Death at Victoria Dock (Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Hardcover)) [Hardcover]

Kerry Greenwood (Author)

Book Description

Series: Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Hardcover) | Publication Date: December 1, 2006

Driving home late one night, Phryne Fisher is surprised when someone shoots out her windscreen. When she alights she finds a pretty young man with an anarchist tattoo dying on the tarmac just outside the dock gates. He bleeds to death in her arms, and all over her silk shirt.



Enraged by the loss of the clothing, the damage to her car, and this senseless waste of human life, Phryne promises to find out who is responsible. But she doesn't yet know how deeply into the mire she'll have to go: bank robbery, tattoo parlours, pubs, spiritualist halls, and anarchists.



Along this path, Phryne meets Peter, a scarred but delectable wharfie who begins to unfold the mystery of who would need a machine gun in Melbourne. But when someone kidnaps her cherished companion, Dot, Phryne will stop at nothing to retrieve her.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When a gunshot shatters the windshield of Phryne Fisher, Greenwood's unflappable proto-feminist detective, at the start of the latest entry in this long-running 1920s Australian series, Fisher investigates and finds that the intended target, a young Slavic man, has been fatally wounded. Outraged, Fisher takes it upon herself to bring the killers to justice, entering a complex world of Russian anarchists, who may be linked to the survivors of London's legendary Sidney Street siege. Those who like their heroines resourceful and their mystery plots leavened with humor will read this with pleasure.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The glamorous, indestructible Australian flapper Phryne Fisher avenges the death of a young man who dies in her arms after she and her car are shot at by two men. Although Phryne and members of her household are in danger from anarchists, they manage to foil a bank robbery while also solving the case of a missing young girl. The always well-dressed, fearless Phryne can take care of herself, enjoys her sexuality, and is a woman ahead of her times in the Australia of the late 1920s. She is supported in her adventurous lifestyle by her maid and companion, Dot, and by Mr and Mrs. Butler, who run her household while asking no questions. A fresh time period and location, a feisty main character, and a well-developed sense of place distinguish this historical mystery series. Of 15 available Phryne Fisher mysteries, this is the ninth to be published in the U.S. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 164 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590582381
• ISBN-13: 978-1590582381
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,419,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Death at Victoria Dock, August 28, 2007

By 

B. Heise "DerBücherwurm" (Milpitas, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death at Victoria Dock (Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unflappable female sleuth in 1920's Australia, November 3, 2007

By 

S. Saunders (Rocky Mountains USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death at Victoria Dock (Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh Miss Fisher!, July 21, 2011

By 

Loves Target (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Death at Victoria Dock (Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Paperback)) (Paperback)

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.