It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:
- Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.
- The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.
Beginning: July 14, 1923
The afternoon Sophronia Whiddle offered us the diary job, it was so hot, you could've sizzled bacon on the sidewalk. Which wasn't a half-bad idea, come to think of it, except that I was out of funds for bacon. I'd been living on shredded wheat for days. All right, hours.
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Page 56: "Hermie will be going to the swimming pool soon, and we wished to learn if he has come into big money as the result of his sister's death."
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My thoughts: As I learned by reading Come Hell or Highball, the first book in the Discreet Retrieval Agency Mystery Series, protagonist Lola Woodby and her sidekick Berta may be destitute, but they are witty and resourceful. I'm looking forward to catching up with their next escapade.
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From Goodreads: In Maia Chance’s
follow-up to her acclaimed Prohibition-era caper Come Hell or Highball,
Lola Woodby is hired to find a diary, but soon the diary owner’s future
mother-in-law is murdered.
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, ultimately leading them to set up shop as a Discreet Retrieval Agency, operating out of Alfie’s cramped love nest.
Now they’re in danger of losing the business they’ve barely gotten off the ground—they haven’t had a job in months and money is running out. So when a society matron offers them a job, they take it—even if it means sneaking into a detox 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 red and white Duesenberg Model A and whiz off the property, they find themselves with a new client and a new charge: to solve the murder of Grace’s future mother-in-law.
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, ultimately leading them to set up shop as a Discreet Retrieval Agency, operating out of Alfie’s cramped love nest.
Now they’re in danger of losing the business they’ve barely gotten off the ground—they haven’t had a job in months and money is running out. So when a society matron offers them a job, they take it—even if it means sneaking into a detox 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 red and white Duesenberg Model A and whiz off the property, they find themselves with a new client and a new charge: to solve the murder of Grace’s future mother-in-law.
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This does sound like a fun series. I'll have to add it to my wishlist. This week I am spotlighting Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of this one. The era is fun to read about, and I've also enjoyed a couple of the author's other books. It sounds like I need to read the first one in this series before I tackle this one. Thanks for sharing, and here's mine: “VERITY”
ReplyDeleteGuess his love nest wasn't so secret. Sounds like humor born of desperation, but I like a witty protagonist. Hope you enjoy it once you get started.
ReplyDeleteI featured her first book on my blog in the past. I hadn't read it, though it does look like a great series. Hope you enjoy it! Happy weekend!
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