Customer Reviews

Death at Victoria Dock

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This fourth book in the Honorable Phryne Fisher mystery series begins when Phryne's beloved Hispano-Suiza's windshield is shot out and a young man dies in her arms while bloodying her divine ensemble. With his last breath he utters words that lead Phryne into a nest of communist anarchists with nefarious and dangerous plans. Then Phryne gets hired by a worried father with deep family secrets to locate his missing daughter. This installment of the series wasn't as light and easy to read as the previous ones. I enjoyed the wider cast of characters that were drawn into the plot, many returning characters from the previous books. This makes for a fun read even though the plot didn't quite entertain me as much as the previous books did. However, there were moments of burst-out-laughter from the wonderful use of language and descriptions. I would recommend this book highly.

Death at Victoria Dock was a quick read and a nice bit of escapist fun. Phryne Fisher is beautiful, rich, quick-witted, brave, and irreverent, and lives in 1920's Australia. In this tale, she's drawn into anarchist circles by driving down the wrong road at the wrong time. Shots hit her car, and when she stops she sees two men fleeing the scene, and a wounded young man lying in the road, who bleeds his last into her silk shirt.

Not one to suffer indignities gladly, Fisher sets out to avenge her ruined possessions and the death of a beautiful young man. This leads her to the morgue, a tattoo parlor, dubious pubs and parties, and satisfying bedroom encounters with a mysterious Latvian. Along the way she takes, and solves, the case of a missing schoolgirl. And she tries to convince the police to head off a deadly bank robbery being planned by some anarchists who have obtained a machine gun.

Greenwood populates Fisher's world with nicely assorted characters, and keeps the plot(s) moving nicely.

This was the first Phryne Fisher book I've read. The book jacket flap says that there are lots more books in the series, and I'm off to the public library in search of them.

I have never understood why it is so difficult to get these great books here in America. When the series started to be imported here through Poisoned Pen Press it started midstream with the later books in the series, so it is only recently that I have had the opportunity to go back and fill in some of the beginning stories. And WHY can't we get ebooks???
Anyway this is a great early outing for Phryne, and a fascinating look at the politics of Anarchy and Communism in the 20s. Phryne is juggling a murder that she almost literally stumbled upon and has vowed to avenge and an annoyingly obtuse client whose missing daughter is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dysfunctional family. As far as interaction with her usual cast of characters, Bert and Cec are in the thick of things, we meet Dot's sweetheart to be, Hugh Collins, her home ends up under siege much to the chagrin of the Butlers, Dot is kidnapped but demonstrates her usual practical ingenuity even so helping to save the day and her adopted daughters get their first taste of helping Phryne sleuth. Great story all around.

Death at Victoria Dock is the unabridged audiobook adaptation of the fourth mystery following the brilliant and seductive Phryne Fisher. When a young man with a pierced ear and blue tattoo dies in front of her, she vows to uncover who killed him and why - a search that will take her to tattoo parlours, pubs, spiritualist halls, meetings with Anarchists, and more. A tangled web of intrigue unfolds in this extraordinary mystery. Smoothly narrated by expert actress Stephanie Daniel, Death at Victoria Dock is a treat for fans of the genre, and highly recommended. 5 CDs, 6 hours 30 minutes, tracks every 3 minutes for easy bookmarking.

I want to give it 3.7 stars. I normally give all Phryne Fisher Mysteries 4 stars but this one had too much politics for me. I realize that I should appreciate being educated but really, I just want to relax and read when I pick up one of these books. Maybe I'm being too harsh. There were a lot of great action in this one. It wasn't one of the best but certainly worth reading.

Reviewed by Ellen Hogan for Reader Views (9/06)

Phryne Fisher is driving home by Victoria Dock when her windshield is shot out. She stops and sees two men running away. Also, she notices a body lying on the ground. She gets out to see if the person is hurt and finds that he has been shot; he dies in her arms. The police are called and they take her statement and tell her that they will investigate. That is not good enough for Phryne and she decides to investigate on her own.

The next day she has a visit from Constable Hugh Collins who asks her to repeat her statement of the night before. Constable Collins is quite taken with Dot, Phryne's maid and companion. Phryne tells him that the man had a gold earring and a tattoo of the letter A.

After the Constable leaves, Phryne has a meeting with Mr. Waddington-Forsythe. He tells her that his daughter is missing and he wants Phryne to find her. He tells her that Alicia attended The Presbyterian Ladies College, the same school which Phyrne's adopted daughters attend. At home there was Mr. Waddington-Forsythe, his second wife Christine and Alicia's twin Paul. Phryne says she needs to question them all. She finds out that Alicia's dream is to become a nun, so she heads to the nunnery and talks to the Reverend Mother. She is told that Alicia has not come there. However, when two of her friends are questioned they learned that Alicia indeed did come but was turned away by one of the nuns.

Phryne decides to call her friends the Wilson's and get a dinner invitation out of them. There she meets Peter Smith who is one of the anarchists, the group to which the dead young man belonged. He gives her a lot of information about the anarchists and tells her to befriend the cousin of the dead man. Phryne meets her the next day when she goes to identify the body. She tells Phryne that she is going to a séance on Tuesday night and invites Phryne to attend. Another attempt is made on Phryne's life, but she manages to get away. The next attempt is a kidnapping and they snatch Dot instead of Phryne. So Phryne gets her friends Bert and Cec to ask questions so she can figure out where Dot is being held.

Through some of Alicia's friends Phryne learns that the baby Christine Waddington-Forsythe is carrying is not her husband's, but her stepson's. Alicia could not abide that because she thought of Paul as hers. Phryne finds that her stepmother has had Alicia committed and gets her father to write letters so Phryne can get her out and into the nunnery in safe keeping. So, that is one problem solved.

Phryne goes to the séance and learns that the anarchists are going to rob a bank. She learns which bank and at what time. Before that happens though, she has to find Dot. Bert and Cec get back to her with two addresses; that night they go to one and Phryne and Constable Collins go to the other. They find Dot and take her home. The police decide not to do anything about the information on the robbery, so the Constable goes by himself to wait for the anarchists. Sure enough, up shows Phryne and, between them, they put a stop to it.

There is, of course, more to the story than this, but "Death at Victoria Dock" is another excellent Phryne Fisher mystery. There is the normal cast of characters in this, and we are introduced to new players. Each character is diverse and very interesting. This book definitely holds your interest and makes you want more.

Received book free of charge.

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.

Another great book from Kerry Greenwood, it's like reading a "grown-up" version of Nancy Drew!

Kerry Greenwood manages a nice line in self-deprecating humour in this

one, having Phryne go to bed with a murder mystery only to discard it

"having guessed whodunnit by Chapter Three".


Either that or it's unintended irony!


No mystery at all to whodunnit as far as the murder at the eponymous

docks, and none intended, and the minor mystery of the missing girl was

just an excuse for some chick lit melodrama with hidden diaries, incest

etc.


I'm increasingly of the view these are not meant to be bona fide mystery

novels, but heaps of Aussies keep buying them (a baker's dozen of Phryne

Fisher novels alone) so they must be popular with fans of other genres

(and mostly sheilas, I reckon).


This bloke is bowing out at #4.