Lola Woodby is still struggling from her social fall from grace: going from a wealthy New York socialite to a near- penniless widow is not easy, especially as her detective agency, Discreet Retrieval Agency, isn't doing too well either. But she, and her faithful Swedish sidekick and former cook Berta Lundgren, snag a case to retrieve a missing diary from a debutante who is at a health farm, it looks cut and dried, until the first murder happens.

While the first book was fun, I liked TEETOTALED even better. Berta and Lola almost know what they're doing; Lola still plays it a bit by ear, but Berta, the voice of reason curtails Lola's impulsiveness. The indignities Lola must endure: bloomers for exercise, eating celery and bran biscuits, no alcohol, and to add to the torment, Lola's maybe beau, Ralph Oliver is away in Cuba. The search for the diary is only the beginning, as murders begin to accumulate...

Ms. Chance has created two unique characters in Lola and Berta, they make a mystifying but very entertaining team as they improvise and fumble their way to resolving their cases. I love the terrific banter they share; in fact, the dialogues are brilliant all around, especially with the delectable 1920s slang thrown in. TEETOTALED's overall cast of characters is just as dazzling as our two stars: a Yankees pitcher, a stuttering rich fella, a Canadian soda pop tycoon, a nurse whose repartee nearly steals the show, and the unforgettable Baby Doll Mallone, not your average gangster's moll. The high-jinks are hilarious, and it's so well written that had I not known that the book had been written in 2016, I would never have guessed it hadn't been written in 1923. The fantastic, and stunningly accurate, historical details make it nearly as good as the intrigue; never distracting from the suspense, the period details enhance the general mood. The story is solid, rather complex, and the pace is very quick; there are also a few surprising plot twists with an added touch of romance to sweeten the pot. Don't forget your Pond's Vanishing Cream and your Hershey's chocolate bars!