Sunday, March 20, 2011

BOOK: Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood

Hosted by Kerri at Mysteries in Paradise
By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fits the rules somehow. 

The letter of the week this week is K. K is for Kerry Greenwood.
Kerry writes the delightful historical mystery series starring Phyrne Fisher. Kerry lives in Melbourne Australia and is a solicitor. She has written tons of books, most notably the Phyrne Fisher mysteries. She won the Ned Kelly award for lifetime contribution for crime fiction. She also writes science-fiction and historical mysteries. More K reviews can be found here.


Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood, 152 pages

Australian Author Challenge; book 3 of 18 in the series.

Short, snappy, flappers in Australia. Phryne Fisher is the coolest detective ever. She's got loads of money, and she does what she wants. Period. Cute young guy? Good for a romp in the hay, on her terms. Orphan girl found wandering on a train with amnesia? Take her home, adopt her, and send her to university, as all smart girls should have an education. Phryne takes in orphans and strays and kittens and lovers. Plus, she dresses well, enjoys a warm soothing bath, and insists on tea and drinks to warm the spirit.

The actual mystery? The first class section of the train has been chloroformed, and one lady is missing. It's like a classic Agatha Christie with the murder on the train. Phyrne saves everyone on the train, and is hired to solve the mystery of the murder. She works with the police (cute Detective Robinson who is quite fond of Phyrne) and helps everyone. These  mysteries are fun, and elegant, and full of 1920s and 30s flappers. Nothing too complicated, but loads of fun. Plus, I love the covers.

Next up in the series: Death at Victoria Dock.