Naughty On Ice

Our Review

High-society hi-jinks in Maple Hill, Vermont, has Lola Woodby and her trusty side-kick and Swedish cook Berta scrambling to find an heirloom ring in Maia Chance’s fourth book in the Discreet Retrieval Agency series. NAUGHTY ON ICE is a mystery set in the roaring twenties, that contains murder, mayhem and lively men. Lola and Berta, gum shoe sleuths and retrieval experts, have the misfortune of getting mixed-up as murder suspects when a rich lady dies from a poisoned glass of hoochie.

It just takes the cake, the first holiday invitation Lola and Berta receive to a swanky family gathering in Vermont turns into bedlam. The anonymous invitation enlists their services to find a family ring. They spot the ring on Aunt Daphne’s finger. The rich Goddard family are wondering who invited Berta and Lola in the first place. No sooner are they removing the ring from daffy Aunt Daphne’s finger when Mrs. Goddard keels over dead onto the carpet. Who was the sneaky killer who slipped something into Mrs. Goddard’s spirits?

Lola and Berta are caught by the cops with the recently retrieved ring. What blasted luck! Now they have to clear their names, catch the killer and chill out at the town’s inn. What can possibly happen next?

NAUGHTY ON ICE is a feisty, funny and fabulously mysterious murder mystery. When a society maven topples over dead from toxic tipple, Berta and Lola from the Discreet Retrieval Agency, are fingered as the main suspects. Anonymously invited to the wealthy Goddard family’s gathering in Vermont to find a ring, they have to deal with sly suspects, queer townsfolk, scary mountain myths, wife-hunting men and secrets up the ante. They practically get whiplash listening to the he said/she said gossip, questioning suspects and dealing with silly senior men. Berta is in her element though with the flirty attention from the older guys. What a riot! Plus, Lola’s cute dog, Cedric, steals the show more than once! The author does a splendid job dangling clues, which led me to wonder, who did it, until the very end. Lola and Berta might not be pros at detective work but they are gutsy gals and finally figure it out, half-haphazardly. I split my sides laughing at their antics. NAUGHTY ON ICE is bright, funny, twisty and stylish!