Hooray! This is the latest, most exciting book by Kerry Greenwood, the twenty second in the series, chronicling the beautiful, sleek, sophisticated, brave,  tempestuous and sometimes possibly scandalous adventures of Phryne Fisher in Melbourne during the 1920’s.

The book  is divided into twenty – six chapters and has a prologue and epilogue, author’s note and a bibliography.

All our favourite characters of Phryne’s friends/companions are back – eg her lover Lin Chung and his wife Camellia, her sister Eliza and her partner Alice, Dot, Hugh Collins,the Butlers, Jane and Ruth, Tinker, Inspector Jack Robinson,Bert and Cec and Ember and Molly. There is also Jeoffrey Bissett, an inspirational lecturer in English at Melbourne University who Phryne know from past adventures and becomes entangled with.

When Phryne receives threatening epistles at home, and is stalked and attacked, she recruits her apprentice Tinker to help with the case. Her lover Lin Chung also becomes involved as events become unwieldy. We learn about gang wars, the opium trade, and drug dens.

Concurrently Dot becomes worried that just promoted Hugh Collins (now a Sergeant) her fiancée has turned cold, aloof and wants to call their engagement off.

Jane and Ruth, Phryne’s astute adopted daughters, have their own investigation to follow when they are sent to volunteer at the Blind Institute – have the accounts been cooked? There is also the question of their being accepted and popular at school, and why do they attend a posh sixteenth birthday party they are unexpectedly invited to, when they thought the birthday girl didn’t like them?

There is a lot of social comment as to how women, people of Asian background ( especially here in this case the Chinese ) and indigenous Australians are regarded. There is also the massive class division between rich and poor, University educated and not. We also learn a lot about The Blind Institute and how the students/residents are regarded and treated, and blind piano players and tuners.

This is all cleverly interwoven with the search for Camellia’s missing sister Peony …

Phryne receives an invitation to a lavish party at the mysterious Hong’s residence and attends with Jeoffrey. However, the party is thrown into disarray by a horrifying event and Phryne’s impeccable cleverness is put to the test. Phryne has to act quickly to apprehend the criminals (with some unexpected help from her friends), discover who her stalker is, reveal what has happened with regards to the Blind Institute accounts, provide information to break up a drug ring and save a pair of young lovers from being disowned, dishonoured and possibly facing death.

The book is snappily, deliciously written with wonderful descriptions of food, places, atmospheres , the various characters and clothing. The various subplots are all terrifically, cleanly, interwoven.

Enjoy!

 

Format

275 pages, Paperback

ISBN

9781760879327

Language

English

Featured image ; Kerry Greenwood. Pic Harjora Djoyobisomo 

https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Kerry-Greenwood-Murder-in-Williamstown-9781760879327