Introducing the Honourable Phryne Fisher has the first three novels and we begin with Cocaine Blues, where our leading lady decides to take a trip to Australia where she eventually settles in.
Phryne's family has come into wealth due to the demise of a few relations during WWI and while she's happy to be living the good life, she does want to be useful to others. Her talent for sleuthing has caught the attention of Colonel Harper who is concerned about his married daughter Lydia living in Melbourne with a rather disreputable husband named John Andrews.
Wanting a change of scene, Phryne takes the job and upon arriving in Australia meets up with an old friend, Dr. Elizabeth MacMillian. During the course of her investigation, our Miss Fisher makes a few new acquaintances such as Dot, a young woman in need of a respectable job, Communist leaning cab drivers Bert and Cec and while visiting the strangely ill looking Lydia, a handsome Russian dancer who sweeps her off her feet and then some:
Phyrne finds herself involved in two cases, one a kidnapping and the other a family dispute that leads to murder. Both of these situations call upon her talent at flying(the family in question runs a flying school) and knack for inventive problem solving.
She also makes a new friend of sorts on the police force, Inspector-Detective Jack Robinson, who at least is willing to have her help out, unlike the pompous ID in charge of the murder case. While Phyrne and Jack don't seem to be as romantically involved as they are on the show, they do make for an engaging pair of characters to follow.
However, during the night, an unexpected stop due to chloroform being dumped in the air vents leads to the demise of an elderly woman who was traveling with her adult daughter. The lady in question gave her only child a rather hard time, especially regarding her daughter's boyfriend, a young man studying medicine who is in desperate need of money.
A possible witness to the crime is a young stowaway who claims to have no memory, a girl that Phyrne decides to call Jane. As she looks into Jane's past and the mysterious death on the train, both of these separate scenarios wind up making quite the connection:
These books are a delight and while there are some differences from the TV series(which is to be expected), getting to know the delightful Miss Fisher in any format is a treat. She's smart and capable and for that time period of the 1920s, rather progressive when it comes to women's issues, bigotry and self expression.
While the first book takes some time to set up the character, the other two fly by quickly on the page and I suspect the other titles in the series do the same. If you haven't watched the show, this is a good intro to Miss Fisher and for those who have, a great way to relive those daring adventures indeed.
Now that summer is over, it's back to one at a time reads for this challenge and my next Series-ous Reading selection is Another One Bites the Crust by Ellie Alexander.
Having finished my time with Miss Fisher a tad early, I was able to catch up on a couple of other cozy mystery titles including A Crime of Passion Fruit, which took Torte baker Jules Capshaw back on the open seas. Now that this seventh entry in the Bakeshop Mystery series has her back home in Ashland, I'm ready to start my fall season with her.
Of course, there's plenty of high drama to be had on land as the annual Shakespeare Festival gets under way and a murder to solve but rest assured, there will be some tasty recipes worked lovingly into the plot as well. A savory serving of mystery soup is the perfect way to get into the autumn mood, if you ask me:
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