Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

May 04, 2015 Suvi rated it liked it

Shelves: historical, 1970-1999, novels, crime-mystery, _pacific

"A young man in one’s hotel bedroom is capable of being explained, but a corpse is always a hindrance."

Is there a better way to return to reading and reviewing than write about a light, bubbly, vibrant, and sparkly mystery? When my studies calmed down a bit and my brain began to miss fiction, I started a ridiculously long classic, but then I noticed a book whose blurb made my heart beat a little bit faster. A detective story that is set in the roaring twenties and whose main character is a bold "A young man in one’s hotel bedroom is capable of being explained, but a corpse is always a hindrance."

Is there a better way to return to reading and reviewing than write about a light, bubbly, vibrant, and sparkly mystery? When my studies calmed down a bit and my brain began to miss fiction, I started a ridiculously long classic, but then I noticed a book whose blurb made my heart beat a little bit faster. A detective story that is set in the roaring twenties and whose main character is a bold and unconstrained female private detective, can't be bad. Am I right?

My expectations turned out to be reasonable. Phryne is the soul of the book. Whenever you start a new series, you want to make sure that you like the main character who carries the weight of the story, so that you're interested enough to continue with the series. Phryne Fisher carries herself with style and enjoys the luxuries of life, but isn't arrogant or afraid to get her hands dirty in seedy back alleys. This unabashed and clever adventuress, who enjoys cigarettes and - quelle horreur! - sex, exists in an entirely different sphere than the rest of the characters. Especially the squeaky clean maid Dorothy seems puny next to her mistress, even though she does find courage in the end when things become dangerous.

On the other hand, the plot itself didn't have the spark I was hoping for. One important identity was easy to guess about halfway through, because Greenwood's hint is pretty heavyhanded. Not knowing Melbourne, I also couldn't pinpoint the events to Australia, because it seemed like any metropolitan city would have been the location, which of course is a shame since Australia is an interesting country. The endless descriptions of Phryne's dresses just radiated iffy chick lit vibes.

Although the fluffiness wasn't entirely my thing and occasionally style moved ahead of substance, I believe I could continue with the series if I ever need something that wouldn't require any brain activity. Based on this first installment the series might potentionally be addictive, and because of that extra that the 20s brings to the plate, things could be worse. Greenwood's writing style has the kind of perkiness and sharpness which in the end makes reading fun, and that's what you want from a cozy mystery. If, however, I don't feel like reading the whole series, there's the tv show that I'm going to check out at some point. Maybe I'll make those cucumber sandwiches and cocktails as seen on Phryne's website to get in the mood. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 26, 2017 Andy Plonka rated it liked it · review of another edition

An enigmatic main protagonist but an amusing series. I'll probably read more. ...more

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Sep 24, 2007 Pam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

TITLE/AUTHOR: DEATH BY MISADVENTURE by Kerry Greenwood
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Mystery, 1989, 173 pgs
TIME/PLACE: 1920's, Melbourne, Australia
CHARACTERS: Phryne Fisher/dectective
COMMENTS: 1st in the Phyrne Fisher series. Phryne
travels from England and is asked by family friends
to check on the daughter of a family friend. The alternate/original title of this book is Cocaine Blues. Very atmospheric, good start to a series.
...more

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Oct 24, 2020 Rachel N. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series, mystery, historical-mystery, australia, read-in-2020, pbt-vote-challenge

Phryne Fisher is asked by family friends to travel to Australia and see if their daughter Lydia is being poisoned by her husband. Phryne is bored and takes the challenge. Phryne hires Dot as her maid and befriends local cabbies Bert and Cec. Along with Lydia's case Phryne becomes involved with stopping a cocaine smuggler an an abortionist. I liked Phryne and the secondary characters. I'll definitely be continuing the series. ...more

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Jun 22, 2008 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, historical, australia

Great attitude and full of charm - Phryne is a hoot and a half, and her entourage is a lot of fun. An amusing evocation of the liberalization of the 1920s.

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