J.D. Brinkworth: The Pie and Mash Detective Agency
Debut
This charming, funny book is set in present day London and follows the adventures of Jane Pye and Simon Mash, who are taking a detective class at their local learning center. (To a US reader, this will seem like a community college class.) Jane is between jobs, aka unemployed, and Simon is employed but willing to go along with Jane on her lark. She’s started with a book on detection and gone from there.
As a final assignment, the teacher (and working private eye) Gavin, assigns each team in the class a case to be solved. He gives the only unsolved case to Jane and Simon, and as it later becomes clear, it’s a case he himself has been frustrated by for decades. Jane and Simon plunge in, going to interview Dev, whose girlfriend has vanished. The thing is, the police don’t believe she exists as not only does Dev not possess a photo of her, she doesn’t seem to be a voter or be on National Health or have a passport or a driver’s license.