Review: Come Hell or Highball by Maia Chance

"Desperate ladies are capable of far more than people might suppose." True. Berta and I were desperate ladies and look at the soup we'd dipped ourselves into."
- Berta speaking to Mrs. Lola Woodbury who then has a thought.
location 4134 on my Kindle.

Mrs. Lola Woodby, society matron, and her good friend and cook Berta take on a task of retrieving a reel of film per a young dancer's request when the young woman offers them $3000 to do so. If they didn't need the money, would it have ever come to this? Probably not. Lola would have kept on drinking highballs, reading detective novels, and eating chocolate cake as past times.

But Lola's husband Alfie dies leaving her with more debts than money. His brother inherits the house and kicks her out. He expects her to go home to her family, but Lola doesn't fancy that. She, her pooch Cedric, and Berta go to Alfie's love nest in Washington Square and hole up there. When the rent comes due, they decide to embark on the adventure of retrieving the reel for Ruby Simpkin. Adventure most certainly follows as well as humor, humiliation, gunshots, and a handsome Private Investigator.

I liked Lola and Berta a lot. They are both funny in their own ways. The mystery also reminded me a little of the Miss Fisher mysteries that also take place in the 1920s. The book Come Hell or Highball is set to be book one in the Discreet Retrieval Agency series. There is a lot of humor in the book, but it also makes a good mystery. Where is the reel and how will they get it back? They aren't accustomed to these kinds of activities. And what will happen when people associated with the reel seem to start dropping like flies. It's a good historical cozy mystery. It was a fast read for me. I couldn't put it down. Read it in 2 days.

I would recommend this mystery for someone who likes humorous mysteries, the era of the 1920s, and light reading.

Come Hell or Highball by Maia Chance is scheduled to be released by Minotaur Books September 15, 2015.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. The quote comes from an advance reading copy and may be different in the final form.