Flying Too High: A Phryne Fisher Mystery

Not for young children unless read with mom or dad. A six year old is kidnapped.A man found dead. Not related and yet people are linked. Extremely a terrific read.

Having read all of Kerry Greenwood's Phryne mysteries I cannot say which one I like the best. But, I love them all and when I get jaded from reading some of the "modern" mysteries full of sex, four letter words and blood and guts I settle down with one of these before bedtime. Let me say I am in love with Australia and would live there if I could--too old to move and my wife would never go. We were fortunate enough to visit several years ago and loved every minute. Greenwood has developed a very likeable and superlative heroine. The supporting cast is well drawn and interesting in their own. These are truly "cozies" and I find them very enjoyable reads, rationing them carefully lest I run out. If you like Australian mysteries I would heartily recommend anything you can find by Arthur Upfield, who wrote in the period after WW II. His hero is an Australian police detective "halfcaste" who specialized in solving mysteries in the outback and rural areas of Australia. Great flavor and good story telling!

The second book in the series takes place only a few months after "Cocaine blues" ends and with it returns its bright and luminous Phryne Fisher. Many of the secondary (if you can call them that) characters return which adds a nice touch. I liked this book even more than the previous one. Phryne seems to have found her grove in this story along with moving into her new, fashionable domicile. She has to solve two cases at once, the murder of a cantankerous, generally disliked husband and father and the kidnapping of a little girl. Phryne handles both cases with her normal aplomb, intuition and style along with a little wing walking and flying. I especially like Greenwood's use of language and how it reflects the times; this adds another layer of fun and effervescence to these stories that makes me look forward to the next one. I recommend this book highly.

In the three months that the Honorable Phyrne Fisher has lived in Australia, she has made a name for herself as an investigator who always solves her cases. She solved a case for a woman who travels in high society circles and that woman gives Phyrne's business a glowing recommendation to her friends. Her latest client Mrs. McNaughton is afraid that her son will kill her husband because he refuses to lend his son money to go on an airplane adventure. At the airport Phyrne talks to Bill McNaughton and tells her about her mother's fears and he tells he was never intending to kill his father. Bill's friend Jack Lawton is amazed as he watches Phyrne fly Bill's plane with much skill. The next day Phyrne learns that Mr. McNaughton has been murdered and Bill has been arrested. When he is released on bail he hires Phyrne to find the real killer. While she works that case Candida Maldon is kidnapped and held for ransom. Jack convinces the family to hire Phyrne, who she devises a plan using Bill's plane to find and retrieve the kidnapped girl. Solving Bill's problem is a piece of cake in comparison. Kerry Greenwood is one of Australia's most talented mystery writers. Her heroine is a woman who would be at home in the twenty-first century but since she lives in the 1920's she is careful to project a proper image while still doing what she wants. The wily, spunky heroine somehow makes the audience believe she is smart enough to easily solve two cases in a matter of days while the exotic locale will please armchair travelers. Harriet Klausner

this second in the series is even better than the first. and it features airplanes. the characterizations are first rate, the plot is nicely paced, the resolution satisfying, the information about bi-planes enough to send anyone out to find and fly one. phyne's situation develops and characters who will continue in the series are introduced. this book could still be read without reference to the first, as there is enough backstory to bring a reader up to date. this series is a must for any mystery lover, but any read could enjoy them for the writing, the humor, the history of australia, and, of course, for phyrne.