Just Finished Reading … Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance

Spies and Prejudice
by Talia Vance
To be published by Egmont
on June 11, 2013

Source: ARC borrowed through Around the World ARC Tours. Please see my FTC disclosure on the right sidebar.

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Summary (from Goodreads:) Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She’s busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she’s sure all men commit. So when arrogant—and gorgeous—Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her “nothing amazing,” it’s no loss for Berry. She’ll forget him in no time. She’s more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother’s death. But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why can’t Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?

My take: Spies and Prejudice is a mash-up that's as clever as its title -- a loose retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice combined with a fun spy-themed mystery.

Strawberry "Berry" Fields works for her father, staking out cheating spouses. She's assisted in this by her friend Mary Chris Mass, who's a tech genius. (Yes, their names are pretty pun-tastic.) One day on a job, two strange things happen. First, Berry and Mary meet two guys-- cute brothers Ryan and Tanner, who say they are -- huge coincidence! -- going to be new students at the girls' school. Then, Berry sees Mary's dad exchanging a mystery piece of evidence with a strange woman, which Berry decides has to something do with her mom's accidental death. Soon Berry and Mary are in the midst of their own mystery.

I enjoyed Spies and Prejudice. It was fun to try to figure out the P & P parallels and I enjoyed the creative liberties that the author took with the original story. Having the Berry (Lizzie) character overhear Tanner's (Darcy's) disparaging remark about her using surveillance equipment made me laugh. Ryan (the Bingley character) comes off as sort of a good-natured surfer dude --- a totally perfect update. I also loved the Mr. Collins character (a slightly stalkery kid named … Collin) and I think that the nineteenth-century Lizzie should also have had an adorable St. Bernard. Not familiar with Pride and Prejudice? That's okay. I think you'll still enjoy this story.

Spies and Prejudice is a breezy, easy read with clever dialogue and a protagonist you can root for -- perfect for summer!  There's no stress-inducing cliffhanger ending, however, a big reveal at the end does leave an opening for a possible sequel.

I'd recommend Spies and Prejudice to fans of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series. There were also aspect of the story that reminded me of Veronica Mars and 21 Jump Street -- always a plus in my book!