Mystery Review: Death Before WIcket, by Kerry Greenwood

 

Title: Death Before Wicket

Author: Kerry Greenwood 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin, 1999. My (US) edition: Poison Pen Press, 2008. 232 pages.

Source: Library

Summary: 

Phryne has responded to a call for help from a pair of young university students, and plans to enjoy a bit of a holiday in Sydney at the same time. She's watching some cricket, storming the Arts Ball in a rather daring costume, locating her maid's sister, solving a crime or two, and of course enjoying the company of a lover. All that despite a climate that she finds melting.

My Review:

I always enjoy Phryne Fisher's outings, but found this one perhaps a bit less to my taste than most. Part of that might have been the cricket, a game which makes even less sense to me than baseball. That makes it hard (read: impossible) to follow whole paragraphs describing the game (even the title I'm pretty sure has more depth than my vague awareness of a play on some kind of cardinal cricket-sin called "leg before wicket"). Another source of my discontent might have been the setting. In Sydney, Phryne feels the frustration of being without her usual set of henchpersons and sidekicks. I missed them too. So, nothing wrong with the story, I just didn't have as much fun as usual (though at least this time she was seducing someone old enough to know what he was getting into, at least sort of. I do worry sometimes when she's dallying with inexperienced young men).

Recommendation:

Even on an off day (and this was more about tastes than anything wrong with the story) Phryne is good company. I recommend the book, and the whole series, to anyone who likes the between-the-wars setting, intriguing mysteries, a goodly touch of humor, and isn't put off by a female lead who likes to jump into bed at every opportunity (part of the fun, for me, is watching her rather straight-laced Catholic companion Dot deal with this). 

Full Disclosure: I checked Death Before Wicket out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Mystery Monday: Ruddy Gore

 

Title: Ruddy Gore

Author: Kerry Greenwood

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2005 (original publication 1995). 207 pages. 

Source: Library

Publisher's Summary:
Running late to a gala performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore, Phryne Fisher meets some thugs in dark alley and handles them convincingly before they can ruin her silver dress. She then finds that she has rescued the handsome Lin Chung, and his grandmother, who briefly mistake her for a deity.n Denying divinity but accepting cognac, she later continues safely to the theatre where her night is again interrupted by a bizarre death onstage. What links can Phryne find between the ridiculously entertaining plot of Ruddigore, the Chinese community of Little Bourke St., or the actors treading the boards of His Majesty's Theatre? 

My Review:
As usual, I found the adventures of Phryne Fisher to be a read-it-straight-through diversion. There is nothing very substantial about the story, but the addition of Gilbert and Sullivan plots to Phryne's already somewhat entertaining life gave the story some added fun for me (I believe I have confessed before to being a fan of G&S). There were a few things missing from this story that I always enjoy. Bert and Cec played no role, nor were there any appearances by Phyrne's adopted daughters, who tend to add a tough of common sense to the menage (along with Dot, Phryne's maid, who in this case gets to do little but fret over her mistress). But the introduction of Lin Chung is an important development for the series (which I initially began reading rather out of order, so it's nice to learn where he comes from), and the two threads are kept just close enough together to work well, without any unreal overlapping of worlds. The outcome of the mystery was reasonably satisfying, and it's always fun to see Phyrne making people's lives better in between solving crimes and heading to bed with lovely young men.

Recommendation:
If you are already of fan of the series, this is an important book! If you aren't, it's an okay place to begin, though I think it's a series that is well served by reading in order (or maybe that's just me being OCD; I've done it both ways and jumping into the middle was good enough to hook me). These books aren't for anyone upset by an unmarried woman with a love of good sex, but they are not particularly explicit and I would be willing to recommend them to my mom.


Full Disclosure: I borrowed Ruddy Gore  from my library, and received nothing from the author or the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Mystery Monday: The Green Mill Murder



Title: The Green Mill Murder
Author: Kerry Greenwood
Publisher: Poison Pen Press, 2007. Originally published 1993 in Australia. 173 pages.
Source: Library

Summary:
Phryne Fisher, Melbourne belle and detective, is dancing at the Green Mill when a fellow-dancer drops dead pretty much under her feet. Phryne is bound to investigate, especially when her dance partner disappears into the night to avoid talking to the police. But tracking down Charlie Freeman leads her into new perils and trouble in the Snowy Mountains, and everything seems to come back to the War (that would be the Great War, i.e., WWI, as the book is set in the 1920s).

Review:
Miss Fisher is, as always, a delight. And she sorts the Freeman family out nicely, but I felt a little cheated on the murder. In this case, Phryne decides abruptly--just when she has figured out who did it, and why--that she really doesn't care, and leaves it to Inspector Jack Robinson to figure out on his own. Instead, she flies her little Moth Rigel off into the Snowy Mountains to find Charlie's older brother and straighten out that family. I expected to return to Melbourne and sort out the murder, but alas, we did not. I was able to figure out who did it, how, and why, for the most part, but I still didn't like Phryne running out on the case.

Recommendation:
This isn't the best of the Miss Fisher mysteries, due to the flaws in how it is worked out, but it's still a grand story. I'm reading the series in order, and I wouldn't skip it.

Mystery Monday! Murder on the Ballarat Train

 

Author: Kerry Greenwood

Title: Murder on the Ballarat Train

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 1991, 151 pages

Source: Library

Summary:

When Melbourne's #1 flapper detective Phryne Fisher decides to take the train to Ballarat, she lands herself in the middle of her next case. She awakens in the night to find that the First Class carriage has been poisoned with chloroform, and one passenger is missing. Searching for the murderer leads Phryne to a lost girl, a white slavery ring, a (another) beautiful lover, and a spot of danger before she sorts everything out, sees the killer hauled away, and everyone can relax with a cup of tea.

Review:

While Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mysteries tend to be short, they are jam-packed with action of all sorts. Murder on the Ballarat Train is no exception. We are whisked from hairs-breadth escapes to luscious seductions to shopping expeditions and excursions into the seamier side of Melbourne, and Greenwood never puts a foot wrong.

The killer was fairly easy to guess, but it took Phryne a bit of work to line up the proof and confirm my guess. And during the whole case she never loses sight of the importance of protecting the pair of abused girls who show up on her doorstep (nor of the pleasures of seductions). Searching out the truth of their lives involves two of Greenwood's more delightful creations, Bert and Cec, always a crowd-pleaser.

As is frequent in Greenwood's books, there are two equally important plots apparently running parallel throughout the book. In some books, they remain parallel to the end; in this case they are brought just close enough together to satisfy, while remaining realistically individual.

Recommendation:

This is a very sound mystery for any lover of mysteries, but will especially appeal to those who like period pieces (1920s), and those who are not troubled by a freely sexual female lead.

  ©Rebecca M. Douglass

Full Disclosure: I checked Murder on the Ballarat Train out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."