Murder and Mendelssohn

March 17, 2014
Set in 1929, Greenwood’s lighthearted 20th Phryne Fisher mystery (after 2013’s Unnatural Habits) opens with news of a highly unusual murder. Hedley Tregennis, the conductor of the Melbourne (Australia) Harmony Choir, with the Occasional Orchestra, received a fatal dose of morphine before someone stuffed sheet music from Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah down his throat. Insp. Jack Robinson, on the pretext that he doesn’t know anything about music or “these sort of people,” easily persuades PI Phryne to investigate. The unflappable flapper soon ascertains that not everyone is saddened by the demise of the lecherous Tregennis. At the same time, Phryne, who spied for the British during WWI, attempts to thwart an attempt on the life of former code breaker Rupert Sheffield, who’s also an expert mathematician. The usual mix of fair-play clues and romantic escapades for Phryne helps keep this 25-year-old series fresh.

April 1, 2014
Patrons in the front row, beware: Orchestra conductors are dropping like flies. That clever, beautiful and sometimes-deadly sexual free spirit, the Honorable Phryne Fisher, is always happy to help her friend Melbourne DI Jack Robinson with investigations in which he feels at sea. Case in point: Widely disliked conductor Hedley Tregennis is found dead, part of the score of Mendelssohn's "Elijah" thrust down his throat. Before choking on the score, he'd been poisoned with morphine. At Jack's urging, Phryne joins the Melbourne Harmony Choir, which is rehearsing at the Scots Church Assembly Hall, in search of the killer. Appearing as a lecturer at the same hall is the coldly brilliant and physically striking English mathematician Rupert Sheffield, accompanied by Dr. John Wilson, who's in love with him. Adding complication, there have recently been several attempts on Rupert's life, possibly from someone with a grudge against him dating to his work as an agent and codebreaker during the war. Phryne had been Wilson's only female lover when they were both helping in a field hospital during the hellish battles of World War I. Once she renews their affair, she's determined to get the self-absorbed Rupert to understand and value John's love. In an effort to uncover the conductor's killer, Phryne cultivates the choir members and staff. When a second, equally unpopular conductor is poisoned with arsenic and the attacks on Rupert continue, Phryne enlists the help of her immediate family and diverse friends to help solve both cases. Another action-filled adventure from the Roaring '20s (Unnatural Habits, 2013, etc.) lifted to the upper reaches of the series by its pointed social commentary.

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May 1, 2014

The 20th entry in Greenwood's outstanding historical series featuring the talented and opinionated Phryne (after Unnatural Habits) finds her investigating the death of a musical conductor. Music, MI6, and forbidden love mix to make an engaging case.

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May 1, 2014
The unsinkable flapper, Miss Phryne Fisher, returns in her twentieth Australian adventure. Detective Inspector Jack Robinson once again relies on Phryne's sophisticated sensibilities to shed some light on a case. This time it's the murder of conductor Hugh Tregennis, who had been preparing for a performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah in Melbourne. No one in the choir seems sorry for his loss. Did one of them shove a score down his throat? Phryne is also occupied with John Wilson, a wartime lover whose affections are usually reserved for men. He is in Melbourne accompanying Rupert Sheffield, a famed code-breaker who is on the lecture circuit. The pompous mathematician discounts Phryne's women's intuition until her deductions help save his life and force him to admit his feelings for his traveling companion. Being somewhat ahead of her time in terms of sexual freedom, Phryne displays an easy acceptance of Wilson's homosexuality and an understanding of the need for caution in a society that still criminalized the behavior. A must-read for series fans and a charming introduction for those who haven't yet made Miss Fisher's acquaintance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)