherited a multi-million-dollar home from a man whose daughter's murder she helped solve, and the bequest is causing more than a little animosity with her colleagues. Soon, Jessica and Blair's lives cross paths again in a twisty tale of ex-cons, a man on death row, a missing kid, and a possibly fictitious buried treasure.

While I loved both of the main characters in this book, the twists and turns seemed a little much for me. It's an easy read, though I feel like either Blair or Jessica could've carried the book on her own. This seems to be the first in a series though, so hopefully future entries are a little clearer.