Discreet Retrieval Agency Mysteries
4 primary works
Book 1
31-year-old society matron Lola Woodby has survived her loveless marriage with an unholy mixture of highballs, detective novels, and chocolate layer cake, until her husband dies suddenly, leaving her his fortune or so Lola thought. As it turns out, all she inherits from Alfie is a big pile of debt. Pretty soon, Lola and her stalwart Swedish cook, Berta, are reduced to hiding out in the secret love nest Alfie kept in New York City. But when rent comes due, Lola and Berta have no choice but to accept an offer made by one of Alfie's girls-on-the-side at his funeral. In exchange for a handsome sum of money, the girl wants Lola to retrieve a mysterious reel of film for her. It sounds like an easy enough way to earn the rent money. But Lola and Berta realize they're in way over their heads when, before they can retrieve it, the man currently in possession of the film reel is murdered, and the reel disappears. On a quest to retrieve the reel and solve the murder before the killer comes after them next, Lola and Berta find themselves navigating one wacky situation after another in high style and low company.
Charming, witty, often laugh-out-loud funny, Maia Chance's Come Hell or Highball introduces a sparkling new voice in crime fiction.
Charming, witty, often laugh-out-loud funny, Maia Chance's Come Hell or Highball introduces a sparkling new voice in crime fiction.
Book 2
After her philandering husband died and left her penniless in Prohibition-era New York, Lola Woodby escaped with her Swedish cook to the only place she could - her deceased husband's secret love nest in the middle of Manhattan. Her only comforts were chocolate cake, dime store detective novels, and the occasional highball {okay, maybe not so occasional}. But rent came due and Lola and Berta were forced to accept the first job that came their way, leading them to setup shop as private detectives operating out of Alfie's cramped love nest. Now Lola and Berta are in danger of losing the business they've barely gotten off the ground - work is sparse and money is running out. So when a society matron offers them a job, they take it - even if it means sneaking into a slimming and exercise facility and consuming only water and health food until they can steal a diary from Grace Whiddle, a resident at the 'health farm.' But barely a day in, Grace and her diary escape from the facility - and Grace's future mother-in-law is found murdered on the premises. Lola and Berta are promptly fired. But before they can climb into Lola's brown and white Duesenberg Model A and whiz off the health farm property, they find themselves with a new client and a new charge: to solve the murder of Grace's future mother-in-law.
Book 3
Former socialite Lola Woodby, not-so-discreet private eye in Prohibition-era New York City, along with her grim Swedish sidekick, Berta, take on a piece-of-cake job: retrieving a rhinoceros trophy from the Connecticut mansion of big game hunter Rudy Montgomery. After all, their client, Lord Sudley, promises them a handsome paycheck, and the gin and tonics will be free. But no sooner do they arrive at Montgomery Hall than Rudy is shot dead with a houseful of suspicious characters standing by. Lord Sudley ups the ante, and Lola and Berta take the case. Armed with handbags stuffed with emergency chocolate, gin flasks, and a Colt .25, Lola and Berta are swiftly embroiled in a madcap puzzle of stolen diamonds, family secrets, a clutch of gangsters, and a flapper who knows her way around a safari rifle. Gin and Panic continues the Discreet Retrieval Agency Mysteries from beloved crime writer Maia Chance.
Book 4
