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 (9781580582350)
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 guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Blood and Circuses and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series (listed in order of their original publication in Australia; ISBNs and publication dates are for books available from Poisoned Pen Press) ...
Cocaine Blues
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), April 2006
ISBN: 1-59058-236-5 (1590582365)
Flying Too High
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), July 2006
ISBN: 1-59058-237-3 (1590582373)
Murder on the
Ballarat Train
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), October 2006
ISBN: 1-59058-241-1 (1590582411)
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: 1-59058-235-7 (1590582357)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-235-0 (9781590582350)
Ruddy Gore
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), June 2005
ISBN: 1-59058-118-0 (1590581180)
Urn Burial
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), December 2005
ISBN: 1-59058-169-5 (1590581695)
Raisins and
Almonds
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), November 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: 1-59058-022-2 (1590580222)
Murder in
Monparnasse
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), June 2004
ISBN: 1-59058-042-7 (1590580427)
The Castlemaine
Murders
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), September 2004
ISBN: 1-59058-117-2 (1590581172)
Queen of the
Flowers
Death by Water
Murder in the
Dark
Omnimystery keywords for Blood and Circuses
...
Location(s) referenced: Melbourne,
Australia.