The Mystery of the Missing Ministers, Gina Poekeleen

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING MINISTERS is the first in an intended series JUST PIE MYSTERIES by Gina Poekeleen (a pseudonym I believe).

Straight out of the cosy manual, it's one of those arch, comically styled female investigator types of novel full of aside comments, and decidedly unflattering portraits of a couple of kidnapped politicians (you'd be tempted to nod in agreement here but I probably should say they're not all bad, or so I'm told).

The plot is kind of cute, with the kidnappers using cryptic photos of Wellington landmarks as clues for our junior investigator Eryn to follow. She's new at the job and this is very much a trial by everything including the cops, her lack of experience, and competition from more experienced sleuths in a race against time that she's not even sure she wants to be part of.

Very heavy on the ancillary, that may be a symptom of the development of a new series, or it could be an artefact of the sub-genre, but there was a bit too much of it for this reader, as was the hefty messaging. Having said that, an investigator on the "mean" streets of Wellington is a nice idea, and it will be interesting to see what the series evolves into in later outings.