Running late to a gala performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore, Phryne Fisher meets some thugs in dark alley and handles them convincingly before they can ruin her silver dress. She then finds that she has rescued the handsome Lin Chung, and his grandmother, who briefly mistake her for a deity. Denying divinity but accepting cognac, she later continues safely to the theatre where her … night is again interrupted by a bizarre death onstage. What links can Phryne find between the ridiculously entertaining plot of Ruddigore, the Chinese community of Little Bourke St., or the actors treading the boards of His Majesty’s Theatre?
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The Honourable Phryne Fisher has inherited
her riches. She lives in 1920 Melbourne.
She is known a being a classy, extremely
well dressed and very smart Private
Investigator.She is definitely her own person
and a fun character with which to share
an adventure .
Phryne is on the way to the theatre for the
Hinkler gala performance of Gilbert and
Sullivan’s Ruddigore, an operetta. Taking a
short cut, she and her companion run into a
group of cutthroats attacking an elderly
Chinese Woman with her grandson. They
come to their aid then continue onto
the operetta.
During the show two performers are poisoned
with one dying. The theater is being terrorized
with small misfortunes and ghostly appearances.
Then another death occurs.
Police Detective Jack Robinson needs Phryne
to aide him in dealing with the theater behaviors
and attitudes. After all, they are all characters
playing roles or working the stage crew,
lightening, etc. They are all suspects.
Plus the director has hired her to investigate.
Later in the story, Phryne experience on the way
to the operetta comes into the forefront to help
solve a older murder, the current murders, the
ghostly sightings and ghostly aromas.
The story was informative about theater stage
production, actors and actress and about the
Chinese community in Melbourne in 1920.
In the tv series, we only get the briefest glimpses of Lin Chung. And I so wanted more of the character (and his family.) In the book series, we get all of that and more.
This is the introduction to Lin Chung. He’s a wonderfully written character and a brilliant balance to Phryne.
The mystery is fascinting. It’s just as enjoyable as when I watched the TV episode based on it.
I love Phryne Fisher – she is a woman with her own mind and body! This is a great series.. I’m off to the next book.
Another good Phryne Fisher book.
I’m happy this wasn’t the first Miss Fisher novel I read. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it, but in many ways it was less intriguing than the first I read.
The first half of the novel leans heavily on dialogue, there is very little action. It is enjoyable anyway because Greenwood peoples her theatre of many interesting, quirky, unique characters, but there are so many of them and some gets very little time in the story, that I ended up mixing them up. Not all of them, of course, but enough to get confused, especially in the end.
There are three mysteries in this novels, which I like, but again, they tend to become mixed together, which if it’s something I find good (because that’s how life works) it’s also something that I found confusing. I suppose the problem is I had a hard time identifying a main course of the story that would have guided me through it.
I missed the usual cast. This is a story that focuses very much on Phryne. Some of the usual characters show up, but they remain on the fringes, even Jack Robinson, who, after all, is investigating the crime. As I said, there are plenty of other interesting characters, so I’m not complaining, I just missed the usual ‘friends’.
I really do love this entire series. Ruddy Gore has quite a lot in common with its tv episode version. But, as is always the case with books, there’s so much more to it than what you see in the show. And we finally meet Lin! Phryne’s household doesn’t have much of a spotlight in this particular adventure. Dot has a few of her wise words, and Ember the cat makes a graceful appearance at his leisure, but beyond that there wasn’t much. However, you do get the unflappable Jack Robinson and a whole cast of characters (literally) who are divertingly strange and wonderful. Phryne swoops in and solves the ghost, the crimes, and then a decades old murder that everyone had thought was suicide (presumably, just for funsies). I think Phryne herself really shines in this book. We see a little more of how she is apart from the rest of the world. She walks the shadowy line between the types of people we meet- the straightforward policemen and the actors who have spent so much time pretending to be someone else they don’t remember how to be themselves. The Chinese and white Australians. Those who believe in ghosts and those who don’t. In each dichotomy, Phryne finds herself not fitting in with either group. You’d think this would make her uncomfortable. But in typical Phryne fashion, she puts on a fabulous outfit, shakes back her hair, and uses what she can and gets those in her way out of it. As always, I look forward to the next installment.
I have read all the books in the Phryne Fisher series and love them all. She is strong, sassy, beautiful, and kind.
Also, they made a TV series from these books. It ran for 3 seasons. We, the fans, wanted more but alas, it was canceled. If you get a chance, watch them. “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries”
Wish Ms. Greenwood would add to the Miss Fisher series. The TV series is very good and addictive; but the books are far better.