Away with the Fairies
First published in Australia in 2001, this is the latest of the Phryne Fisher mysteries to be printed in the United States, and it will be quickly snapped up by eager fans.
Phryne Fisher, a wealthy and independent spirit, has a knack for flouting convention and for solving mysteries, all of which make her a standout in the Melbourne of the 1920s. Her current task is to investigate the mysterious death of an author and illustrator of fairy stories, some of which appear in Women’s Choice, a forward-looking magazine with a staff full of suspects. The staff not only work together, many of them live in the same apartment building, thus increasing the complexity of the case. Miss Lavender’s death isn’t the only mystery, however; Phryne’s Chinese lover, Lin Chung, hasn’t returned from a silk-buying trip to China, and it’s beginning to look like he’s run into trouble on the high seas.
Intrigue abounds as Phryne gets to the bottom of things, providing a fast-paced romp through the streets and docks of early twentieth-century Melbourne. Greenwood’s prose and plot twists will keep everyone entertained in this delightful read.
