Cocaine Blues : a Phryne Fisher mystery [Paperback]

Kerry Greenwood (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 195 pages
• Publisher: McPhee Gribble (1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0869141724
• ISBN-13: 978-0869141724
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great start to a fantastic series, January 11, 2006

By 

E Rice (western ny state) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher Mysteries) (Hardcover)

cocaine blues, published first in the country as _death by misadventure_, is the first mystery to feature phyrne fisher, australian born daughter of a remittance man, english educated once her father inherits the title and millions, who is asked by a set of parents to investigate the apparent murder attempts against their daughter, who is in australia.

of course, phyrne accepts and returns to the land of her childhood. it is 1928, and one of the many charms of this series is the picture of australia just after the great war. we also get to enjoy the fashions in dress, food, and cars, and wince at the some of the social mores.

phyrne rapidly solves the mystery in the style of the golden age of mystery writing, fitting for the time this is set.

our heroine is definitely her own woman. she is independent, competent, intelligent, remembers the lessons of childhood poverty and enjoys wielding her adult money and title.

the only drawback to the first three in this series is that they are comparatively short. the plots are first rate, the descriptions well done, the characterizations accurate and even pungent. there is also humor of every kind.

this is a mystery and a series not to be missed by any reader who wants a well-written, exciting read.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely delightful!, June 27, 2005

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cocaine Blues - A Phryne Fisher (Paperback)

Phryne, pronounced Fry-knee to rhyme with briny, is a wonderful character. She's independent, smart, talented, stylish, and knows both poverty and wealth. This is someone you'd love to know. The story is both light and humorous but deals with serious subjects. The writing is intelligent, clever and in keeping with the period. There are now 15 books in the series and you can believe I'm going to try to find them all.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Australian Flapper Folly, October 5, 2007

By 

teacher and learner "reader and eater" (Chicago,IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Paperback)) (Paperback)

I was looking forward to discovering a new voice in the period piece mystery genre; but was disappointed in this one. Reviews that I had read implied that Kerry Greenwood was the Australian Agatha Christie. Not so, her flapper sleuth is just a little too self centered and selfish to be attractive. The improbability of the plot stretches credulity, the shallow characterization is unbelievable; and although set in Melbourne, is so lacking in atmosphere that it could be about Chicago. The only authentic Aussie flavor was in the street names and the obvious reversal of the seasons one encounters when going "down under". I will try one more title before I give this author up as a poor substitute for the real thing.