Review by Booklist Review
American fans have been treated to several installments in the beguiling Phryne Fisher series (among them, the recently released Castlemaine Murders BKL S 15 04), but this one, originally published in Australia in 2001, may be the best yet. It's 1928, and the globetrotting, glamorous Phryne (rhymes with briny) is at home near Melbourne, missing her lover, Lin Chung, who is on a silk-buying trip in China. When Phryne's detective friend, Jack, asks for her help investigating the murder of Miss Lavender, a well-known author of fairy stories, Phryne is glad of the distraction. The investigation leads to a temporary job as a fashion reporter for Women's Choice magazine, Miss Lavender's former employer. Phryne's encounters with the various magazine staffers add considerable zest to the adventure, as does Lin Chung's possible abduction by pirates. Phryne on the rampage makes for fine entertainment all on its own, but Greenwood effectively combines her inimitable heroine's antics with thought-provoking details about the struggles of women in the 1920s, forced to adjust to the loss of the unprecedented independence they had enjoyed during the war. This series is the best Australian import since Nicole Kidman, and Phryne is the flashiest new female sleuth in the genre. --Jenny McLarin Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Phryne Fisher continues to dance the tango and unravel murders in 1920s Melbourne, Australia, in this third installment of the series to be published in the United States. Simultaneous with the Poisoned Press hardcover. Read by Stephanie Daniel. (c) Copyright 2010. 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
In 1920s Melbourne, an emancipated sleuth solves a murder at a woman's magazine and rescues her shanghaied lover. As Rosebud Peachblossom, Marcella Lavender wrote and illustrated books for children and did similar work for the magazine Women's Choice. But her personality was far from winsome, and now her maid Mercy has found her stiffening at the breakfast table. Police inspector Jack Robinson again solicits the help of elegant investigator Phryne Fisher, who goes undercover at the magazine, inheriting much of Miss Lavender's workload, in order to focuses on her coworkers, a colorful group untouched by grief. The field of suspects widens when Phryne finds a host of angry letters to Artemis, under which sobriquet Miss Lavender wrote an advice column. She takes gossipy Miss Prout to lunch at the Adventuress Club to pump her for information about her colleagues. Meanwhile, Phryne's lover Lin Chung hasn't returned from a Chinese silk-buying trip or contacted her. His disapproving family offers neither help nor support, even after she learns he's been kidnapped. Phryne undertakes a daring maritime rescue before returning to Women's Choice to expose the killer. Greenwood (Murder at Montparnasse, not reviewed, etc.) crafts a passable whodunit, but terrific historic color (complete with a three-page bibliography) and the blithe proto-feminist heroine are the real highlights here. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
