Great Book. I saw the tv show and decided I wanted to read the series. I have only read 2 of them but look forward to reading the rest. Good characters and a good plot.
This book is good. Nothing earth-shattering about it but the writing is solid and the story is interesting. An interesting look at Melbourne, Australia in the 1920s and some eye-opening social commentary. Entertaining. I'll be reading more Phryne Fisher tales but not right away.
Phryn Fisher goes from poverty to wealth when inheritances give her enough money to do whatever she wants to do and go wherever whe wants to go. All of it outrageously. Tiring of the activities appropriate in her current life she heads for Australia at the request of parents worried about their daugther and fear that her husband is at fault.
Once there she becomes involved in searching for an abortionist who takes money from troubled women, does the job brutally and dumps the patients wherever. In this short book, she also succumbs to the charms of a "beautiful" young Russian dancer and the two search for a drug kingpin in their amateur ways. It's all too unrealistic. How it became a television series based on twenty, yes twenty of this stories, is beyond me. It seems that a group of other readers disagree with me. When I though it would give it a read, I found the book no better than the television series. Jisjointed and the heroine? Well, it's enough to say this is not a series I will pursue any time soon.
Once there she becomes involved in searching for an abortionist who takes money from troubled women, does the job brutally and dumps the patients wherever. In this short book, she also succumbs to the charms of a "beautiful" young Russian dancer and the two search for a drug kingpin in their amateur ways. It's all too unrealistic. How it became a television series based on twenty, yes twenty of this stories, is beyond me. It seems that a group of other readers disagree with me. When I though it would give it a read, I found the book no better than the television series. Jisjointed and the heroine? Well, it's enough to say this is not a series I will pursue any time soon.
The style of this book seemed very different to me and it was hard for me to get into at first. It was a little choppy, with abrupt transtitions. And it seems a little, um, emotionless. It didn't help that British, Australian and 20's slang is littered liberarly in the language (how's that for illiteration?). On the positive side, though, there were several very good mysteries in the storyline. And as a reader I almost felt like I was time travelling to the 20's. The slang probably helped with that feeling, but there is also frequent description of 20's clothing (designer, of course), furnishings and cars. I'm a fan of 20's design, so that was a big plus for me.
So, while it didn't totally pull me in, I did find this a very interesting read and will continue to read the series. It just won't always be near the top of my TBR pile.
If anyone here is considering checking out this series, please let me help you with some definitions of a few of the slang terms I encountered in the book:
Gasper = cigarette
Snaffled (the loot) = seize quickly
Cloche = a fitted, bell-shaped hat popular in the 20's
Toff = upper class with an air of superiority
Deener = a shilling
Tiddly = a little drunk
So, while it didn't totally pull me in, I did find this a very interesting read and will continue to read the series. It just won't always be near the top of my TBR pile.
If anyone here is considering checking out this series, please let me help you with some definitions of a few of the slang terms I encountered in the book:
Gasper = cigarette
Snaffled (the loot) = seize quickly
Cloche = a fitted, bell-shaped hat popular in the 20's
Toff = upper class with an air of superiority
Deener = a shilling
Tiddly = a little drunk
