The Green Mill Murder: A Phryne Fisher Mystery

The USA should discover Phryne Fisher. These books are fun! Kerry Greenwood has created a character all women will love - 1920's modern, stylish, independent. Phryne travels through life solving peoples problems, and collecting a wonderful cast of friends. Traveling with Phryne (always first class and in the latest fashions) is a rich adventure.

in my copy, which i ordered from australia since it wasn't available here at the time, the main mystery was definitely solved. (i am editing my review to include this information: a chapter and a half is missing from this edition, which i bought to replace my worn australian paperback. i just re-read the novel yesterday and compared it to the paperback. i'm appalled.) so, assuming you can get a complete copy, i would recommend this and every other phryne to anyone interested in mysteries (except the writer of the synopsis who thinks, goodness knows how, that the mysteries are light), or in australian history 9and if you aren't interested in australian history, you will be after one of these books), or just wonderful writing. the series is consistently high quality, with even the less than perfect far superior to most of what is currently being published. phyrne is refresingly adult, decisive, independent, and competent. the plots hark back to the great mysteries of the 20s and 30s. there is humor, suspense and interesting characters. who could ask for anything more?

The Honorable Phryne Fisher accompanies Charles Freeman to Green Mill, a dance hall that was very popular in Australia in the 1920's. She promised his mother that she would look after her son when one of the participants in a dance hall is knifed to death. He was behind Phryne who didn't see the actual stabbing but when her escort sees the bloody body, he gets sick and runs into the men's room. By the time the police arrive on the scene, Charles has disappeared. His mother, a cruel and hateful virago, asks Phryne, who moonlights as a private detective, to find him. She discovers Charles is gay and possesses pictures that could get him killed since at that time and place sodomy was against the law. When she finally finds Charles she hands him over to the police even though she doesn't think he is the killer. She also has to make a trip to the outback to find Victor, the brother who Charles believes is dead because his mother told him so. Mrs. Freeman wishes Victor was dead so she would inherit the house and money as her late husband left her with nothing. Phryne finds a confrontation between the two brothers is inevitable. THE GREEN MILL MURDER is so much more than a murder mystery, it is a journey into the heart of a family, a trip into the new musical world of jazz and it is the story of a woman who lives her life her way regardless what society thinks. 1920s Australia comes to glorious life in Kerry Greenwood's capable hands, but though the mystery is superb, the locale vivid, and the era descriptive, readers will continue reading this series because the heroine is such a fascinating character. Harriet Klausner

the previous reviewer hit all the high spots. i'm submitting a review to let potential phyrne lovers know that there are more fans of this series. greenwood writes wonderfully--there's humor, suspense, excitement in all the books, and wonderfully twisty, tricky plots. and good grammar, which is delightful to me and getting to be non-existent in american writing. there's a definite flavor of the golden age of mystery writing, too, suitable for the 1928 setting. ms. greenwood is obviously an adult, perceptive, well-read, wordly, and experienced person (as one would hope from a pro bono attorney, which she is). this adds depth to her writing. her books can be read and re-read--the mystery is only part of the attraction.