Ruddy Gore: A Phryne Fisher Mystery

Knew nothing about Gilbert and Sullivan, and learned a tremendous amount about the scores and what was expected of the performers...combined with a delightful mystery....great way to spend an evening.

I loved this book, it was the first of the Phryne Fisher mysteries I found. They had been recommended to me before but I never got around to reading them until now. Fisher is an independent woman in the 1920's and this is (apparently) a prequel to her original mysteries, becuase in this one she meets the Chinese lover who features so often later on. Her coolness under all pressure, who ability to function with humour and strength in all circumstances are wonderful - and there is still a sense of the atmosphere of "Brideshead revisited" in the wealth and glamour. This is set with Ruddigore, the Gilbert and Sullivan comic Opera in the background - Phryne and Bunji (don't you love that name!) were on the way watch the opera when they come across a Chinese woman being attacked. Phryne picks up an axe and bops one of the attackers on the neck (scientifically of course and using the blunt side) I didn't know Ruddigore well before this, but this is a great introduction to this opera and it fits in well with the mystery she has to solve. Fun light and satisfying reading, will definitely be getting more of these to read. To coin a phrase - she is definitely a "kick-ass" style heroine who is fun to read about.

i found the first phyrne in a wonderful used bookstore in portland, oregon, and started searching for the rest. i had to order most of them used from australia. now, at last, she's back, in a uniform edition yet. ms. greenwood writes well, and, as the series progresses, her plots, her characterizations, the atmosphere all become increasing fine. she writes with humor, an impressive depth of understanding of people (and animals), a monumental grasp of the 20s and the First World War--the historical details are fascinating. her ethical standards are exemplary, as is her compassion. you might think ethics and compassion are strange things to include in the review of a murder mystery, but ms. greenwood's books are more than murder mysteries--there are elements of social satire, comedy, and tragedy of course. readers of golden age mysteries will enjoy ms. greenwood's take on the conventions. _ruddy gore_ adds a ghost story to a theatrical setting. ms. greenwood's familiarity with actors and singers is hilariously obvious--but she equally obviously likes stage people. i did not guess the murderer, though the clues were there--i haven't guessed the villain in any of the books since the third (_murder on the ballarat train_). so, if you like wonderful writing, interesting history, humor, and really good mysteries, read this series. it's the bee's knees' and the cat's meow.

In 1928 Australia Phyrne Fisher and her best friend Bunji Ross are walking to His Majesty's theatre to see a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Ruddigore. However, Bunji notices several men accosting an elderly Chinese woman so she intercedes taking a shot to her gut. Phyrne follows scattering the assaulters so she can rescue the woman. Her grandson Lin Chung thanks Phyrne and Bunji for rescuing his grandmother from a nasty mob. Phyrne enjoys the performance, but between acts theatre manager Sir Bernard Tarrant asks her to come to the back area as an accident occurred. However, another patron Dr. Fielding states that actor Ruthven was poisoned with an opiate. Deputy Inspector John "Jack" Robinson heads the official investigation. Another performer Leila Esperanza insists ghosts were haunting the theater and caused the incident. Bernard knowing Phyrne's reputation for solving mysteries wants her to investigate before someone else is hurt or killed. Historical mystery fans who have not read the Phyrne Fisher tales are missing out on one of the best series available today. The latest who-done-it contains a fabulous sleuthing subplot as well as the first meeting between Phyrne and her lover Lin. Phyrne is a terrific protagonist who is a delightful gender bender accepted as more than just an equal by men in typically male roles at least in 1920s Australia. Her detective work is top rate as Kerry Greenwood combines real events like the 1928 showing of Ruddigore with a fabulous mystery. Harriet Klausner

Phryne Fisher, one of the most delightful sleuths you will meet, is on her way to a gala performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore when she meets some thugs in a dark alley and not only manages to handle them nicely but does it without ruining her silver gown. She then learns that she has rescued a handsome young Chinese, Lin Chung and his grandmother and for a brief moment is mistaken for a deity. She denies it but does agree to a cognac. She then goes on to what she hopes will be an enjoyable evening at the theater, but it is not to be. When there is a bizarre death during the play the theater manager calls on her skills to help solve the murder. But before she can solve the new murder, she finds that she must solve a decades old murder and put the theater's ghost to rest before more people are killed. And she also has to figure out if there is connection between the murders and the mysterious stranger who seems to be following her. Set in the 1920's, Phryne Fisher is an independent, unconventional young woman who is also very practical and unflappable in the face of danger. Greenwood has created an engaging sleuth and surrounded her with characters that complement and contrast with her quite well and thrown in enough historical data to make the story interesting without going into so much detail that it bores the reader.