Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I appreciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.

This really was an unusual read but I enjoyed it. It was a murder mystery with a highly unusual mathematical twist. The collaboration was very well done and added considerable to my enjoyment of the novel. It was funny and quite comical at times which really added to my enjoyment. So many different subjects are encountered along the way including a serial killer, bombs, the mafia, even pets that really contributed to my fascination in this book. It's not your ordinary murder mystery but it certainly will draw you in and keep you entertained right up to the final page. It's a really fun read.

Tom is not a very nice guy(he is not a bad guy either) and his day, and possibly the next few weeks/his life are get very complicated just because he gets curious about the wrong thing. On the plus side, Tom's erratic behaviour gets funny for those who are reading from the safety of their homes and not in the crazy situations he find himself. As the title mentions, there is a bit of math involved but it is mostly to stress the importance of the life's work of a pair of twins who died a decade before our story begins. It starts off with a conversation between our leading protagonist and another man on a train and the whole thing goes on at a hectic pace involving conspiracies, mysterious men, online communities and a whole lot of other things. If I had not read the second book soon after this one, I would have rated it differently because at the ending of the book does not wrap up the story completely but just to the point that Tom can feel like his life is not in immediate danger. 

I am not sure if the randomness of the conversations and pat dialogue delivery would be everyone's thing but within a few chapters you will know if you will like the book. It is different in terms of the storyline and the very realistic protagonists introduced to us. Some of the jokes/language did not completely appeal to me but given the bigger picture of the tale at large I could go past it (especially since the characters are introduced to being people who are more comfortable with such behaviour)

This is so good. Funny, exciting and a real page turner. So much goes on in this book, a little slow to start but it just gathers momentum as goes along to a stunning ending, where all is revealed. Just fun

A good light read - a couple of math nerds try to solve a math nerd murder mystery. i wasn't sure Id enjoy it at the beginning, but it's catchy, and by the end I'm looking for more.

This is a strikingly good tale about twins, murder, betrayal, mathematical codes, financial survival and human nature in general that begins with PR man Tom Winscombe’s fateful train ride and his chance encounter with a bizarre author whose latest work examines the decade old deaths of twin mathematicians Archimedes (Archie) and Pythagoras (Pye) Vavasor.

The meeting is brief and when, on the following day, the author turns up dead our protagonist goes to the dead man’s home, becomes involved in an unusual situation and decides that something just doesn’t add up. With his PR career in the dumper, his girlfriend seeking greener pastures and having nothing better to do with his time, our amateur Sherlock decides to take a shot at murder investigation utilizing, among other things, internet forums inhabited by conspiracy theorists and the talents of an old college chum.

The cast of characters takes on intriguing nuances as Johnathan Pinnock satirizes situations while providing a tale with more than its share of suspense due in large part to additional murders and the appearance of the Belarus mafia. Challenging the reader’s notions about everything from mathematicians to computer geeks, Pinnock lifts a superficially superficial cast out of the trivial and endows them with some emotional complexity before ripping the rug out from under them.

" ... revenge, served piping hot, on Wedgewood bone china with a silver service ..."

The storyline rumbles along like a proverbial train wreck - you want to look away but can't - as what begins as a paradox soon develops into a workable probability theory as events triangulate towards their inevitable conclusion.

Enough of the mathematical hypotheses - our disgruntle narrator Tom Winscombe finds himself drawn to the mysterious murders of the enigmatic Vavasor twins - Archimedes and Pythagorus, after a chance meeting on a train sets off the chain of events which are at times almost - dare I say it - Mr Beanish. Who is behind the mysterious deaths; who wants the mystery to remain just that, a mystery; how are the Belarusan mafia connected; what secrets does a locked briefcase hold - if only Tom could open it.

Escapism for the mathematical inclined ... is that an axiom I hear you ask??

Heading home on the train after a career-ending bad day at work, Tom Winscombe isn't really in the mood for social chitchat but gets drawn into conversation with the guy sitting next to him - George Burgess, an author of 'conspiracy' books, currently working on a biography of mathematical geniuses Archibald and Pythagoras Vavasor, who died in suspicious circumstances ten years ago. Getting off the train, Burgess leaves his case behind, and Tom decides he'll return it the next day. Before he has chance to, Burgess is killed, and Tom finds himself holding documents that people are willing to kill for. Very soon he finds himself pulled into the murky world of conspiracy theories, murder, mathematics and Belorussian mafia.

If you like your thrillers a little quirky and off-beat, this is the book for you. Basically the story is one of slightly irritating but still like-able guy drawn into the realm of ruthless killers, through no fault of his own except maybe a certain innocent gullibility - Tom is the sort of guy who rushes in where cautious folk fear to tread, who hearing howling noises from a lonely deserted house would go to investigate, and wonder why he stumbled on a crime scene straight out of a horror story. Don't expect a serious Nordic Noir style thriller but something more the style of a Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently novel with the added frenzy of a Simon Pegg/Edgar Wright film. It's fun, fast-paced and full of intrigue, and I loved it!

Also, don't let the subtitle 'a mathematical mystery' put you off. While it's the basis of a lot of in-jokes, the reader doesn't need to understand the finer points of maths, any more than you need to understand astro-physics to watch The Big Bang Theory - it's enough to know that someone somewhere is willing to murder to obtain the Vavasors' notes.

The Truth About Archie and Pye is the first of a series, and I for one am eagerly anticipating Book 2!

If there is an award for the funniest book ever then I am pretty sure that this book is going to win! Hilarious, Quirky and Informative, this book has it all! Every paragraph has something funny to offer to the reader. Dorothy's explanation of Euler's formula and Tom's confusion about the value of pi were hilarious. The story, on the whole, was engaging, interesting and riveting.
Mathematics is one of my favorite subjects and that made me like this book even more. The mystery behind the murder of Vavasor twins was intriguing. The Reimann hypothesis was a nice touch to the story. And how can I not mention the names of the twins - Archimedes and Pythagoras! How cute is that!
My favorite character is Tom. I mean, it has to be him! Funny, a tad bit imbecile-like, and as curious as a cat. The conversations that he had in his head when his ex-girlfriend - Lucy (she's not his ex when the story begins) was hilarious... and, can I say relatable? When the person sitting in front of you starts a boring conversation then the mind just drifts away to something else and I call it - group discussion with self! And that is what Tom was doing when Lucy was going on and on, yada, yada, yada.
Arkady was another such character that I found funny. Arkady. Is funny. Is Interesting. And Tom's 'Neeooo Gegooo' had me literally ROFL.
I recommend this book to one and all. You don't have to be a math lover to like this book. You don't have to know Euler's formula either. All you have to do is sit, read and laugh out loud while reading this book.

an entertaining book about murder and two people trying to solve the murde. Andeverything with the h elp of math. This is something new and interesting to read. there are some more books like this in this series.

I thought this was a great read. Who knew math could be so thrilling and entertaining! Even though there was a lot of math stuff, I didn't feel overwhelmed or dumb. Nice mystery and characters were fun!

It took me a while to get into this book. I found the first quarter, or there abouts, which was mainly scene setting, quite slow and uninteresting, but once it got going it was a ripping yarn. The main protaganist, while never being over stuffed with ideas, does, with the help of a friend, manage to solve the mystery and stop the deaths. It was nice to see, at the end, that the story will continue.

Laugh out loud funny once it gets going.

I wanted to like this SO MUCH, but it just fell flat for me. I loved the premise and the opening bits were great (hence 3 instead of 2 stars) - quirky, snarky, unusual... I had very high hopes, particularly when I saw a number of reviews talk about how funny it was (I even wound up in a fascinating chat with another reviewer about the dearth of funny, non-rom-com stories). As a result of all of that, I was expecting Rob Dirckes' Tesla books; I found a rather odd, convoluted tale of murder, secrets, and mayhem that never quite hit the mark for me. There were some funny bits, but they were buried in what felt like an unnecessary meandering tale about the most hapless of characters - so hapless he wasn't funny (even slapstick funny) so much as depressing. I just couldn't find my way to feeling much of anything at all for Tom except irritation. The supporting cast had a lot of potential - crazy genius twins, a long-lost love interest, conspiracy theorists and Belarusian gangsters and impatient girlfriends - but ultimately wasn't enough to make this one a hit for me.

This was a funny mathematical murder mystery. Truly delightful and one of the funniest books I have read in a while. I never knew math could be fun! Thanks to Farrago and to NetGallry for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

It must be extremely challenging for aspiring mystery writers who are looking for a fresh approach to the genre-----but, there is no doubt that Jonathan Pinnock has found that "out of the box" approach to contemporary detective fiction.

A mathematical mystery is novel in itself and his guileless anti-hero is definitely not main-stream. I loved the concept of the book, and enjoy some humor with a mystery, but I had difficulty bonding with the protagonist in this book. Perhaps it is because we shared a career in the public relations field---I hated to think that anyone could be moderately successful and be that lame.

Mathematical Mayhem

Take an ordinary bloke on the verge of a meltdown. Let's face it, it is questionable if he's even terribly likable. Nor is his girlfriend. Now, introduce him to madmen and spies and the Belarusian mafia. Throw in a heavy dose of irrational and transcendental mathematics, a few car chases, tracking devices, bombs, assorted horrendous puns and similar humor, and this thriller cum Holy Grail gradually comes to full-blown, screaming-but-funny, life. After a slightly tepid start I found myself electronically flipping pages ever faster to see what new mess had befallen Tom. Slowly he begins to solve the mysteries with the help of a woman from his past. Also, there is a lovable cat called µ.

This is a book that has been built around a mixture of a few things-Maths, mystery and humour. Oddly I did enjoy this book even though I don't really like maths.
Thank you to Farrago and NetGalley for my ARC . My review is unbiased and honest.

Entertaing funny a mystery a quirky puzzler.So enjoyable so much fun to read a mystery a mathematical puzzle looking foward to the authors next book.#netgalley #farragobooks

When I saw this title, I expected the book to have in it math problems to solve much like the crossword puzzle mysteries and sudoku mysteries have puzzles to solve embeded in the text. The Truth about Archie and Pye is nothing like this. There are mathematical elements, but no one needs to know any math to read this book. That means it could be enjoyable for anyone, not just math nerds. I, however, found that a bit disappointing as I had hoped to work through more of the mystery myself with paper and pencil at hand.

Archie and Pye were identical twins that had died (one murdered, one suspected suicide) ten years earlier. Because they were mathematicians working on some of the unsolved problems, a mythology grew up about what they might have discovered. The remaining brother of the twins was quite protective of their papers but finally allowed an author to see them and write a book about them. George Burgess had a manuscript in his briefcase which he left on a train after talking to Tom (our protagonist) in a rather obscure way about his project. Tom picked it up and when going to return it, learned that George had been murdered. One death leads to another and Tom realizes he could also be in trouble. Things go from bad to worse in his life. He looses his job, his company car, the briefcase, he witnesses a kidnapping, his girl friend kicks him out of their apartment. No, it's a pretty bad week for old Tom. And somehow a Belarusian mafia is part of it all! Yep, pretty wild and certainly keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next.

The story was certainly creative and well written. There were times I had to laugh at the situations - some of which were completely absurd! Comments the characters made were funny. I enjoyed that part of the book immensely.

What bothered me, and the main reason for the 3 stars, was the language that was used, sadly, rather frequently. The author used the "f" word so many times there was no way to count the number of usages. That alone will keep me from reading a sequel.

The characters were well defined. I could imagine each one acting as described. I especially liked the Zumba instructor.

I will miss reading further adventures of Tom and Dorothy, but there are many books out there that are also entertaining that do not have the language problem and those are the ones I will chose to invest my time in.