Dead Man's Chest
4/5
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About this ebook
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, now streaming on Netflix, starring Essie Davis as the honourable Phryne Fisher
Dot unfolded the note. "He says that his married couple will look after the divine Miss Fisher...I'll leave out a bit...their name is Johnson and they seem very reliable." Phryne got the door open at last. She stepped into the hall. "I think he was mistaken about that," she commented.
Traveling at high speed in her beloved Hispano-Suiza with her maid and trusted companion Dot, her two adoptive daughters Jane and Ruth, and their dog Molly, Phryne Fisher is off to Queenscliff. She'd promised everyone a nice holiday by the sea with absolutely no murders, but when they arrive at their rented accommodation that doesn't seem likely at all.
An empty house, a gang of teenage louts, a fisherboy saved, and a missing butler and his wife seem to lead inexorably toward a hunt for buried treasure by the sea. Phryne knows to what depths people will sink for greed, but with a glass of champagne in one hand and a pearl-handled Beretta in the other, no one is getting past her.
Kerry Greenwood
Kerry Greenwood was born in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray and after wandering far and wide, she returned to live there. She has degrees in English and Law from Melbourne University and was admitted to the legal profession on the 1st April 1982, a day which she finds both soothing and significant. Kerry has written three series, a number of plays, including The Troubadours with Stephen D’Arcy, is an award-winning children’s writer and has edited and contributed to several anthologies. The Phryne Fisher series (pronounced Fry-knee, to rhyme with briny) began in 1989 with Cocaine Blues which was a great success. Kerry has written twenty books in this series with no sign yet of Miss Fisher hanging up her pearl-handled pistol. Kerry says that as long as people want to read them, she can keep writing them. In 2003 Kerry won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australian Association.
Read more from Kerry Greenwood
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Reviews for Dead Man's Chest
129 ratings16 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Phryne and family are off to Queenscliff for a holiday by the sea. No murders, no mystery, just sun, salt air and relaxation for all. She has rented a house, with a couple who are housekeeper and butler, for a few weeks. Upon arrival, they find an empty house and the couple are missing! No letter or not where the couple have gone and the couple’s furniture is missing along with all the food and kitchenware. Is it kidnapping, burglary, murder or? So much for a peaceful getaway.The group pulls together and manages to make their domestic scene pretty normal. Making friends with some of the locals, they find help there. Domestic harmony is established.Then there is the matter of the phantom pigtail snipper who goes around cutting off girls’ long braded pigtails. (A common hairstyle of young girls in the 1920s) Who is terrorizing the girls and why?A film crew is in town shooting a movie about pirates and a fair maiden. The town is fascinated to watch, and a number of locals are hired to work as extras. But trouble erupts there and another mystery is born.Needless to say, this was not the relaxing getaway that Phryne had in mind…
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Synopsis: After the excitement of recent events, Phryne decides that the entire family needs a rest by the seaside. They go on holiday expecting to be met by two retainers of the house, but no one is there. Where did these people go, where is their furniture, and why did they leave their beloved dog behind. Phryne et al take on this mystery, deal with odd folks, hunt for treasure, and adopt another person into their household.Review: This is another really good story. The addition of Tinker is a good one.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A favorite - very different from the TV show - nice to see Hugh making strides. Not sure about Tinker....
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I would like to thank Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a review copy of Dead Man's Chest as Phryne Fisher mysteries are amongst my favourite.
I really enjoyed this book even if it is a bit different from the others: no amorous interest, different settings.
The book is well researched and the different sets of characters, like the surrealists, are really interesting.
The cookery part was really interested and I am curious about the Impossible Cake.
One note: even this could be a stand alone book having read the previous books helps.
Funny, entertaining, a really good read. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I want more of this story......
Phryne Fisher (flapper & P.I. extraordinaire) takes Ruth, Jane & Dot to Queenscliff on holiday, however when they arrive they find that the domestic staff of Mr. & Mrs. Johnson have taken a bunk along with their furniture.... Odd thing being Gaston, the Mrs. Johnson's much loved terrier has just shown up.
Being without help @ the height of the season Phryne takes on Tinker (Eddied a local ruffian) and Maire a young Irish woman. Ruth, Dot & Jane help in the kitchen (some recipes included).
Then things take a turn.....Phryne & Tinker begin the search for the Johnsons, the neighbor's son & his loutish friends cause a stir, thus needing a comeuppance, the nasty nosy neighbor dies, a film crew begins filming, the "plait" snatcher is on the loose, and the Surrealists take a liking to Phryne..... Lin Chung is making ready for an appearance, but that will be in the next book!
Whew! Lots of action and fun. The Hon. Miss Fisher is delightful as always.... - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5lots of good eating and drinking and holidaying. most excellent
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Phryne goes to the seashore, but mystery inevitably follows. In this episode, Phyrne rents a house in a seaside town, but when she and her family arrive, the promised servants are not there to greet them! As she delves into this, she discovers an appealing new henchperson -- a small but effective boy -- and a collection to a nasty bunch of smugglers. Like its precursor, "Murder on a Midsummer Night", this didn't strike me as one of Phryne's best efforts; for one thing, she is getting awfully domesticated. But any Phryne is worth reading.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm biased because I love this series, it's one of my all time favorites. This one did not disappoint. I'm not usually a fan of books within a series that take place 'elsewhere' - a mystery while the protag is on holiday, etc. But Kerry greenwood did a very nice job with this story, keeping me from missing the regular secondary characters. As an expat living in Melbourne, i love reading about 1929 melbourne. It is depressing to think I now have to wait another year...
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One of my favorites of the series so far. Lots of delicious food and fabulous outfits and rescuing people and other people getting their comeuppances. Plus Surrealists!
It was just the perfect thing to read in the park on a sunny afternoon. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In the 18th instalment of the Phryne (pronounced Fry-knee) Fisher series set in 1920′s Australia, Phryne and her entourage have left Melbourne for a summer holiday in the seaside town of Queenscliff. They are to occupy the home of an anthropologist acquaintance of Phryne’s but when they arrive they find the Johnstons, a servant couple who were to look after the holidaymakers, appear to have left in a hurry and taken all the supplies with them. As well as being wealthy enough to get herself out of most pickles the Right Honourable Phryne is both unflappable and resourceful so soon has the house running smoothly with the help of her extended family. Practicalities dealt with Phryne and company turn to considerations of the Johnston’s disappearance and the alarming matter that has occupied the town’s gossips: who is cutting of the plaits of all the young ladies?
DEAD MAN’S CHEST provides that all too rare phenomenon: an intelligent cosy mystery with the bonus of a sense of humour and set against the backdrop of the roaring twenties. Phryne is the kind of very strong female character who you’ll either love or hate and she has grown on me over time. She is beautiful, rich and intelligent (which could get annoying after a while) but is also a fiercely loyal friend and is far more impressed by a person’s abilities and character than she is their social status. She is also not one to stand idly by when she sees an injustice or other wrong-doing being committed: a trait the world is surely crying out for. She has two adopted daughters who have both been rescued from some form of poverty or danger and during the course of the novel acquires another young charge, a boy named Tinker who starts out as a kitchen-hand but soon becomes integral to Phryne’s crime solving. There are a plethora of other characters to enjoy, both nice and not, but my favourites were a crowd of surrealists who provided just the right smidgen of bizarre that most books could benefit from.
Although fairly easy to follow, as befits a cosy mystery, the plot here has plenty to keep the reader’s attention and there’s a nice balance of background historical detail and plot advancement throughout the story. There’s a film about a local treasure myth being shot in the town which provides for a lot of the action and there are many social gatherings (always accompanied by lashings of marvellously described food) and little adventures to maintain interest. Although this is a long series you could easily start with this book, particularly as it involves only the core group of Phryne’s retinue as she’s not in her usual Melbourne haunts. I have only read a couple of the very early books in this series but I had no trouble picking things up as I went.
Stephanie Daniel’s narration of this novel is outstanding, providing a myriad of accents and voices for the rather large cast of characters but never feeling like it is a forced performance. It has been a long time since I acquainted myself with Phryne Fisher and her extended family and I found myself pleasantly surprised with the meeting. It feels like Greenwood has put just as much work into this instalment as she would have done her first (not something that can be said about all authors with long-running series) and the characters were fresh an interesting. Highly recommended to fans of light historical or cosy mysteries, or those wondering if they should give one a go.
My rating 3.5 - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Phryne, her stepdaughters and companion Dot drive off for a holiday while her house is being renovated and discover their rental is abandoned and apparently been robbed of kitchen items and other incidentals. What happened to the caretaker and his wife the cook? The next day their little dog comes back bedraggled and alone. That's about it with a movie set, ruffians and bootleggers thrown in.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Absolutely love this series. I haven't read all of them yet, but they are great fun for any cozy mystery lover. Enjoy. They take place in the 1920's.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Despite constantly "bragging" that we live about an hour from just about anywhere... it does mean that every trip in the car do to anything takes a while. We've recently turned to audio books to fill in the hours of dodging kangaroos and potholes and the most recent that we've been listening to is DEAD MAN'S CHEST by Kerry Greenwood. Number 18 (good grief.. really!) of the Phyrne Fisher series, the audio version is read particularly well by Stephanie Daniel who does an excellent job of individual accents for each of the characters - and there is a lot of characters in this book, many of them are new to the series.That is probably because Phryne, companion Dot, daughters Ruth and Jane and dog Molly are on holidays in Queenscliff having to deal with missing servants, cleared out pantries, lost dogs, no cook or kitchen maid, an errand boy, surrealists on one side and a rather overbearing lady and her son and his rather nasty friends on the other, a mean old lady over the road who watches everything, her companion and... well lots of things really.DEAD MAN'S CHEST is classic Phryne Fisher, albeit without a few of the normal extended household from Melbourne - but with the nice additions of some quite colourful locals to keep the story moving. The sub-plot of this book is the phantom hair snipper terrorising the young ladies of Queenscliff by sneaking up behind them and pinching their plaits - who eventually seems to be involved in something much more violent. But the main plot is the missing cook and butler from the house in which Phryne's family are holidaying. This normally reliable, staid and serious couple just don't seem the sort to up and disappear - particularly not the sort to leave their much loved little dog behind. Phryne investigates, Ruth gets her long held desire to be a cook, Jane finds a library full of books, and the possibility of smuggling and other nefarious goings on brings Dot's much loved policeman fiancé to town so everyone is happy.As light entertainment, particularly willing away the hours on the road, Phryne Fisher books work well. There are enough touches of humour to keep the driver and passenger's awake and involved in the story, the stories aren't the most taxing of plots to follow so occasional interruptions when not driving aren't the end of the world and the antics of everyone in Phyrne's family keep your interest no matter how long it takes to work your way through the book. Phyrne Fisher books are not my normal reading fare - but we've found that as audio with the wonderful reading style of Stephanie Daniel and the excellent production from Bolinda Books - they are becoming increasingly popular car listening.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nothing is as fun as a Phryne Fisher mystery set in the 1920's Australia. In this caper, Phryne and her household of Dot, Jane, Ruth, and Molly go to Queenscliff for a vacation, while their house undergoes renovations. Mayhem abounds as the group enters the rental house to find the couple tending the house and all the furniture and all the food gone. Phryne begins her investigation into the disappearance of the Johnsons amid other problems. Phryne follows the many diversions to follow, but misses the amorous caresses of Lin Chung. Greenwood brings into the story a lesson into surrealism, a location filming of a movie, and the struggles of the lower class. Greenwood presents rich characters, sumptuous meals, and 1920's haute couture.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Phryne Fisher takes her household on holidays to the beachside town of Queenscliff, only to find the servants have disappeared and there is a mystery ponytail-snipper terrorising the young ladies of the town. A lot of fun, like all the Phryne Fisher books, but the mystery seemed a bit of an afterthought throughout, with more focus on Ruth's cooking exploits. I would have liked more time spent on the mystery, but it was relaxing fun to read. The 1920s setting is always a pleasure to read about, and even though Phryne is occasionally anachronistic I think Kerry Greenwood usually pulls it off. A perfect beachside read, but a flawed detective story.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Publisher's blurbPhryne Fisher needs a rest. It's summer. She packs up her family and moves to Queenscliff, a quiet watering place on the coast. Where she meets with smugglers, pirate treasure and some very interesting surrealists, including a parrot called Pussykins. What is the mysterious Madame Selavy hiding? Where are the Johnsons, who were supposed to be in the holiday house? Phryne has promised everyone a nice quiet holiday by the sea but when they arrive at the holiday house to find the live-in help missing, along with all the pantry supplies, the fun is just beginning. The house belongs to an anthropologist, and acquaintance really, who is travelling some where in the Far North of Australia. He has assured Phryne that the missing couple are very reliable, which makes their absence all the more puzzling. Phryne has with her her companion Dot, and her two foster daughters Ruth and Jane, and so they all decide to see if they can fend for themselves. They soon acquire another member of the household in the form of Tinker, a young boy loaned from the house next door. Her search for the missing Johnsons results in Phryne being mugged on her way home one night and so she becomes even more determined to solve the mystery. Tinker shows he has a real aptitude for sleuthing, Ruth delights in cooking for the family, and Jane is in seventh heaven when she manages to get into a locked room in the house.The Phryne Fisher series are generally set in Victoria in the 1920s. In DEAD MAN'S CHEST a film is being made about a local legend, Benito's Treasure. Pirate Benito Benita is said to have buried plundered Spanish treasure in a cave in the cliffs of Swan Bay in 1798. Other aspects of the legend entail Benita being caught in the act by the British navy and sealing the cave entrance with gunpowder. moreIn many ways the Phryne Fisher books are cozies. There is a development of characters from one book in the series to the next, although they can also be read as standalones. In DEAD MAN'S CHEST there is a range of credible and incredible characters and enough mystery to whet the appetite.