Death
at Victoria Dock
A
Phryne Fisher Mystery
Kerry
Greenwood
Poisoned
Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-238-1 (1590582381)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-238-1 (9781590582381)
Publication Date: December 2006
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): 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 parlors, 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.
Review:
Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mysteries are immensely popular in her
native Australia, and have only recently been published in hardcover
for the US market by Poisoned Pen Press. Though the ninth book
available from this publisher, Death
at Victoria Dock is actually
the fourth mystery in the
series set during the 1920s in Melbourne
Australia.
The title refers to an event in the opening scene, one which spawns a
cascade of events involving anarchists, communists, revolutionists, and
people of other political convictions. It's all rather a blur, but as
Phryne herself says at one point, she hates politics so it isn't
terribly germane to the story who supports whom and for what reason.
What is important to Phryne is the fact that she was shot at, a
good-looking chap was killed, and she wants revenge. Suffice it to say
that Phryne accomplishes what she has set out to do, finding a love
interest along the way.
Apart from her activities with regard to the shooting, Phryne, as an
investigator, has been hired to find a missing person, the daughter of
a prominent businessman. From a plot perspective, this case is more
interesting than Phryne running around with revolutionaries, and is
certainly the more mysterious of the two. Though the resolution to the
case is fairly obvious, the delightful personalities of Phryne's
adoptive daughters are on display as well as an exceptional character
in the Reverend Mother of the Convent of the Holy Spirit.
Phryne Fisher is definitely a free spirit, and as one of her daughters
describes her, beautiful but terribly cynical. This multi-faceted woman
is well worth knowing, and it is little wonder this series is so
popular with readers.
Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of Death at Victoria Dock for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Death at Victoria Dock? How would you rate it?
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Omnimystery
keywords for Death at Victoria Dock
...
Location(s) referenced: Melbourne,
Australia.
