This is the first book in Kerry Greenwood's long running series about Phryne Fisher, a rich young woman who was born in Australia but lives in London as the series begins in 1928.
Cocaine Blues opens with Phryne attending a social event at her parents' home in London. A diamond necklace is stolen and she quickly solves the crime before the guests have left. A friend of her father, Colonel Harper, is very impressed with Phryne's detecting, and asks her to go to Melbourne and check on his daughter. He and his wife fear that she is being poisoned by her husband. Phryne had already been considering returning to Australia, and is bored with society events in London so she agrees to take the trip and see what she can do.
This book exceeded my expectations. I knew the heroine was an adventuress, and the setting was in the 1920s, so my assumptions were that it would be cozyish and very unrealistic. The unrealistic part may be somewhat true; I am not familiar enough with history and women's roles at the time. But this book was such fun to read that I did not care. It was a very refreshing read.
Phryne loves to dress well and she has the money to do it. When she flaunts her money, it is usually to make an impression on someone she wants information or cooperation from. She uses her charms and her status to gain information and cooperation more easily. Based on appearances, Phryne could be called shallow and frivolous, but much of her behavior is a means to an end. Sexy and independent, she is not worried about the opinions of others. The point is made that Phryne grew up in a poor family and only in her teen years did her father inherit money and a title, so she is comfortable with people from all levels of society, and they get along with her fine, too.
Speaking of clothes and dressing well, I read at least one complaint that there is too much focus on dress. There certainly is a lot of emphasis on clothing. Early on, there is a good amount of time devoted to Phryne supplying Dot, her new maid, with appropriate clothing. And shopping. And Dot mending clothes. But, as the adventures start, I noticed that less and less. I also read that the other book I have in this series (#7, Ruddy Gore) has little or no clothing descriptions. So I don't know if this continues in later books.
Phryne is a female James Bond, except that she is not a spy. She is a free spirit and gets involved with multiple men. She likes to drive nice cars and drive very fast, she can fly airplanes, and I am sure she has other undiscovered talents. If there are faults in this book and this character, it is that Phryne is too perfect, too capable.
There are many things I look for in the mysteries I read, but topping the list is entertainment value. This book was delightful and charming and surprised me throughout, and that makes it a success in my book. There are several mysteries in the story, but I will admit that they were not my main focus when reading the book.
There are now twenty books in the series. I have read that there are a lot of similarities between the books, especially in the early books in the series. I wonder if this means I should put a good bit of time between reading each book, or if I should hop to later books. I would love to hear from anyone who has read this series.
Also see reviews by Bernadette at Fair Dinkum Crime and John Grant at Goodreads. Both reviews mention the TV series, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, which is based on this series of books.
This is my first book read and reviewed for the Australian Women Writers Challenge for 2017.
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Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2006 (orig. pub. 1989)
Length: 175 pages
Format: Hardback
Series: Phryne Fisher #1
Setting: Australia
Genre: Historical Mystery
Source: I purchased this book in 2006.
