Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Cocaine Blues

I watched the first two seasons of the (very excellent) TV show based off of this series and got a little curious about the source material. After all, the book is always better, and I really enjoyed the TV show. I do think this is a rare occasion where I prefer the TV show though.

I'm not quite sure what it is, but there's something that did not really grab me about this story. Everything was just kind of. . . fine.

I did find the characters interesting (and the differences from their television counterparts were especially interesting), though Dr. Macmillian is hands down my favorite. The part where she knocks the man trying to break into her room at the hospital to kill her out of a second floor window and is annoyed because a) he made her break her perfectly good wash basin and b) now she has to go deal with his injuries was the absolute best part of this book. She's an icon and I cannot wait to see more of her.

I like the TV show enough to try another book or two to see if I can get more into this series, but I’m not anticipating continuing much beyond that. I do see why so many people like this series, but I suspect it may not be for me.

[Note on content warnings: half of the main plot is catching a man performing poorly done back alley abortions that have been killing women. No details are given, but there is discussion of it happening. Similarly, busting a cocaine ring is the other half of the plot, though there is no on-screen drug use, only references to it.]

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blewballoon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I was a little worried going into this. I knew there was a TV show based on this series, but I've never watched it. The writing is very fast paced, flying through events so quickly that sometimes I had to stop to double check the grammar and sentence structure. There's a fun cast of characters and more diversity than I expected.

Though, I really didn't appreciate the unfortunate implication that asexual people are amoral, immature, and power hungry.

I don't think I will continue with the series, but I am glad I read it and it was a pretty fun wacky ride.

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livcashmere's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I love Phryne Fisher! Are these books masterpieces… no. But there is something about the colourful cast of characters and the setting of 1920/30’s Melbourne that just sucks me in.

Maybe I’m a little bias because I’m obsessed with the tv show, but I really enjoyed this story. The mystery itself isn’t overly compelling but like I stated earlier it’s the characters in the Phryne Fisher series that really make it. This novel is almost exactly the same as the first episode of the tv series so I think the ABC did a superb job of bringing this book to life.

This is a light easy read filled with loveable characters and a sense of mystery. I can understand why it has so quickly become and Australian classic.

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meganpbennett's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The first book in the series from which the marvelous Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries TV who was created. If you've watched the first episode, then you know more or less how the book is going to play out, with three mysteries creating the bulk of the plot of the story. The first mystery is what sends Phryne Fisher to Australia - parents who think that their daughter is being poisoned. The second mystery starts when a man forces a bleeding woman - Alice - into Burt and Ces's taxi cab, and it turns out that there is a man who is raping women and botching their abortions; several have died. Since abortions are illegal in Australia at the time, the women who survived are refusing to come forward. Since the women who've died have been prostitutes, the police aren't really investigating. Alice, who really has been taken down the rabbit hole, may be crucial to finding this person and bringing him into justice. The third mystery involves the titular cocaine - The King of Snow is inundating Australia with the stuff, and the police can't seem to do anything. A Russian dancer is crucial to the cocaine plot.

Overall, it's a good mystery, well-written, with good characters. Very interesting.

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