Sounds Like a Plan is an action-packed mystery romance written by Pamela Samuels Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith. In this book, we are introduced to two African-American Private Investigators named Jackson Jones and Mackenzie Cunningham. They both are based in Los Angeles and are hired separately to find the same missing person. The first one to find the missing person earns $50,000! This incentive naturally leads to a rivalry, yet their attraction to one another is evident to them and others. This attraction becomes undeniable as they realize that they are both in danger and must put their differences to the side and work together to not only crack the case but to stay alive!

The authors do a wonderful job of showing the different perspectives and personalities of Jackson and Mackenzie by switching the voice of who is telling the story. This book is filled with intrigue, humor, and surprises. I had to force myself to put the book down each evening because I wanted to not only discover the solution to the mystery but also find out if Jackson and Mackenzie decide to become long lasting partners in more ways than one.

Thanks to Atria Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book is scheduled to be released on July 9, 2024.

This is the book version of an action movie with a bit of romance thrown in.

The two Black protagonists are private investigators who are hired separately to work the same case, a disappearance. The story proceeds with lots of chips on the shoulder and jockeying for position as Jackson Jones and Mackenzie Cunningham try to beat each other to the finish and collect a big cash bonus. They are both smart, independent and hot (of course).

But somewhere along the line the story explodes into a series of action scenes with guns, shootouts, ambushes and mysterious men in black clothing battling it out with our heros. And the two main characters are attracted to each other, but ...

There is some fun along the way and a lot of banter, but the plot often feels cartoonish and improbable. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a fun ride and I especially enjoyed the banter and attraction between Mackenzie and Jackson. The plot seemed to lose focus at times but overall was a good read.
Many thanks to Atria and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is silly because this is a very well written book but I did not enjoy it. I think the marketing might be a bit of an issue there. I thought this was a romantic suspense, not a suspense with romantic elements. Both those things are very different and sadly this book is the latter. Which, of course, is not bad on it's own but when you have expectations of reading a romance heavy book and then book is not that... You're disappointed. Like I was.

I'm torn on this one. Interesting cover, great sound to the synopsis. But I could definitely tell there were two different voices. I loved one POV but not the other. I struggled with the male POV and I dreaded his parts of the story. It took away from my enjoyment and was distracting.

I wish I'd liked it more.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This book was wonderfully written! The characters are so realistic and relatable, and the plot is one you can get lost in. I would definitely recommend!

I didn’t get to finish this, but it also didn’t hook me. Seems fun, but wasn’t my cup of tea. The writing did not grab me and make me want to keep reading.

This was a new-to-me author(s) but I was hooked by the cover and description. I love a good detective story, and I've recently enjoyed hijinks-y books like Partners in Crime, To Have and To Heist, and The Blonde Identity. This did not disappoint! The plot was going full speed ahead for the whole book. The characters were full-fledged adults who held their own with each other. The secondary characters were compelling and entertaining. I think this book flirts with the romance genre; it's heavy on romantic elements, but the complete romantic arc isn't there, though the groundwork is laid for it to continue in future books. This would be great for people who already enjoy romantic suspense or thrillers. I enjoyed this and looking forward to the next one!

Jackson Jones, a 35-year-old private investigator with an office in Century City, California and Mackenzie Cunningham, a 34-year-old private investigator with an office in Inglewood, are each visited by Raymond Patterson. Raymond Patterson needs to find Ashley Cross, the adopted daughter of an ill client.

This book alternates between Jackson and Mackenzie, so these characters are important. Unfortunately, I just didn’t care about them enough to make this an enjoyable read. I still appreciate being given the opportunity to read and review SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN. Thank you, Atria Books and NetGalley, for the ARC.

1.5⭐️



Disfrute la parte de la búsqueda de la chica, y después la de escapar mientras siguen investigando, pero el intento de romance entre Mack y Jackson y final abierto no me gustaron.

Jackson es un machista.

El chiste sobre el espectro autista no dió risa y nunca dará risa ese tipo de "chistes".



Contiene pequeños spoilers ⚠️⚠️
Roxanne seguirá trabajando para Jackson? Porque la tipa se la pasa desnunda y él contento de mirar, además que ella quiere un final feliz en los masajes que le da Jackson.

¿Jackson terminó su relación con la chica de la casa? Porque se supone que quiere tener algo con Mack, pero nunca se menciona que terminara su relación con la mujer que vivía.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for and honest review.

This was a fun caper, with a side of romance. It was outside of my normal reading wheelhouse but I enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy.

Sounds Like a Plan is part romance and part mystery. Jackson Jones and Mackenzie Cunningham are both Private Investigators. Both have been contacted and hired to find a missing person. But when Jackson and Mackenzie find out they are both working on the same case, they quickly go into competition mode trying to be the one to find her. Eventually, they are forced to work together to solve the mystery and clear their names.

I enjoyed the mystery portion of the story. While we aren't given many clues to the case, there is action that helps keep the story interesting. I did not like the romance portion as much. It was mainly because I didn't really like the character of Jackson. I can see that the two were meant to be bickering, but Jackson's inner dialogue sometimes rubbed me wrong. It seems that this will be the start of a series, and I can see that this setup has a lot of potential.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to review in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a big thriller/mystery fan, but this book looked like a romance that had thriller elements to it, so I decided to check it out. In my opinion, it's not a romance. It's more a thriller/mystery with romantic elements. The romance isn't the focus of the book and this book had very little steam.

The story had way too much going on. They went from one lead to another, with lots of drama and lots of people getting murdered. I didn't predict the killer, but there were very little breadcrumbs that would lead you to that conclusion. And the death at the very end - I thought it was unnecessary and sad. After that point, I was not interested in hearing about Mackenzie and Jackson's happy ending.

This book wasn't for me.

Pamela Samuels Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith brings us the story of two PIs Jackson and Mackenzie. They are both given the same missing person's case. When they find each other with every new lead, they realize that they are not the only ones who were given this case. When the events of the case lead to murder and with their lives at stake, they must put aside their differences and learn to work together before they fall to the same fate. Will they be able to solve the case before they lose their lives while working together? Or will their growing feelings and wanting to be the one who solves the case get in their way?

Ms. Young and Mr. Smith tells a story from both points of view. We get to see how events unfold through both the characters where we learn how they feel towards each other without letting the other one know about it. We get to follow along with them as they try to one up each other yet wanting the other to be there. We see how all these feelings are warring with each other inside both characters and how they manage them. See from the beginning how these two PIs start out as rivals and perhaps end up as something more. You keep turning the page to see what they will do next as they get closer to the truth until you realize that you have reached the conclusion and then wished for more.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank NetGalley and Atria Books. I look forward to reading more from these authors.

This started off good but I lost interest in spots and ended up not finishing the book. It’s plot could have used a little more detail

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC.

Loved it! I really enjoyed reading this one. I liked the story between Jackson and Mackenzie. It was an easy and fun read.

things i had issues with in this book:
1. asking if someone was "on the spectrum" in regards to them being dumb, which is just straight up ableist
2. felt like a sponsored post for krav maga because if you took a shot every time it was mentioned, you would die of alcohol poisoning, and that's not even mentioning that krav maga was developed by the IDF so ew
3. weird page long explanation of using ChatGPT to stalk people. literally using step by step instructions
4. victim-blaming that was then played off as a joke after the FMC got sexually assaulted

just an overall mess

Thanks Atria Books and NetGalley for the gifted DRC book.

Rival private investigators, both hired to find the same missing person, join forces when someone wants them to go down for a murder.

The premise of SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN sounded like it would be a fun and fast-paced thriller with romance mixed in. I was disappointed to find it full of misogyny, fatphobia, and a horrible scene equating autistic people with being stupid that I think was intended to be a joke. I wasn’t laughing at any of it. This is not a book I’d recommend.

True rating: 🖤🖤🖤.5

Mackenzie and Jackson are rival investigators who find themselves working the same missing persons’ case. As they attempt to solve it, they quickly find out that they’ve been set up. As the story unfolds, they must work together to survive and figure out who is behind their attempted demise.

This was a solid read and I really enjoyed the pacing of it. The mix of genres was really nice and kept me engaged while reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this as an Arc!

This isn’t my normal genre of books but I wanted to give it a shot. I’m so glad that I did. I really enjoyed reading this one. I liked the banter between Jackson and Mackenzie. It had a really nice pace and flowed really well. It was an easy read that kept you wanting to read. If you like an easy detective/ love story novel. Definitely give this one a try. I am glad I did.