Murder on a Midsummer Night: A Phryne Fisher Mystery

Kerry Greenwood's MURDER ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT tells of Phryne Fisher, is set in 1929, and tells of her investigation of an antique shop other's mysterious death and strange friendships. Phryne follows some strange leads that bring her into international waters complete with pirate maps, spirit guides, and ghosts. An excellent pick for any serious murder mystery collection.

In the previous 15 novels in this delightful series, the Hon. Phryne Fisher cavorted through a series of capers in the year 1928. Now in the 16th entry, we progress to the dire year 1929, and the 'thoroughly modern miss' is faced with two absorbing new adventures in her inimitable fashion. First, she is asked by the mother of an antique dealer to find the real reason for his death, ruled a misadventure by drowning. It would appear that several dilettantes believed that he knew where Blackbeard's treasures are buried and, through séances, are still attempting to ascertain their location by making contact with him. Then, Phryne is approached by an attorney to discover whether or not a deceased woman gave birth to an illegitimate baby, and whether the child is still alive, since the attorney cannot distribute the estate until all possible heirs are known. The investigation, of course, is not looked upon favorably by the known relatives. Like previous Phryne Fisher novels, this one is charming, as is the protagonist, who goes her merry way. The writing is fluid and the characters the usual assortment of oddities. The author's approach may be whimsical, but there's a lot of meat in the tales, and the book is recommended.

Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (4/09) This was the first Phryne Fisher Mystery that I have read in Kerry Greenwood's series and it left me wanting to read all the ones that I have missed. This fast-paced novel is full of twists and turns and is the perfect book to take on vacation or to the beach this summer. The Honorable Phryne Fisher is a wealthy socialite who lives in Melbourne, Australia in 1929. Phryne's life definitely does not fit the description of a classic upper-crust person. She is turning 29, happily single, a detective, has a Chinese lover and can drink beer and apparently every other alcoholic beverage as easily as she sips tea. Her colorful household includes very opinionated and supportive servants, two adopted daughters (I am assuming they were part of an earlier mystery) and a smart, pampered cat. Her sister and life partner, Lady Alice, live nearby and are frequently involved in Phryne's mysteries. "Murder on a Midsummer Night" includes two mysteries for Phryne to solve. The first one appears when Augustine Manifold, a proprietor drowns and it is assumed that he committed suicide. His mother does not believe this and engages Phryne to look into the matter. Phryne finds herself embroiled in a situation that leads to murder, mediums, kif smoking and lots of drinking. As if this isn't enough she is also retained by a wealthy family to find out if their deceased mother had an illegitimate child. This family can't seem to get along at all and the outcome to this case may even be crazier than the first mystery she is investigating. With the help of her family, her boyfriend LinChung and friends, Phryne is finally able to solve both mysteries amid often humorous chaos. There is one mystery that happens at a séance that she is not able to figure out, but that solution may not be of this world. That's all I will say about this matter, so I won't give anything away. I found the novel to be very entertaining and well thought out. Usually I can figure out what the solution is well before I reach it and I was way off in both cases. I highly recommend "Murder on a Midsummer Night" by Kerry Greenwood to mystery buffs.

In Melbourne in 1929 the drowning death of twenty-nine years old antiques dealer Augustine Manifold is considered a suicide by most of the city including the police. Perhaps the only holdouts are as expected his distraught mom who refuses to believe her son killed himself and wealthy private investigator Phyrne Fisher. Though her plate seems overflowing with her meeting her socialite demands, raising two adopted daughters, and working several concurrent cases like searching for a missing heir, she agrees to look into Augustine's death and still have time for her Chinese lover. As she digs deeper into the alleged suicide Phyrne begins finding evidence that her gut is right that someone murdered Manifold, but who and proving it seems impossible to uncover. This terrific Australian Depression Era mystery is perhaps the most complicated entry in the super Fisher saga. The story line is fast-paced but seems initially all over the place until master magician Kerry Greenwood brings the threads together in a brilliant manner. Phyrne is her usual kick butt independent dynamo as she manages a zillion things only to keep adding one more time consumer onto her overflowing plate. The Manifold investigation is top rate as she sets out to prove the suicide was actually MURDER ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT. Harriet Klausner