Blood and Circuses (Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Paperback)) [Paperback]

Kerry Greenwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2007 | Series: Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Paperback)

Phryne Fisher is bored. Life appears to be too easy, too perfect. Her household is ordered, her love life is pleasant, the weather is fine. And then a man from her past arrives at the door. It is Alan Lee from the carnival. Alan and his friends want her to investigate strange happenings at FarrellA[a¬a[s Circus, where animals have been poisoned and ropes sabotaged. Mr. Christopher has been found with his throat cut in Mrs. WitherspoonA[a¬a[s irreproachable boarding house and Miss Parkes, an ex-performer, is charged with his murder.
Phryne must go undercover deeper than ever to solve the circusA[a¬a[ malaise. She must abandon her name, her title, her protection, her comfortA[a¬aeven her clothes. She must fall off a horse twice a day until she can stay on. She must sleep in a girlA[a¬a[s tent and dine on mutton stew. And she must find some allies.
Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the young and fresh-faced policeman Tommy Harris has to solve his own mysteries with the help of the foul-spoken harridan Lizard Elsie, or Miss Parkes will certainly hang. Can Phyrne uncover the truth without losing her life?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Australian author Greenwood's light-hearted Phryne Fisher mystery, the sixth chronologically and 11th to be published in the U.S. (after 2006's Murder in the Dark), isn't one of the series high points. Flapper sleuth Fisher goes undercover in a circus after Alan Lee, a former love interest, asks for her help identifying the person or persons behind a series of attacks connected to the circus, which culmi-nate in the murder of company member Mr. Christopher. Fisher and Det. Insp. Jack Robinson must ferret out the information needed to keep Miss Parkes from being hanged as the killer. Fisher's loyal retinue, who served her well in other exploits, play less of a role this time. The writing is less humorous than in some of Greenwood's other Fisher books, and the far-fetched solution may leave fans disappointed.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Phryne Fisher, the Australian flapper-era bon vivant and amateur sleuth, is in a bit of a rut. Everything in her life, from her house to her man, is just the way it should be; and Fisher, who thrives on excitement and a certain amount of disorder, is quietly going nuts. So it's something of a relief, in a weird sort of way, when a group of people from the carnival show up at her door, asking her to investigate some strange goings-on--tortured animals, sabotaged props, and murder. Fisher decides there's only one way to solve the mystery: go undercover at the carnival. But when it sinks in that she has given up her own identity, and that she has no friends among the carnies, she begins to realize that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. But--as fans of this very popular series will expect--Phryne keeps her wits about her and her spirits up. A top-notch entry in this witty, hugely entertaining series. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (July 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590585208
• ISBN-13: 978-1590585207
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #596,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different Phryne, August 9, 2007

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blood and Circuses: A Phryne Fisher Mystery (Hardcover)

First Sentence: Mrs. Witherspoon, widow of uncertain years and theatrical background, was taking tea in her refined house for paying gentlefolk in Brusnwick Street, Fitzroy.

Wealthy private investigator Phryne is bored until she is approached by Samson the strong man, Alan the carousel operator and Doreen the Snake Woman to investigate what started as a series of accidents at the circus. With one of the circus members now dead, Phryne gives up her life of luxury and her friends to go undercover as a trick rider with the circus.

There is a lot more going on between the covers of this book than first appears. Greenwood knows how to take diverse, interesting characters and build a great story around them with the mystery almost being secondary. Here we have the murder of an hermaphrodite who was the love of both a man and a woman. We are introduced to the hierarchy of the circus and Phryne's feelings of vulnerability and loneliness. There is a ex-con who doesn't know whether she has committed murder but who finds a bit of her soul in helping an alcoholic go through withdrawal. There is sex, there is profanity; this is not your average cozy. What it is is a great character-driven story with a unique character.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Phryne Joins the Circus (But Not for Pleasure), May 24, 2010

By 

L. M Young (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blood and Circuses (Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Paperback)) (Paperback)

In this sixth book in the Phryne Fisher series, Phryne is asked by carnival friends to find out who is trying to drive Farrell's Circus out of business. Phryne joins the circus as "Fern," a dancer turned trick rider (she learns to trick ride specifically to investigate). In the meantime a hermaphrodite man who belonged to the same circus dies in a boarding house nearby; a former circus performer is accused of his death.

This is a fascinating entry in the Phryne Fisher series, giving you an inside look at a traveling circus in 1928 Australia and a glimpse of the people who work there: clowns who are thought unlucky, unusual people like dwarves and hermaphrodites who are accepted in the circus where they would not be anywhere else. Phryne, who has taken the job because she was bored, learns about loneliness and fear. We're also given a glimpse of Australian gangsters and street crime of the 1920s, including a prostitute who's becoming a drug addict. As is usual with a Phryne Fisher book, all the lads are attracted to her, and she manages to have hot sex with two different men. But it's a cracking good mystery as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome story, terrific series, April 10, 2009

By 

Saralee Etter - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blood and Circuses (Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Paperback)) (Paperback)

I love historical mysteries, and the Phryne Fisher series is absolutely my new favorite indulgence. Phryne is a great character, a clever detective, and I'm dazzled by the world she inhabits--Australia in the 1920s.

In Blood and Circuses, the Honorable Miss Phryne joins a traveling circus to investigate some suspicious happenings on behalf of some carnival sideshow friends of hers. It's a brilliant and tawdry world, and she learns stunt-riding as she explores the ins and outs of a working circus.

Years ago, I read an old book about a boy who wanted to run away and join the circus--it was the old-time equivalent of running away to Hollywood, I guess. Exciting, glamorous and totally different from "real" life. Joining the circus in Australia in 1928 seemed like the same thing.

This was my favorite so far of the Phyrne Fisher stories--I'm reading them in order--and definitely a treat. A satisfying mystery, a virtual journey in brand-new surroundings, and a terrific main character make this a don't-miss book