Death At Victoria Dock
This is the fourth in that delightful 1920s mystery series by Kerry Greenwood about the Honourable Phryne Fisher. Phryne is the woman we’d all like to be: debonair, independent and brilliant, the Australian private investigator who never turns a hair.
Phryne is driving home past the Victorian Dock when some blaggard shoots at her, smashing her beautiful car’s windscreen. The two men continue shooting. Phryne is outraged, more so when she finds that what the men originally shot was a handsome young man, who dies in her arms. Vowing vengeance, Phryne begins investigating and finds herself deep in a tangle of politics, bigots and revolutionaries. Worse yet, the anarchists start hunting her. Bringing the villains to justice takes place amidst the usual whirl of Phryne’s social life in Melbourne: beautiful dresses, evenings at the ballet or luxurious times at home. She even manages to find a runaway schoolgirl before winding up the anarchists and giving them their just desserts.
It’s a wonderful read, and a delightful glimpse of 1920s Melbourne. I’m glad the early books are being republished and look forward to adding them to my bookshelf.
