Queen
of the Flowers
A
Phryne Fisher Mystery
Kerry
Greenwood
Poisoned
Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-171-7 (1590581717)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-171-1 (9781590581711)
Publication Date: July 2008
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): St. Kilda’s streets hang with fairy lights.
Tea dances, tango competitions, lifesaving demonstrations, lantern
shows, and picnics on the beach are all part of the town’s
first Flower Parade.
And who should be Queen of the Flowers but the Honourable Phryne
Fisher? It seems that the lovely Phryne has nothing to do but buy
dresses, drink cocktails, and dine in lavish restaurants.
Unfortunately, disappearances during this joyous festival
aren’t limited to the magic shows. One of Phryne’s
flower maidens has simply vanished. And so, Phryne is off to
investigate aided by Bert and Cec and her trusty little beretta. When
her darling adopted daughter Ruth goes missing, Phryne is determined
that nothing will stand in the way of her investigation.
Phryne must confront elephants, brothel-life, and—perhaps
worst of all—an old lover in an effort to save Ruth and her
flower maiden before it is too late.
Review:
Melbourne
socialite and private investigator Phyrne Fisher is the Queen of the Flowers
(at least for the town of St. Kilda's Flower Parade) but has a missing
persons case to solve as well in the fourteenth mystery in this
delightful series by Kerry Greenwood set in 1920s Australia.
There is excitement in St. Kilda as the town’s first Flower
Parade is being planned as part of a gala festival with a bazaar, a
small circus, picnics on the beach, music, dances, and more. Naturally
Phryne will be the Honorable Queen of the Flowers. On the float with
her will be her four flower maidens. Costumes are being made for the
teenaged girls by Dot, Phryne’s maid and companion. A few
days before the festivities, however, Rose Weston, one of her flower
maidens, vanishes. Phryne is hired by Rose’s wealthy
grandfather to find the missing girl. When it becomes evident that she
has not simply run away from home, Phryne calls in her old friend
Inspector Jack Robinson and her own experts on the “worst of
company”, Ben and Cec. Their search takes them from the
stylish home of Grandfather Weston to the local brothels, and down
seedy roads to low sleazy, squalid saloons. Just when Phryne comes
close to solving the disappearance of Rose, her own thirteen-year-old
adopted daughter, Ruth, appears to be missing. The search deepens and
becomes more wide-spread. Phyrne and her companions rummage around
looking in the circus tents and the bazaar booths. Phryne knows that if
the girls ran away from their homes, the chances of finding them are
pretty good. If, however, they have for some reason been abducted, her
only hope is to find them before any harm can come to them. For Phryne,
it’s a race against time.
Phyrne is wealthy, witty, and sexy, and much of the appeal of the
series, including Queen
of the Flowers, is in her
relationships with her
daughters, her staff, her friends, and, of course, her lovers. Here
she's involved with the very handsome, very loving, and very married
Lin Chung whose wife doesn't mind his liaison with Phyrne as long as
she has a life of her own. And an old friend returns to town, Dulcie
Fanshawe, who is available to help Phyrne as Phyrne once helped her.
Though Queen
of the
Flowers is a light,
fast-reading, mystery, it is weighed
down by letters from people not mentioned in the immediate storyline
that are interspersed through the narrative. Though the letters become
meaningful in the end, some readers are likely to flip back through the
pages to see if something was missed. Otherwise, it's a welcome return
for Phyrne and her cast of genuinely likeable characters.
Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of Queen of the Flowers for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Queen of the Flowers? How would you rate it?
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Omnimystery
keywords for Queen of the Flowers
...
Location(s) referenced: Melbourne,
Australia.
