By Liz Soares
The final project for Jane and Simon's "Private Investigation Level One" class is a daunting one. A woman called Nellie Thorne has gone missing. In 1971. In 1997. And in 2025. Oh, and a few times in between.
It can’t possibly be the same Nellie. Is it coincidence? Is Nellie a ghost? Is it part of some kind of weird game?
Jane Pine and Simon Mash must solve the mystery to pass the class and go pro. They’ve already got the name of their aspirational enterprise picked out: “The Pie and Mash Detective Agency.”
Their instructor, Gavin Smith, smiles inwardly as he gives them their assignment. While other students are dealing with fabricated cases, he investigated the actual 1997 Nellie Thorne disappearance. He was never able to solve it, and it haunts him. In more ways than one—his sleuthing got him involved with some bad guys, which resulted in lasting physical injuries.
Yet this doesn’t stop him from sending out two hapless millennials into what could be a world of danger.
They do mean well. They do try. But they really don’t know what they’re doing.
Jane is a small, unemployed programmer who is very keen to become a detective. Her tag on Simon’s phone is “Jane (Girlfriend).”
Simon is tall, good-looking and goofy. On Jane’s phone, he appears as “World’s Sexiest Man.” He seems to organize team-building events for corporate types. He has a wealthy mother named Penny who has a busier (also crazier) social life than Jane and Simon.
Simon likes the fun bits of detecting, like buying orange tartan trench coats for the pair. He’s already come up with a catchphrase for the agency: “Smash!”
Not surprisingly, Jane is the one who gets things done. Eventually.
The two start by meeting Dev Hooper, boyfriend of the latest missing Nellie. The three of them decide that maybe some paranormal activity might be involved, so they call in a ghost hunter for a nighttime rendezvous in some nearby woods. When Simon discovers a pregnancy test wand jammed in Dev’s toilet, they’re able to put that theory to rest. Clearly, Nellie is still very much alive.
Jane does research in the local library, with the help (of a sort) from the world’s worst librarian, Linda. Really, she makes the tots in story time cry. Jane also connects with Bernard Parker, a policeman who worked on the case.
At the same time, Gavin feels compelled to get involved (without Jane and Simon knowing) and he gets back in touch with Parker, whom he knew back in the day.
Although the case seemed confounding at first, I suddenly had an insight into the truth about the case. Which was a good thing, because I was afraid the story might veer off into the woo-hoo, and I wouldn’t have liked that. No worries. It turns out that I was headed in the right direction, but the real story of Nellie Thorne was more surprising—and satisfying—than I was imagining.
Jane, Simon and Gavin crack the case in a wild and crazy denouement. Despite themselves. A sequel to this fun and funny cozy mystery seems to be promised in an intriguing letter that appears on the last page of the book.
Smash!
