Naughty on Ice
Naughty on Ice A Mystery by Maia Chance St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books Historical Fiction Pub Date 13 Nov 2018
Review
If you like Prohibition era capers full of outrageous antics, hilarious dialogue and plenty of fun, look no further than Maia Chance’s Naughty on Ice.
The Discreet Retrieval Agency doesn’t normally take anonymous commissions, but when a strange greeting card summons them to Vermont, they jump at the chance of a picturesque holiday vacation. Still - it doesn’t look good for Lola and Berta to be in the process of removing an antique ring from Great Aunt Cressida’s sausagelike finger when Mrs Goddard passes from a poisoned Negroni cocktail. But being under suspicion doesn’t stop the intrepid duo from working to clear their names. Needless to say hilarious hijinks follow, as the ladies of the Discreet Retrieval Agency, work to uncover the secrets of suspects - and in Lola’s case be fashionable doing so.
Lola and her pup are adorable, if naive about the country environs. Berta as always is a font of knowledge, drawing senior suitors like moths to a flame. Watching them work together is pure joy.
If you are fond of 1920s comedy-mysteries with a touch of romance (and lashings of hooch) you will laugh your way through Maia Chance’s newest novel, Naughty on Ice.
5 / 5
I received a copy of Naughty on Ice from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
-- Crittermom
Description
Naughty on Ice is the latest in Maia Chance’s dazzlingly fun Prohibition-era caper series featuring society matron Lola Woodby and her stalwart Swedish cook, Berta. The Discreet Retrieval Agency is doing a brisk holiday business of retrieving lost parcels, grandmas, and stolen wreaths. But with their main squeezes Ralph and Jimmy once more on the back burner, both Lola and Berta pine for a holiday out of New York City. So when they receive a mysterious Christmas card requesting that they retrieve an antique ring at a family gathering in Maple Hill, Vermont, they jump at the chance. Sure, the card is signed Anonymous and it’s vaguely threatening, but it’s Vermont. In Maple Hill, several estranged members of the wealthy Goddard family gather. And no sooner do Lola and Berta recover the ring—from Great-Aunt Cressida Goddard’s arthritic finger—than Mrs. Goddard goes toes-up, poisoned by her Negroni cocktail on ice. When the police arrive, Lola and Berta are caught-red-handed with the ring, and it becomes clear that they were in fact hired not for their cracker-jack retrieving abilities, but to be scapegoats for murder. With no choice but to unmask the killer or be thrown in the slammer, Lola and Berta’s investigations lead them deep into the secrets of Maple Hill. In a breathless pursuit along a snowy ridge, with a lovelorn Norwegian ski instructor and country bumpkin hooch smugglers hot on their heels, Lola and Berta must find out once and for all who’s nice...and who’s naughty
