Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher Mystery, #1)

by Kerry Greenwood

The first of Phryne's adventures from Australia's most elegant and irrepressible sleuth.The London season is in full fling at the end of the 1920s, but the Honourable Phryne Fisher - she of the green-grey eyes, diamant garters and outfits that should not be sprung suddenly on those of nervous dispositions - is rapidly tiring of the tedium of arranging flowers, making polite conversations with retired colonels, and dancing with weak-chinned men. Instead, Phryne decides it might be rather amusing to try her hand at being a lady detective in Melbourne, Australia. Almost immediately from the time she books into the Windsor Hotel, Phryne is embroiled in mystery: poisoned wives, cocaine smuggling rings, corrupt cops and communism - not to mention erotic encounters with the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse - until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.With Phryne Fisher, the indefatigable Greenwood has invented the character-you-fall-in-love-with genre.' The Australian

• ISBN13: 9781741145663
• Publish Date: June 2005 (first published 17 December 1998)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Publish Country: AU
• Imprint: Allen and Unwin
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 208
• Language: English

Reviews

Phryne Fisher is a likeable, charming and vibrant individual. She's kind and generous to those she meets, smart and logical when faced with problems or obstacles and adventurous in her dislike of boredom. She is brave and tenacious and brutal when faced with injustice.

A few deaths of distant relatives were all that stood between her life of poverty and her ascent into luxury at the age of 12 and she never takes her wealth and social standing for granted. The result of which is a kind and generous soul who is always willing to speak up for the victims, the downtrodden or the underdogs and one who relishes fine food, fine clothes and the myriad of pursuits open to her. Her open mindedness leads to an unique and vibrant cast pulled from all walks of life.

Being an Aussie and a proud Melbournian - the Melbourne setting was a highlight. Recognising the street names and places was fun. And Melbournians will understand the delight in recognising how strange our weather is to outsiders.

As far as the genre goes, I don't know if I'd really say it was crime or historical. I mean it is a historical period but it felt kind of modern. The crime was good but it was interspersed with character relationships. There was romance but none of it was meaningful or relevant. It was too lowbrow to be literary and too much reality to be chick lit. It's an odd mix that was an enjoyable read but likely not for everyone.


For all I've had the first book on my shelf for a number of years (after picking it up at Dirt Cheap Books) and regardless of how much I've enjoyed the tv show - I've never gotten around to picking this series up. But I'm glad I did. There was a lot to be liked in this start to the series with few problems. It is fairly different from the tv show (and she's a lot younger in the books) but the main elements are present - like Phryne's love of clothes, her humour, confidence and loveable charming personality.

Plot wise, I enjoyed the twists and turns and the intricate setup of the crime. I adored the way women were portrayed. I loved that all the female characters were strong willed and fierce and able to look after themselves - even when it didn't always seem like it. I also really liked how the cops weren't written as useless or inept - but rather unable to significantly help without someone willing to speak up and testify.

For the characters, I loved them all. Phryne, Dot, Dr Elizabeth MacMillan, WPC Jones, Inspector Robinson, Bert and Cec, they were all fantastic and had me giggling throughout. An enjoyable read, 3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

[celinenyx]

Quite fun mystery featuring a 1920s socialite. The book is quite different from the TV show, while the mystery is similar it is not resolved in the exact same way. The most notable difference is that there is no sexual tension between Phryne and Inspector Jack Robinson. On the bright side, book-Phryne indeed does seduce any attractive guy she comes across, even if they're involved in her investigation. In a genre dominated by prim detectives and nihilist policepeople, Phryne is a breath of fresh air.

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Trigger warnings: story features a rapist abortionist; violence, sexual threat, domestic violence/abuse. The story has an uneasy relationship with queerness - I wouldn't call it outright homophobia, but there is definitely some exotification of lesbianism going on. Bi-erasure.

[brokentune]

2.5*

"Phryne leaned on the ship's rail. listening to the seagulls announcing that land was near, and watched for the first hint of sunrise. She had put on her lounging robe, of a dramatic oriental pattern of green and gold, an outfit not to be sprung suddenly on invalids or those of nervous tendencies - and she was rather glad that there was no one on deck to be astonished. It was five o'clock in the morning."

As much as I love the tv series, the book series will not one that I will continue with.

All that I love about the tv series - the 1920s atmosphere, the banter between the characters, the quirky fun bits (like Dr. Mac's dry sense of humour) - I just can't get a feel for in the first book.

I get that the book is different and that the characters (and back stories) are different, but I can't even get a sense of setting (any setting!) from the book.
The writing is sparse and focused on dialogue, and except for whatever clothes people - especially Phryne - are wearing, there seemed to be hardly any description of anything.
This strongly reminded me of the Murder, She Wrote tv tie-ins, which rely on the reader's knowledge of the series to fill in the missing parts with the knowledge of what the tv series had already communicated - visuals of place and characters. Except of course that the tie-ins were written to correspond with the tv series, which is not the case with the Phryne Fisher book (as the book preceded the tv series and has a slightly different story line and characters).

What's probably worse than not getting a sense of place - and I was really looking forward to reading about Melbourne in the 1920s! - was that I didn't even get a sense of the 1920s.

So, yeah, this is where I am glad I got a copy from the library. I still love the tv series, tho. So much so that I consoled my disappointment with the book by re-watching a couple of favourite episodes on Netflix until the wee hours.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Miss Phryne Fisher is a fantastic character; I first encountered her in the TV show Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. I prefer my mystery novels to be dark and hard-boiled but in the effort to be a literary explorer, I decided to pick up the first in the Phryne Fisher novels. What I love about the TV show plays a small part in this cosy crime novel.

Set in 1920’s Melbourne, Cocaine Blues follows Miss Fisher as she tries to hunt down an illegal abortionist who is leaving so much damage that the women are lucky to make it out alive. While cocaine is fast rising as the drug of choice in high society, Phryne Fisher finds herself caught up in web of smuggling, corruption and Turkish baths. Cocaine Blues’ mystery may be basic and the resolution far too convenient but this book sets up Phryne Fisher as a private detective that will solve a mystery with style and grace.

This novel is evidently focusing on the lifestyle of a 1920s socialite; take out the mystery and you are still left with a trendy Jazz age story with a strong heroine. The demographic for this novel is clearly focused towards woman; Kerry Greenwood often takes time to describe every inch of Phryne’s outfit and style. Almost to a point where I got a little angry by it, but this translates well to television as visual element is one of the reasons that make the show so great.

Phryne Fisher is a wealthy flapper with plenty of spare time; she is a strong willed feminist and a sensual being that shocks high society in 1920s Melbourne. She seems to have a wealth of knowledge but I can’t seem to pick her age, I gather she must be middle aged with all her life skills but Kerry Greenwood never mentions her age. She takes the time to go into great detail about everything she is wearing, why not give us an idea of her age.

I might be biased towards the TV show Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries but I think that captured Phyrne’s personality and the essence of what Greenwood was trying to write far better than this novel. It was fun to read and I enjoyed experiencing Phryne Fisher’s personality on the page. However I think the TV adaptation does a far better job with all the other characters, including Dot, Bert and Cec. Unfortunately Jack Robinson only got a look in and I’m finding it hard to remember if Hugh Collins even appeared.

If you are looking for a cosy crime novel with a strong kick-ass female detective then Cocaine Blues might be worth checking out. There are currently twenty books in the Phryne Fisher series. Also, as I mentioned a few times, the TV series is excellent. I don’t know if I will read any more in the series, it really depends if I need any light fillers to read and if I have access to the next book. I doubt I’ll ever run out of books to read but who knows maybe another dip into the world of Miss Fisher might be calling me and I can read the next book in the series, Flying Too High.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2014/05/24/cocaine-blues-by-kerry-greenwood/