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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I can’t count the number of times a stopped while reading this book to smile at a funny or clever phrase. There’s a moment towards the end when a hungry child asks Jack Robinson how far down a glass of milk they are allowed to drink and my heart melted. These are the little gems in Kerry Greenwood’s books that make me forgive and overlook the inconsistencies (like Phryne is now “Jade Lady” to Lin Chung and not “Silver Lady?”).
The story is a little convoluted (like why the boat excursion?), but this is still a charming addition to the series.
The story is a little convoluted (like why the boat excursion?), but this is still a charming addition to the series.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A darker version of the Queen of the Flowers episode from Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, the book includes Lin Chung, visits to criminal lords, 1920s Australia mean girls, elephant rides, and a more vengeful Phryne. One of my favorites of the series.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I am big fan of Ms Greenwood mysteries and this one is not an exception even if it is a bit less sparkling than others in this series. I really enjoyed it and Ms Fisher is always the same sparkling and clever self.
I would not recommend this book to people who has never read any other book in this series or just seen the TV show.
On a general level a very good mystery.
#Netgalley #Poisonpen
I would not recommend this book to people who has never read any other book in this series or just seen the TV show.
On a general level a very good mystery.
#Netgalley #Poisonpen
I was a little slow to get into this one, but eventually got caught up. It was refreshing to have a book without a murder, and I found parts of it quite satisfying.
However, I definitely had a few "What?!" moments:
The abuse of twelve- and thirteen-year-old Rose seems to be treated very unevenly. Phryne, Dot and Jack all seem suitably horrified by the contents of her diary, and there are discussions about how this has affected her behaviour in an understandable way, but WHAT is with other characters referring to her as a "tart" (SHE'S THIRTEEN) etc. without getting called out on it? At the end, it seems like the shares fraud committed between her despicable grandfather and Mr Johnson is more of a scandal than the fact that they COLLUDED ON THE RAPE OF A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD.
I didn't understand why there was no urgency in the search for Ruth. I understand that hey, maybe she ran away, but it seemed like they kept reaching the point of "nothing to do now but wait until tomorrow!" This didn't ring true for me - Phryne is a lioness when it comes to defending her own, I thought she would have been turning the town upside-down.
Is Dulcie Fanshawe (elephant lady) meant to be the same person as Dulcie Ross (Anna's mother and Ruth's grandmother)? It seems odd to have the same first name otherwise.
I also didn't feel that the epistolary reveal of Anna and Rory's affair worked well. (A carry over from the epistolary chapter starts in the last novel.) I finished the book feeling that we were still missing some details about what had actually HAPPENED back then, and I would rather have had an exposition-dump of Anna or James telling the whole story.
I missed satisfying conclusions for some of the "baddies". We didn't see what happened to Diane after ruining the flower float, nor did we get any kind of confrontation with Mr Weston.
I did like that we got a bit of a focus on Jane and Ruth and Ruth's background. There was some nice interactions - Phryne and the professor, with Jack Robinson's family, Dot and Mr Butler being a tiny bit BAMF etc.
Apart from the things I put behind the spoiler section above, I think the weaknesses are in the pacing and due to Kerry Greenwood's fondness to put in research details - the gambling boat (could have been cut entirely); the verbatim Samarkand presentation; parts of the description of the parade and circus. It could have been a tighter novel, especially if the focus had been brought into the emotional arcs for our main characters.
However, I definitely had a few "What?!" moments:
The abuse of twelve- and thirteen-year-old Rose seems to be treated very unevenly. Phryne, Dot and Jack all seem suitably horrified by the contents of her diary, and there are discussions about how this has affected her behaviour in an understandable way, but WHAT is with other characters referring to her as a "tart" (SHE'S THIRTEEN) etc. without getting called out on it? At the end, it seems like the shares fraud committed between her despicable grandfather and Mr Johnson is more of a scandal than the fact that they COLLUDED ON THE RAPE OF A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD.
I didn't understand why there was no urgency in the search for Ruth. I understand that hey, maybe she ran away, but it seemed like they kept reaching the point of "nothing to do now but wait until tomorrow!" This didn't ring true for me - Phryne is a lioness when it comes to defending her own, I thought she would have been turning the town upside-down.
Is Dulcie Fanshawe (elephant lady) meant to be the same person as Dulcie Ross (Anna's mother and Ruth's grandmother)? It seems odd to have the same first name otherwise.
I also didn't feel that the epistolary reveal of Anna and Rory's affair worked well. (A carry over from the epistolary chapter starts in the last novel.) I finished the book feeling that we were still missing some details about what had actually HAPPENED back then, and I would rather have had an exposition-dump of Anna or James telling the whole story.
I missed satisfying conclusions for some of the "baddies". We didn't see what happened to Diane after ruining the flower float, nor did we get any kind of confrontation with Mr Weston.
I did like that we got a bit of a focus on Jane and Ruth and Ruth's background. There was some nice interactions - Phryne and the professor, with Jack Robinson's family, Dot and Mr Butler being a tiny bit BAMF etc.
Apart from the things I put behind the spoiler section above, I think the weaknesses are in the pacing and due to Kerry Greenwood's fondness to put in research details - the gambling boat (could have been cut entirely); the verbatim Samarkand presentation; parts of the description of the parade and circus. It could have been a tighter novel, especially if the focus had been brought into the emotional arcs for our main characters.
This was fun, but I kind of wanted something different to happen for a change. Also, I wanted more description of the costume for the Queen of the Flowers.
Hat mich nicht so begeistern können, wie ich es mir erhofft hatte. Ich denke das liegt aber auch daran, das ich die TV Serie dazu einfach so grandios finde, das mir die Unterschiede dazu nicht so gut gefallen haben. Vermutlich wäre das anders, wenn ich zuerst die Bücher gelesen hätte.
Dadurch wirkte die Handlung für mich irgendwie aufgebauscht und an einigen Stellen gab es für mich unnötige Handlungsstränge, und auch unnötige Figuren.
Nun ja, ich schau dann ehrlich gesagt lieber weiterhin die Serie.^^
Dadurch wirkte die Handlung für mich irgendwie aufgebauscht und an einigen Stellen gab es für mich unnötige Handlungsstränge, und auch unnötige Figuren.
Nun ja, ich schau dann ehrlich gesagt lieber weiterhin die Serie.^^