Phryne Fisher-dangerous, passionate, kind, clever, and seductive. She drinks cocktails, dances the tango, and is expert at conducting an elegant dalliance-oh, and she solves crimes. Seven Australian soldiers, carousing in Paris in 1918, unknowingly witness a murder and their presence has devastating consequences. Ten years later, two are dead ... under very suspicious circumstances.
Phryne's wharfie mates, Bert and Cec, appeal
to her for help. They were part of this group
of soldiers in 1918 and they fear for their lives
and for those of the other three men. It's only as
Phryne delves into the investigation that she, too,
remembers being in Montparnasse on that very
same day.
While Phryne is occupied with memories of
Montparnasse past and the race to outpace the
murderer, she finds troubles of a different kind
at home. Her lover, Lin Chung, is about to be
married. And the effect this is having on her own
usually peaceful household is disastrous.
"Phryne Fisher is young, wealthy, beautiful, smart,
confident and independently minded ... and she
has a knack for solving murders when she is not
sipping a strengthening cocktail or planning
another seduction."
-The Australian's Review of Books
The suspense is ratcheted up steadily, as
Greenwood plunges the reader into a fascinating past. This is the first of her thirteen novels to be published by Poisoned Pen Press. Readers will impatiently await the next exciting tale by a writer withan assured style. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. - Janet Overmyer, I Love A Mystery Newsletter
From its exotic Australian locale, through its fascinating 1920s setting, to its flamboyant heroine, Greenwood's Phryne (rhymes with Briny) Fisher series is a winner on all counts. Occupying center stage is Phryne's eclectic household, populated by her adopted daughters, cuddly pets, worshipful domestics, and current lover, the gorgeous Lin Chung. Greenwood does a masterful job of imparting history lessons within the context of a suspenseful story. This time, with a plot centering on what happened to seven Australian soldiers on leave in Paris during World War I, she sprinkles the tale with cameos by various real-life figures, including Alice B. Tokias, and reflects on the lingering psychological effects of the Great War. Two of Phryne's friends among the group of seven who caroused together in Paris ask Phryne to look into the suspicious deaths of two of their mates. As she investigates, Phryne, an ambulance driver in France during the war, remembers her own experiences in Paris. Brimming with glamour, high life, and a hint of debauchery, Greenwood's series delivers a literary glass of champagne, lifting readers' spirits while tickling their fancies. -- Jenny McLarin, Booklist
(6/01/2004)
