Raisins and Almonds [Paperback]

Kerry Greenwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1999

In investigating the poisoning of a young man in a bookshop at the eastern Market, and the wrongful arrest of one Miss Sylvia Lee, super-sleuth Phryne Fisher is plunged into a word of Jewish politics, alchemy, poison and chicken soup. Stopping only for a brief, but intensely erotic dalliance with the beautiful Simon Abrahams, Phryne's stealth and wit ultimately solve the crime - and all for the price of a song...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Australian social pillar Phryne Fisher's penchant for offbeat lovers involves her in a case that requires the close study of Judaism.Anyone would enjoy dancing with handsome young Simon Abrahams. But that tango isn't close enough for Simon's wealthy father, who wants Phryne Fisher (The Green Mill Murder, 2007, etc.) to investigate the arsenic death of a young student in a bookshop owned by Sylvia Lee, the suspect arrested by Phryne's pal DI Jack Robinson. With the help of her companion Dot, Phryne quickly satisfies herself that Miss Lee is innocent and that the student was killed while looking for something hidden in a book at her shop. The victim has left behind papers written in an obscure Hebrew code and pictures that relate to alchemy. In order to interpret them, Phryne must immerse herself in a world foreign to her, picking up a little Yiddish, interviewing students and a rabbi, learning about refugees, pogroms and Zionism, and along the way enjoying chicken soup and gefilte fish. Since someone clearly feels the information in the coded message is worth killing for, Phryne and her friends, old and new, must crack the code. The clever heroine manages to carry on an affair with Simon, placate his doting mother, improve her knowledge of all things Jewish and ultimately solve a tricky and dangerous case.Another smashing tale of mystery and manners between the world wars. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Australian Large Print (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1876584254
• ISBN-13: 978-1876584252
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,891,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars I love Phryne!!, February 4, 2009

By 

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

This review is from: Raisins and almonds (Paperback)

First Sentence: The ranked books exhaled leather and dust, a comforting scent.

Private investigator, the Honorable Phryne Fisher, is hired by Benjamin Abrahams, a respected member of Melbourne's Jewish community. Miss Sylvia Lee is comfortable with her life as a single woman and owner of a bookstore. A man died suddenly in her shop, Sylvia has been arrested for murder and Mr. Benjamin, with his lovely son Simon, wants Phryne's help proving Sylvia innocent.

I want to be Phryne. She is smart, stylish, beautiful, sensual, independent, cleaver, caring and doesn't forget her roots of poverty even though she is now wealthy. Her life now includes a great cast of supporting characters; both those introduced in past books--I love that Dot, Phryne's maid, is coming into her own--and now Molly, the puppy. All the characters are wonderful, realistic, appropriate to the time and adding dimension to the story.

Greenwood creates a wonderful sense of, not only time and place, but social history. Here, we have the Jewish residents, information on alchemy, John Dee, the Torah and the Holy Kabala as well as Zionism and the desire for a Jewish homeland. Greenwood does an excellent job of combining the information into the story without it ever taking you out of the story.

I always enjoy Greenwood use of dialogue. Being set in 1920s Australia, I enjoyed figuring out the meaning of some idioms with which I was not previously familiar, such as "Phryne beguiled the rest of the afternoon."

The mystery itself is well done solved by legwork, logic and a wonderful bit of clever thinking on Phryne's part at the end. I was half right in figuring it out but love that I was only half right. This was another very good entry into a series I shall continue to enjoy.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a la sayers!, July 25, 2002

By 

Hilary McAllister (Laguna Niguel, ca USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raisins and Almonds (Audio Cassette)

excellent traditional mystery. Reminiscent of Tey, Sayers, et al.