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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
mysterious
Pharynx the concubine? That didn't make it into the show, ahem. A solid outing in this mystery series.
I would have liked it even less if I hadn’t already watched and loved the show. It almost bored me to tears! The characters have almost no depth or reason, it borders on cheesy at every term, and needlessly regurgitates every stereotype across race religion, and social class.
Kerry Greenwood writes the delightful Phryne Fisher mystery series. The stories are set in Australia between the World Wars. I have mentioned before that I consider Phryne the grown-up's Nancy Drew. Like Nancy, she can keep up with the men and the boys and give as good as she gets. She has steel in her spine and a plethora of witty comebacks. She can handle a pistol and herself in a fight. She drives a beautiful, fast car and can fly an airplane. She swims like a fish and can dance all night. And she runs circles around any criminal who comes her way while making time to make time with the most eligible of available bachelors. She sounds (and probably is) quite improbable, but Kerry Greenwood writes such entertaining stories and writes them so well that you don't even notice.
In this outing, the circus has come to town just in time for St. Kilda's first Flower Festival which includes a parade and floats and a queen. And who should be Queen of the Flowers but the Honourable Phryne Fisher? Not only is she one of the most beautiful women in St. Kilda, but one of the most generous--another qualification for the queen and her flower maidens. Phryne has dresses to be fitted, entertainments to attend, and agreeable cocktails to drink. But in the middle of all the festive preparations one of her four flower maidens, an unstable girl, disappears. This sets Phryne on an investigation which takes her through the world of gambling dens and brothels. She finds herself up against tough Australian gangsters as well as teenage pique. As usual when she needs help with St. Kilda's underbelly, she calls on the help of Bert and Cec, two former dock workers who now run a taxi service. Also on call is her little beretta, an old flame from Orkney, a surprising owner of one of the most exclusive brothels, and three elephants. The tension keeps building until Phryne's adopted daughter Ruth also goes missing and now Phryne is determined that nothing and no one will stand in the way of her finding her lost lamb.
Greenwood once again provides a fast-moving, action-packed adventure with interesting characters. Although there is a more serious motive behind the attempt on the flower maiden and the girl has endured more difficult treatment than characters in other Greenwood stories, I would still classify this as a light read. The mystery itself isn't a real puzzle--the story is primarily an adventure with a mystery thrown in. Delightful reading when you don't want anything too heavy.
In this outing, the circus has come to town just in time for St. Kilda's first Flower Festival which includes a parade and floats and a queen. And who should be Queen of the Flowers but the Honourable Phryne Fisher? Not only is she one of the most beautiful women in St. Kilda, but one of the most generous--another qualification for the queen and her flower maidens. Phryne has dresses to be fitted, entertainments to attend, and agreeable cocktails to drink. But in the middle of all the festive preparations one of her four flower maidens, an unstable girl, disappears. This sets Phryne on an investigation which takes her through the world of gambling dens and brothels. She finds herself up against tough Australian gangsters as well as teenage pique. As usual when she needs help with St. Kilda's underbelly, she calls on the help of Bert and Cec, two former dock workers who now run a taxi service. Also on call is her little beretta, an old flame from Orkney, a surprising owner of one of the most exclusive brothels, and three elephants. The tension keeps building until Phryne's adopted daughter Ruth also goes missing and now Phryne is determined that nothing and no one will stand in the way of her finding her lost lamb.
Greenwood once again provides a fast-moving, action-packed adventure with interesting characters. Although there is a more serious motive behind the attempt on the flower maiden and the girl has endured more difficult treatment than characters in other Greenwood stories, I would still classify this as a light read. The mystery itself isn't a real puzzle--the story is primarily an adventure with a mystery thrown in. Delightful reading when you don't want anything too heavy.
I dearly love how many different types of women Kerry Greenwood can write.
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2013/02/2013-book-52.html