Title: Cocaine Blues Series: Phryne Fisher #1
Author: Kerry Greenwood
Published: January 10, 1989
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller
Page Count: 185
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:The London season is in full fling at the end of the 1920s, but the Honorable Phryne Fisher—she of the gray-green eyes and diamant garters—is tiring of polite conversations with retired colonels and dances with weak-chinned men. When the opportunity presents itself, Phryne decides it might be amusing to try her hand at becoming a lady detective in Australia. Immediately upon settling into Melbourne's Hotel Windsor, Phryne finds herself embroiled in mystery. From poisoned wives and cocaine smuggling, to police corruption and rampant communism—not to mention erotic encounters with the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse—Cocaine Blues charts a crescendo of steamy intrigue, culminating in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
In Cocaine Blues, the first volume in the long-running Phryne Fisher mysteries, Kerry Greenwood has set up all the necessities for a delightful series. The story was interesting and fast-paced, the author’s prose was simplistic in an elegant way, and the Honorable Miss Fisher herself was a delightful character I certainly want to read about again.
I picked this book up because I wanted to read more mysteries, and this series seems to have a rather favorable reputation from readers of the genre. I didn’t, exactly, expect to enjoy it—mysteries and I have a complicated relationship. But I was quite pleased with what Greenwood did here. There was a wonderful balance of plot and character development, and the mystery itself was neither too predictable nor too far-fetched. And while Cocaine Blues certainly touches topics that are on the serious side (drugs, illegal abortions, rape, arsenic poisoning), the novel’s tone never loses the upbeat zaniness that Phryne Fisher brings to the table.
Because this is the first book in a long series, Cocaine Blues is of course concerned with establishing its protagonist’s character. Phryne Fisher is absolutely the biggest draw of this book, and I adore her character and what Greenwood has done with it. Phryne is perhaps an anomaly of her time (1920s British aristocracy), but not unreasonably so. She flies planes, drives fast cars, engages in casual sex, and befriends various shady characters—and, of course, she solves mysteries. In Cocaine Blues, Greenwood introduces exactly the kind of protagonist I enjoy, and her attitude really made the mystery for me.
Of course, the mystery itself was quite excellent as well. There were several threads running throughout the book, aside from the original set-up (Phryne is hired by a wealthy woman’s parents to find out why their daughter is so sick). There’s a case of botched illegal abortions performed by a rapist, and also an underground cocaine ring among the wealthy ladies of Melbourne. And while the multiple plot strand tactic isn’t unique in the genre, I liked that Greenwood pulled all the plot threads together into a cohesive story by the end. It made for a very satisfying, and mildly surprising, reveal.
On top of all this, we have a wonderful historical setting: 1928 Melbourne. The establishment of setting/place is subtle and not rich in excessive detail, but rather is done subtly and deftly. The location and time period serve as an excellent backdrop for the larger goings-on in Cocaine Blues, and I thought the author did a very good job with it all.
Altogether, Cocaine Blues was quite excellent. Phryne Fisher is a detective whose investigative style I quite enjoy, and Kerry Greenwood spins a mystery that I found engaging rather than dull or dry. In sum, this book was a lot of fun in a new and surprising way.
