Blood
and Circuses
A
Phryne Fisher Mystery
Kerry
Greenwood
Poisoned
Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-235-7 (1590582357)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-235-0 (9781590582350)
Publication Date: July 2007
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): 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 Farrell's Circus, where animals have
been poisoned and ropes sabotaged. Mr. Christopher has been found with
his throat cut in Mrs. Witherspoon'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 circus'
malaise. She must abandon her name, her title, her protection, her
comfort-even her clothes. She must fall off a horse twice a day until
she can stay on. She must sleep in a girl'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?
Review:
Kerry Greenwood's delightful private detective from the 1920s, Phryne
Fisher, sets out to solve a crime at the circus in Blood and Circuses,
the 6th mystery in this series.
One lazy Sunday afternoon, Phryne is visited by some old friends, all
of whom are performers with the Farrell Circus and Carnival. They
explain to her that someone is raising havoc at the circus. The
commotion goes from a small fire to assaults on the owner and
performers and finally, to murder. In order for Phryne to help her
friends, she must leave her home, disguise herself, change her name,
learn the vernacular of the circus, and figure out what type of
performer she can be. She’ll need tattered and torn clothes
and costumes, a real sacrifice for the ever fashionable Phryne. But she
agrees to the challenge and sets off for the Farrell Circus that very
night using the name of Fern. Under the direction of another rider,
Fern (Phryne) quickly learns to do acrobatic tricks on a bareback
horse. The rules of the circus were strict, but Phryne, as is her wont,
seems to break each and every one. She talks and listens to anyone who
would talk to her, and those who wouldn’t she quietly
eavesdrops on their conversations. She finds out there are no secrets
in the circus; everyone seems to know something about somebody else.
Mr. Farrell had sold half interest in the circus to a Mr. Jones, and
that was when the malaise began. Phyrne finds out the code word for the
trouble is "exit", but she doesn't know what is means, or who is
involved. Thinking that she's getting too close, Mr. Jones has her
bound and gagged and thrown into the hungry lion’s cage
hoping she would be killed.
Blood
and Circuses
is one of the better, and certainly one of the more thrilling,
mysteries in this series. There's the colorful backdrop of the circus
and carnival and an array of many performers, from clowns to gypsies to
dwarves, and, of course, exotic animals to liven things up. And in the
end, though she doesn't actually solve the case, Phryne does get her
man!
Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of Blood and Circuses for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Blood and Circuses? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Cocaine
Blues
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), April 2006
ISBN-10: 1-59058-236-5 (1590582365)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-236-7 (9781590582367)
Flying
Too High
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), July 2006
ISBN-10: 1-59058-237-3 (1590582373)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-237-4 (9781590582374)
Murder
on
the
Ballarat Train
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), October 2006
ISBN-10: 1-59058-241-1 (1590582411)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-241-1 (9781590582411)
Death
at Victoria Dock
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), December 2006
ISBN-10: 1-59058-238-1 (1590582381)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-238-1 (9781590582381)
The
Green Mill Murder
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), April 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-240-3 (1590582403)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-240-4 (9781590582404)
Blood
and Circuses
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), July 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-242-X (159058242X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-242-8 (9781590582428)
Ruddy
Gore
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), June 2005
ISBN-10: 1-59058-118-0 (1590581180)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-118-6 (9781590581186)
Urn
Burial
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), December 2005
ISBN-10: 1-59058-169-5 (1590581695)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-169-8 (9781590581698)
Raisins
and Almonds
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), September 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-168-7 (1590581687)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-168-1 (9781590581681)
Death
Before Wicket
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), January 2008
ISBN-10: 1-59058-170-9 (1590581709)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-170-4 (9781590581704)
Away
with
the
Fairies
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), January 2005
ISBN-10: 1-59058-022-2 (1590580222)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-022-6 (9781590580226)
Murder
in
Montparnasse
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), June 2004
ISBN-10: 1-59058-042-7 (1590580427)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-042-4 (9781590580424)
The
Castlemaine
Murders
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), September 2004
ISBN-10: 1-59058-117-2 (1590581172)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-117-9 (9781590581179)
Queen
of the Flowers
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), July 2008
ISBN-10: 1-59058-171-7 (1590581717)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-171-1 (9781590581711)
Death
by
Water
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), December 2008
ISBN-10: 1-59058-239-X (159058239X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-239-8 (9781590582398)
Murder
in the Dark
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), March 2009
ISBN-10: 1-59058-439-2 (1590584392)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-439-2 (9781590584392)
Murder on a Midsummer Night
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), July 2009
ISBN-10: 1-59058-632-8 (1590586328)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-632-7 (9781590586327)
Omnimystery
keywords for Blood and Circuses
...
Location(s) referenced: Melbourne,
Australia.
