Review by Booklist Review
In this Prohibition-era mystery, Lola Woodby is looking forward to life as a rich widow after her cheating older husband, Alfie, conveniently dies. Then she learns that Alfie left her deeply in debt and that she is soon to be homeless. Swedish cook Berta joins her as they hide out in Alfie's New York City love nest. Handsome and charming PI Ralph Oliver seems to be investigating Lola and her family, while her in-laws are trying to take over her life. Desperate for cash, Lola takes a mysterious job trying to find a film reel in a friend's mansion, but the job proves difficult as the man who has the film disappears. Movie stars, gangsters, and other shifty types are no match for Lola and Berta as they struggle to get the film and make ends meet. Period details, including language and especially fashion, provide much of the appeal in this clever adventure, which will make a nice fit for fans of Australian flapper Phryne Fisher in Kerry Greenwood's popular series.--Alessio, Amy Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Chance's flawless first in a 1920s cozy series introduces New York socialite Lola Woodby, who sheds no tears over the sudden death of her philandering, debt-ridden hubby, Alfie. A shortage of funds forces Lola and her cook, Berta Lundgren, to move into Alfie's last remaining piece of real estate, a Greenwich Village apartment that he used as a love nest. When one of Alfie's former girlfriends, aspiring movie actress Ruth Simpkin, offers to pay Lola $3,000 for retrieving a canister of film from a country house where Lola will be a guest, the hard-up Lola and Berta accept, though Ruth is rather vague about the film's content. Lola and Berta's subsequent adventures thrust them into high and low society, and Lola winds up as a suspect in more than one murder. Chance (Snow White Red-Handed) displays a deft wit throughout ("Society Matrons, if you're unfamiliar with the breed, groom and train to compete in matches more snappish and bitchy than those of the Westminster Kennel Club"). Agent: Stephany Evans, FinePrint Literary Management. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
New York 1923. Society matron Lola Woodby endures her loveless marriage with a lot of bootleg highballs and chocolate. But when her philandering husband, Alfred, shuffles off this mortal coil, Lola is left with nothing but debts. Even her beloved home, Folie Maison, falls to Chisolm, her stick-in-the-mud brother-in-law. Fleeing her home, Lola hides out in Alfie's love nest near Washington Square in lower Manhattan, along with her Swedish cook, Berta Lundgren, and her adorable Pomeranian puffball, Cedric. Needing rent money, Lola accepts an offer by one of Alfie's mistresses to find a reel of film, encountering along the way murder, arson, movie stars, girdle manufacturers, as well as a dreamy Irish private investigator named Ralph Oliver. VERDICT This light and frothy historical by the author of the "Fairy Tale Fatal" series introduces a delightfully sweet protagonist who is nicely paired with the tough-as-nails Berta. Tiny Cedric adds levity as well. Cozy fans who are fond of Alice Duncan, Deborah -Woodworth, and Ashley Weaver will want to add Chance's mystery to their to-read pile. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A high-society gal who finds herself penniless turns to the odd bit of detective work in an attempt to settle her late husband's debts. Mrs. Lola Woodby barely sees herself as a widow in mourning. After all, her departed husband, Alfie, was more dear to chorus girls than he ever was to her. In death, he appears to have delivered one last blow to Lola: instead of the windfall she expected, she's left with nothing but debts. When her country home is repossessed by her self-righteous teetotaler brother-in-law (c'mon, it's the Roaring '20s!), Lola is forced to hide out in Alfie's New York City love nest to avoid his creditors. Accompanied by her loyal cook, Berta Lundgren, Lola has to figure out a way to scrape by without returning home to her overbearing mother and overly precious sister. The only chance she sees to get some dough is to do a favor for one of Alfie's chorus-girl "friends." For reasons Lola doesn't know and doesn't need to know, the girl is trying to get her hands on a film reel that's socked away in the vault of one of Lola's society friends. Berta suggests that she and Lola provide some discreet retrieval servicesthat's what high-society folks call detective workand track down the reel, even though it means acting the part of a mourning widow in public when Lola would just rather settle in with a highball and some chocolate. Despite her heroine's distinct lack of class, Chance (Snow White Red Handed, 2014) provides enough saucy characters and silly antics to encourage admirers, just like Lola herself. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
