Violet Kelly and the Jade Owl
Fiona Britton’s debut novel is a quirky 1930s mystery set in Paddington, on the outskirts of Sydney, where La Maison des Fleurs, a gentleman’s house of pleasure run by Madame, stars the gorgeous Violet Kelly “legs up to her armpits and the ‘touchmenot’ look of an English heiress.” Violet grew up in St. Michael’s orphanage, and after a shameful betrayal by her twin sister, Iris, hauled her personal baggage the five hundred and forty-seven steps from the orphanage gates to La Maison’s front door. And never looked back! She doesn’t want to see her sister ever again, but searches for her constantly.
Things are going swimmingly in a life Violet feels she was born into, until one day trouble arrives. Madame, aka Peggy O’Sheehan, sees her shady childhood history catching up to her with the arrival of the brutal gang leader Xiao, who threatens Peggy’s carefully constructed livelihood along with an order to hold a young Chinese woman captive until she is delivered to her new owner. Determined to save the girl from a fate worse than death, Violet plots to hide her in a Chinese farming community. But Xiao’s revenge is swift and lethal, and leads to all sorts of problems involving illegal weapons, drugs, human trafficking, torture and murder.
I enjoyed this novel for the most part, although I admit to not being quite sure who everyone was. Satiric wit dropped randomly into so much cruelty and darkness didn’t always work for me, and I felt the author wavering over what she wants her story to be. However, it’s a fast read with lots of action, multiple plot threads and a cast of characters who will help Violet make her way in the world, as several unresolved issues make a sequel quite likely.
