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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
In 1928, the Honorable Phryne Fisher is Queen of the Flowers for the first annual St. Kilda festival. But then, one of her Flower Maidens goes missing, along with one of her adopted daughters, and Phryne has to investigate. The circus is in town and it harbors a long-lost friend, who assists in the investigation. This is a charming series of books set in St. Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Phyrne has moved to Australia from England after her stint as an ambulance driver in the First World War. The first book, Cocaine Blues, centers on her move to Australia and her subsequent decision to set up as a private inquiry agent. Phryne is always elegant and unflappable. Every book involves the same cast of characters, Phryne; her dresser, Dot; her domestic staff, Mr. and Mrs. Butler; several Melbourne policemen who fall under Phryne’s spell; her Chinese lover; an assorted cast of various ne’er do wells, and in the later books, Phryne’s two adopted daughters, Jane and Ruth. The library owns all titles that are currently available in the United States; they were originally published in Australia.
I discovered the Phryne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood thanks to the fabulous TV series based on the books. There are several differences between the books and the TV series, most notably the romantic interest in one of the typical will they or won’t they relationships between Jack Robinson and Phryne. In the books, he is a friend and that’s it. In the books, Phryne has a long continuing relationship with Lin, the married Chinese man whose wife is also Phyrne’s friend. Altogether too shocking for television. Clearly, the books are more interesting. While reading Queen of the Flowers, I kept thinking I must have missed the episode, but the only thing that remained the same are the names and the flower festival.
The book though is exactly what makes Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher series superior to your average series. We have Phryne Fisher, the wish-fulfillment private detective, rich, brilliant, and independent, with a gorgeous 1920s wardrobe and 2020s values. In its form, this is a cozy mystery series bedazzled with glamour and fashion, but in function? Phryne’s cases are much too gritty and grim for any of the letters in the word “c-o-z-y” except the “y” which we need for the mystery.
This time, one of the young girls who will participate in the floral parade with Phryne for the flower festival goes missing and she is hired to find her. She is a troubled girl and considered “fast” even though she is just a child. In fact, she is the perfect age to attract Judge Roy Moore, or as happens, men like Judge Roy Moore. Of course, Greenwood wrote this before Roy Moore’s scandal, so she had no idea that vast numbers of people will decide the child molestation is far less important than a tax cut, so in Phryne’s world, there is this universal condemnation and horror that obviously is no longer realistic.
Queen of the Flowers is a compelling mystery. It is, as always with Greenwood, well-researched with authentic details of time and place. Sometimes, the wealth of research is a bit too obvious in Greenwood’s books, but not this time. There is another storyline that gives us the backstory on one of Phryne’s adopted daughters that is heartwarming and foreshadowed just well enough for us to be just ahead of revelation. I love this series and continue to look forward to reading more.
I received an e-galley of Queen of the Flowers from the publisher through NetGalley.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2017/11/16/9781464207785/
The book though is exactly what makes Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher series superior to your average series. We have Phryne Fisher, the wish-fulfillment private detective, rich, brilliant, and independent, with a gorgeous 1920s wardrobe and 2020s values. In its form, this is a cozy mystery series bedazzled with glamour and fashion, but in function? Phryne’s cases are much too gritty and grim for any of the letters in the word “c-o-z-y” except the “y” which we need for the mystery.
This time, one of the young girls who will participate in the floral parade with Phryne for the flower festival goes missing and she is hired to find her. She is a troubled girl and considered “fast” even though she is just a child. In fact, she is the perfect age to attract Judge Roy Moore, or as happens, men like Judge Roy Moore. Of course, Greenwood wrote this before Roy Moore’s scandal, so she had no idea that vast numbers of people will decide the child molestation is far less important than a tax cut, so in Phryne’s world, there is this universal condemnation and horror that obviously is no longer realistic.
Queen of the Flowers is a compelling mystery. It is, as always with Greenwood, well-researched with authentic details of time and place. Sometimes, the wealth of research is a bit too obvious in Greenwood’s books, but not this time. There is another storyline that gives us the backstory on one of Phryne’s adopted daughters that is heartwarming and foreshadowed just well enough for us to be just ahead of revelation. I love this series and continue to look forward to reading more.
I received an e-galley of Queen of the Flowers from the publisher through NetGalley.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2017/11/16/9781464207785/
adventurous
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
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.
Better than the tv episode, well rounded story
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Queen of the Flowers - Greenwood
2 stars
I couldn’t remember this book from my first reading. Definitely not as entertaining as most books in the series. Too many subplots and not enough humor. Horrendous child rape and abuse is treated far too casually. Stephanie Daniel usually elevates the predictable writing with her audio performance, but she ruined this one with her awful Scottish accent for a major character.
2 stars
I couldn’t remember this book from my first reading. Definitely not as entertaining as most books in the series. Too many subplots and not enough humor. Horrendous child rape and abuse is treated far too casually. Stephanie Daniel usually elevates the predictable writing with her audio performance, but she ruined this one with her awful Scottish accent for a major character.
Solid story but very light on mystery and very heavy on coincidence.