Review: Engagement and Espionage by Penny Reid

Engagement and Espionage by Penny Reid
Series: Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries #1
Published by Cipher-Naught on July 14, 2020
Pages: 351


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Jennifer Sylvester made her deal with the devil . . . and now they’re engaged!

But all is not well in Green Valley. A chicken choker is on the loose, 61 dead birds most "fowl" need plucking, and no time remains for Jennifer and her devilish fiancé. Desperate to find a spare moment together, Jenn and Cletus’s attempts to reconnect are thwarted by one seemingly coincidental disaster after another. It’s not long before Cletus and Jenn see a pattern emerge and the truth becomes clear.
Sabotage!
Will an undercover mission unmask the culprit? Or are these love-birds totally plucked?

'Engagement and Espionage' is the first book in the Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries series, is a full-length cozy mystery, and is a spin-off of Penny Reid's Winston Brothers series. This novel is best read after 'Beard Science,' Winston Brothers #3.

I’m a diehard Penny Reid fan. Her brainy, witty characters have charmed me more times than I can count, and I’m glad I can hang onto the ones carried over from the Winston Brothers series. Sadly, though, even Cletus (one of my favorite characters) couldn’t make Engagement and Espionage a big win for me. I guess I just expected more from the first book in this spinoff series.

You have Cletus who is frighteningly brilliant, observant, and clever. Heaven help whoever crosses his loved ones. Jenn is still in the process of discovering who she is after a lifetime of being silenced and stifled by domineering and emotionally abusive parents. The gifted baker is kind to a fault, which causes an ongoing struggle against her people-pleasing nature.

These two quirky people are desperately in love with each other and yet the nature of their relationship confused me. Even they seem unsure about whether or not they’re actually engaged. If they can solve a mystery, can’t they figure out a way to spend the night together or even go on a date? They talk a lot but have trouble effectively communicating. Clearly, though, they are enamored by each other’s brains as well their bodies. Their sexual tension — the slowest of S.L.O.W. burn payoffs — is awesome/frustrating! The story has some whimsy going for it as well.

The whole mystery is rather silly and easy to solve. It’s the weakest part of the plot and honestly the portion I most wanted to skip over. I would have appreciated a more complicated mystery that required Cletus to put his devious plotting skills to good use. 

I hope Cletus and Jenn’s relationship keeps evolving. They make an intriguing couple and I think I’ll enjoy seeing how their different strengths continue to compliment each other.

 

*I received an early copy of this book to voluntarily read.*

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