Bad Housekeeping by Maia Chance (Book Beginnings)

I normally pair Book Beginnings with Friday 56, but today I'm only doing the beginning. I didn't want to snip the first paragraph down and, really, it's all I needed to know that I had a great book on my hands!

Bad Housekeeping is fourth Maia Chance book that I've read and the first in her new Agnes and Effie Mystery series. Unlike her other two series, this one has a contemporary setting and stars 28-year-old Agnes (who is definitely a kindred spirit for me) and her great-aunt, Effie. They live in a fictional town on a fictional lake in the not-at-all fictional Finger Lakes region of New York. (Instant love for me here since I live oooh so close!)  The two of them are hilarious and their blossoming relationship is far from boring. They snark at each other and practically everyone else on a regular basis and while I can see how this could get on some people's nerves, I love the snark. It's almost like a satirical cozy with so many over-the-top situations and shout-outs to some of the great pop culture mysteries -- Nancy Drew, Murder, She Wrote, Magnum PI, and my beloved Velma Dinkley. In fact, with the addition of Agnes' cousin and high school crush, it's almost like a dogless Scooby gang!

From the very beginning I knew that this was going to be another hit for Maia Chance. By the time I reached the end, I was anxious for the next book in the series! Of course, I'll have to wait a while... Bad Housekeeping comes out on June 13th!

Amazon Description

When 28-year-old Agnes Blythe, the contented bifocals-wearing half of an academic power couple, is jilted by her professor boyfriend for the town Pilates instructor, her future is suddenly less than certain. So when her glamorous, eccentric Great Aunt Effie arrives in town and offers a job helping to salvage the condemned Stagecoach Inn, what does Agnes have to lose? But work at the inn has barely begun when the unlikely duo find the body of manipulative Kathleen Todd, with whom Agnes and Effie both have recently had words. Words strong enough to land them at the top of the suspect list. 

The pair have clearly been framed, but no one else seems interested in finding the real murderer and Agnes and Effie's sleuthing expertise is not exactly slick. Nevertheless, they're soon investigating a suspect list with laundry dirtier than a middle school soccer team's and navigating threats, car chases, shotgun blasts, and awkward strolls down memory lane.

In Bad Housekeeping, the first novel in the Agnes & Effie cozy mystery series by Maia Chance, danger mounts, deadlines loom, ancient knob-and-tube wiring is explored, and the ladies learn a thing or two about the awful, wonderful mistake that is going back home.

Book Beginnings is hosted at Rose City Reader. 

Rambling About.. Maia Chance's Snow White Red-Handed (#boutofbooks book 2)

Author: Maia Chance

Title: Snow White Red-Handed

Publication: 4 November 2014 by Berkley Prime Crime

First Lines: Miss Ophelia Flax was neither a professional trickster nor a lady's maid, but she'd played both on the stage. In desperate circumstances like these, that would have to do.

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This wasn't on my original TBR for BoutofBooks, but I finished my first book at work and realized that everything else was left at home. Thank goodness for my phone, my Kindle app, and my friend Shannon who suggested I pick a book with a color in the title. I immediately thought of this one which I purchased a couple of months ago since I've loved some of Chance's other books and have the first in her newest series sitting on my NetGalley shelf waiting for me.

It didn't take long for me to form a strong connection to Maia Chance's Snow White Red-Handed. I've always loved fairy tales and Snow White was my princess-of-choice growing up since she was the only one who looked anything like me. Before I even opened the book my hopes were high. Then, after the first chapter where our heroines Ophelia and Prue land jobs as maids for a wealthy American couple, the book immediately jumps location to just outside of Baden-Baden Germany. It's 1867. My great-great grandfather was in Baden-Baden until 1868.

(Source: The Hector Berlioz Website)

Yep. This book was destined to be adored by me.

So, we have Ophelia and Prue recently employed by the Coops as maids and the whole lot are off to the castle in the Black Forest. On their property a small house has been found which Mrs Coop is certain was the dwarves' house from the Snow White tale. Professors Penrose and Winkler are called in to examine the findings as both are deemed experts in the field of philology (the study and history of literary texts -- like Grimm's original tales). Winkler firmly believes that it's all nonsense but, secretly, Penrose is hoping to find proof that the "fairy tales" were based on truth.

The Coops are rather wretched and the rest of their household staff aren't exactly full of rainbows and butterflies. When Mr Coop is killed -- by a poisoned apple, of course -- Prue is the main suspect and Ophelia is determined to set things straight.

I love Ophelia. She's sarcastic and tricky and exactly what I love in a "cozy" heroine. She's also fiercely loyal and protective of Prue -- who is her own special breed of tricky. Of course, as with most things, we have some romance going on between Prue and Hansel the gardener and Ophelia and Gabriel Penrose. Luckily, neither relationship overshadows the mystery aspect.

It's a fast-paced story with twists and turns and fairytales galore (especially if you remember that those Grimm boys weren't big fans of rainbows and butterflies and pretty little endings!). It kept me smiling and guessing and I'm still kicking myself a bit for not figuring it all out on my own. Right now there are 2 other books in the series and I'm greatly looking forward to getting my hands on them.

Teetotaled by Maia Chance (Tuesday Intros, Teaser Tuesday and a Ramble)

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is the first paragraph (or two) of a book being read now or in the future and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" from Books and a Beat asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Amazon Description

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 set up 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.

Teetotaled, Maia Chance's sparkling new mystery will delight readers with its clever plotting, larger-than-life characters, and rich 1920s atmosphere.

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RAMBLE BELOW

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STOP NOW IF YOU'RE ONLY 

HERE FOR THE TEASING

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I had requested Maia Chance's Teetotaled from NetGalley on a whim because of the adorable cover and the fact that on that particular day I was feeling a bit burnt out on Chick Lits. When I discovered that it was the second in a series I hightailed it to my library and checked out Come Hell or Highball (which I teased here and rambled about here). I fell in love with Lola and Berta and, of course, Ralph. CHoH was a wonderful start to what I was certain would be a wonderful series.

Reading Come Hell or Highball first isn't necessarily, well, necessary ... but I do highly recommend it. Several characters overlap and it was nice to know what to expect from them. Take Chisolm, for instance. Lola's ex-brother-in-law (her deceased husband's brother)/future-brother-in-law (as he's engaged to Lola's snippy sister) who runs the "health farm" that Lola and Berta end up at? There are reasons why Lola calls him the Prig, is constantly trying to avoid running into her mother and sister, and cringes whenever an article appears in the newspaper written by Ida Shanks. And, of course, reading Come Hell or Highball first would let you experience the beginning of her relationship with Ralph.

(Excuse me for a moment or two while I swoon ... because Ralph is definitely swoon worthy!)

Anyway, back to our Discreet Retrieval Agency. Lola and Berta have an amazing relationship that has definitely been enhanced since they moved past their original roles of employer and cook to the roles of partners. Berta does still call Lola "Mrs. Woodby" (... then again, so does Ralph at times ...), but having been so ensconced in the Society set for so long, this doesn't really feel out of place.  Berta is reliable and invaluable to the investigations, Lola's sanity, and keeping the story going. Granted, at times she keeps the story going in a direction you wouldn't expect a butter-loving cook in her sixties to take. (Just wait until you hit Coney Island with them!)  Lola, meanwhile, shows time and again how she's so much more than a typical Society Matron and able to hold her own with the rich and powerful as well as the goonish and seedy. (Not that there's always a distinct separation between them, of course.)

I've read a lot of mysteries over the years and have become quite a decent armchair/bus seat/curled-up-in-bed detective. There are several mysteries tangled up together in Teetotaled but it only ever gets confusing for the reader when it gets confusing for our dynamic duo (or trio if Ralph is tagging along). Maia Chance gives just enough information that everything makes sense without making it obvious and I love that. Too many times with cozies I feel like I've solved the crime in question before it's even been committed! That didn't happen with the first book in the series and it definitely didn't happen here.

And now I have to deal with the downfall of NetGalley. 

Reading things in advance or at the time of release has the horrid side effect of then needing to wait even longer for more. I only waited a month between Come Hell or Highball and Teetotaled and now I'll have to go through some serious withdrawal before the next one comes out. On the upside, Chance has a fairy tale based series I've been eyeing plus another series due to start this coming June. That will be plenty to keep me occupied while I wait to see what Lola and Berta get tangled up with next, right?

Golly, who am I trying to kid? The wait will be as bad as Lola without chocolate! Hurry up and write, Maia!

Rambling About.. Come Hell or Highball by Maia Chance (@maiachance)

Title: Come Hell or Highball
Author: Maia Chance
Publication: 15 September 2015 -- Minotaur Books (St. Martin's Press)

Amazon Description:

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: 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.

First Line: In all fairness, my husband was the one who should've been murdered.

Faves on 4s:
p14: The good news, it turned out, was that Alfie hadn't actually written a will, so everthing went to me. The bad news was, there wasn't a nickel to inherit.
p74: We passed the servants' staircase. We made it halfway down a hallway that led to the kitchen. Suddenly, a bang! rang out behind the kitchen door.
p124: You probably can't be a gangster kingpin without succumbing to a certain amount of deranged paranoia.
p164: "Back off," Berta said. She pressed the pistol's barrel into Jimmy's lapel and pushed him away. "I am not that sort of lady."
p234: I kicked myself for asking. But then, Berta could write a laundry list of all my foibles, yet I knew next to nothing about her. She was a walled fortress.

Ramble:

This past Friday I used the glorious Come Hell or Highball for my Book Beginnings & Friday 56 post. At the time I had just started it and was already confident in comparing Lola to Phryne Fisher. It didn't take long before I was saying to myself "Phryne who?" (Well, not really ... but I think you understand what I'm trying to get at.)

The story opens at the funeral of Lola's husband on May 30, 1923. It's the Roaring Twenties -- the age of Prohibition, silent movies, gangsters, flappers, chorus girls, and high society. Lola and her husband were part of the high society crowd and after his death she began to realize just how much a part of the gangsters and chorus girls crowd he was. One of the chorus girls in question offers to pay Lola to retrieve a film roll for her from one the high society types and, since her husband had left her with nothing but a pile of debt and a secret apartment love-nest, she and her cook Berta take the case. It sounded easy enough if it hadn't been for the dead bodies piling up, Lola being suspected of murder, and the private detective who appears to be on their heels at every turn. (And that's only in the first half!)

I love Lola. In an age where the flapper figure of having very little figure is all the rage, she keeps her curves. Forget dieting -- give that girl some steak, potatoes and chocolate. And Prohibition? Pshaw. Highballs are as important to her as coffee is to me. Luckily, she has her cook and partner-in-crime Berta. When Lola lost everything, Berta refused to leave her. In fact, she pretty much blackmailed Lola into letting her stick around and we're all better off for it!

And Ralph? Yeah, that's one private detective I definitely wouldn't mind following me around "like the little lamb after Mary."

This has all of the hijinx and hilarity that I would expect from an old movie that I would lose myself in on Turner Classic Movies. Hmmmm ... maybe from the early to mid-1950s and helmed by someone like Billy Wilder. Since I can't come up with anyone I would cast now, we'll just hop in thee ol' time machine back to 1955 or so.

Angela Lansbury is Lola ...

Robert Mitchum is Ralph ...

And NOBODY could be Berta except for Jane Darwell ...

Of course, time machines don't really exist so my dream cast will only be in my dreams -- and running through my head with each following book in the series!

Come Hell or Highball by Maia Chance (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

I've only just started this so haven't gotten far enough for a big ramble, but after the first few chapters I already love it and I'll be shocked if it gets less than 4 stars from me on Goodreads! Lola and Berta are a phenomenal pair and I'm so thankful that I learned about this series thanks to the second one showing up on NetGalley. I'm even more thankful that my darling son was willing to walk down to the library with me so I could check this one out! Lola reminds me a bit of Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher -- but American and snarkier. (I know -- snarkier than Phryne?)

Friday 56 (share from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice (today page 256 of the hardcover) 
& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

Amazon Description

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: 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.