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It's the end of the roaring twenties, and the exuberant and Honourable Phryne Fisher is dancing and gaming with gay abandon. But she becomes bored with London and the endless round of parties. In search of excitement, she sets her sights on a spot of detective work in Melbourne, Australia. And so mystery and the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse, appear in her life. From then on it's all cocaine and communism until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
Baking is an alchemical process for Corinna Chapman. At four am she starts work at Earthly Delights, her bakery in Calico Alley. But one morning Corinna receives a threatening note saying "The wages of sin is death" and finds a syringe in her cat's paw. A blue-faced junkie has collapsed in the dark alley and a mysterious man with beautiful eyes appears with a plan for Corinna and her bread. Then it is Goths, dead drug addicts, witchcraft, a homeless boy and a missing girl and it seems she will never get those muffins cooked in time.
This first installment of a cozy mystery series transports listeners back to the bygone era of 1923 Britain, where unflappable flapper and fledgling journalist Daisy Dalrymple daringly embarks on her first writing assignment, and promptly stumbles across a corpse.
It's Christmas 1909, and for once Lady Hardcastle - respectable gentlewoman, amateur spy - and her lady's maid, Florence Armstrong, are setting sleuthing aside. They are invited to the festivities up at The Grange, as guests of Sir Hector and Lady Farley-Stroud. But barely have corks been popped and parlour games played when a mysterious crime comes to light.
Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they've just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life. But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There's a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation...
When mystery novelist Hazel Martin receives a secretive letter from an old friend who suspects her relatives have murderous intentions, she packs her bags and heads to the country. Tampered medications, symptoms of poisoning, and suspicious accidents all add up to attempted murder, and it's up to Hazel and her Siamese cat, Dickens, to sniff out the clues. But with a house full of relatives who all have a motive, will Hazel be able to unmask the culprit before things turn deadly?
It's the end of the roaring twenties, and the exuberant and Honourable Phryne Fisher is dancing and gaming with gay abandon. But she becomes bored with London and the endless round of parties. In search of excitement, she sets her sights on a spot of detective work in Melbourne, Australia. And so mystery and the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse, appear in her life. From then on it's all cocaine and communism until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
Baking is an alchemical process for Corinna Chapman. At four am she starts work at Earthly Delights, her bakery in Calico Alley. But one morning Corinna receives a threatening note saying "The wages of sin is death" and finds a syringe in her cat's paw. A blue-faced junkie has collapsed in the dark alley and a mysterious man with beautiful eyes appears with a plan for Corinna and her bread. Then it is Goths, dead drug addicts, witchcraft, a homeless boy and a missing girl and it seems she will never get those muffins cooked in time.
This first installment of a cozy mystery series transports listeners back to the bygone era of 1923 Britain, where unflappable flapper and fledgling journalist Daisy Dalrymple daringly embarks on her first writing assignment, and promptly stumbles across a corpse.
It's Christmas 1909, and for once Lady Hardcastle - respectable gentlewoman, amateur spy - and her lady's maid, Florence Armstrong, are setting sleuthing aside. They are invited to the festivities up at The Grange, as guests of Sir Hector and Lady Farley-Stroud. But barely have corks been popped and parlour games played when a mysterious crime comes to light.
Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they've just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life. But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There's a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation...
When mystery novelist Hazel Martin receives a secretive letter from an old friend who suspects her relatives have murderous intentions, she packs her bags and heads to the country. Tampered medications, symptoms of poisoning, and suspicious accidents all add up to attempted murder, and it's up to Hazel and her Siamese cat, Dickens, to sniff out the clues. But with a house full of relatives who all have a motive, will Hazel be able to unmask the culprit before things turn deadly?
When Sir William and Lady Withers invite friends and family to a weekend house party at their country home, Ashgrove House, they are faced with the arrival of both invited and uninvited guests, the consequence of which is murder. Set in 1930, Murder at Ashgrove House is full of intrigue, clues, and red herrings, with nearly everyone having a motive for wishing the victim dead. This is a classic country house murder mystery set during the golden age of crime and will appeal to fans of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey.
At the end of her first unsuccessful season out in society, Lady Georgiana has all but given up on attracting a suitable man - until she receives an invitation to a masked Halloween ball at Broxley Manor. Georgie is uncertain why she was invited, until she learns that the royal family intends to marry her off to a foreign prince, one reputed to be mad.
As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria's golden jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, the orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry - and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as she is fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
Bill Vokes has played Santa at the children's Christmas show for years. But with the show just hours away, he vanishes with no explanation. The whole village is baffled. Did something bad happen to loveable Bill, upstanding citizen, churchgoer, life and soul of the party and the holiday season? Jack and Sarah are on the case - and soon discover there are secrets about this Santa that no one could have imagined.
Meet Lord Peter Wimsey, stylish, eccentric, seeming a fool, but in fact one of the great English detectives. The discovery of a body in a bathtub wearing only a pair of spectacles launches a motley set of sleuths and suspects toward a ghastly conclusion.
When magistrate Patrick Colquhoun orders a habitual thief and ne'er-do-well transported to Botany Bay, he doesn't realize a 14-year-old boy has been left behind to follow in his father's footsteps - not until young John Pickett is hauled into Bow Street for stealing an apple from the produce market at Covent Garden. Feeling to some extent responsible for the boy, Mr. Colquhoun prevails upon Elias Granger, a prosperous coal merchant, to take him on as an apprentice.
It's only as Phryne delves into the investigation that she, too, remembers being in Montparnasse on that very same day. While Phryne is occupied with memories of Montparnasse past and the race to outpace the murderer, she finds troubles of a different kind at home. Her lover, Lin Chung, is about to be married. And the effect this is having on her own usually peaceful household is disastrous.
I loved every minute of it. One is not often able to read books set in 1920's Australia. The details of a city I know well as a modern 21 century city were delightful and accurate, the characters were wonderfully crafted and just as I would have imagined them to be in the 1920's.
Relaxing, fun, engaging ..... just made you smile and feel warm inside. Wonderful narrator who turned what could have been a very bland read into something well worth listening to. Congratulations - a job very well done.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I've got a very big bone to pick with Mrs Greenwood ,she has made me into a insomniac I'm not sleeping because I'm to busy listing to the amazing Stephanie Daniel ,I dusted this one of in three nights I couldn't get enough ,Miss Fishes sorted past and present are colliding ,but nothing flaps our beautiful flapper ,murder , ex lovers and her relations with the butlers strained to breaking point ,wont stop Miss Fisher from doing what she dose best.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
This (#12) is one of the best of the Phryne Fisher mysteries, not that it is a great mystery, but because it gives so much insight into Phryne and her background. She was an ambulance driver in WWI from the age of 17, and when the war ended in 1918, she settled for a time in Paris and became an artists' model.
Lovely story, great background, and important in understanding how Phryne became the strong person that she is. Very much recommended.
Stephanie Daniel does her usual excellent job with voices and accents.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I love these mysteries. They're funny, mysterious, entertaining and and a little tongue in cheek. I do alot of long drives and these are perfect.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
This was a rather run-of-the-mill lady-detective who-dunnit with a predictably twisty plot (predictable that the plot twists, but not the direction... that was a surprise), and the main character is agreeably spunky without being annoying.
I do have to say, though, this is not exactly what I was expecting, based on the title. I was hoping it would take place in Montparnasse! I was preparing for a vacation in Paris, and was looking to get in the mood. So, if there's anyone else who is whacky like me, hoping to take Paris-vacation-listening with an appropriate theme... this is not it.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
Bert and Cec along with five other Australian soldiers are drinking and having a good time in Paris in 1918 when the seven witnessed a murder. Now a decade later, Bert, Cec and one of the other five Johnnys are concerned that someone is killing them off one at a time. At the inquest, two died allegedly accidentally when Maccie drowned in an irrigation ditch and Conger's van fell on him while he was fixing it. The three mates think otherwise as counter evidence disputes the official findings.
The men discuss their belief with Phryne Fisher, renowned for her investigative skills. Phryne's inquiries into the seven and a seemingly unrelated case involving a missing fiancée that somehow goes back to 1918 in the Montparnasse section of Paris too also links back to her own past in the same locale at the same time. Regardless of her memories, a murderer is on the loose and must be stopped before anyone else dies.
MURDER IN MONTPARNASSE is an exciting historical mystery that brings to life the late 1920s and a perspective from that point back to the end of World War One in Paris. The story line engages the audience due to the star as she plunges deep into the investigation while memories of her own waif lifestyle in 1918 Paris flash through her mind and her personal woes spin somewhat out of control. The support cast either enhances the who-done-it or brings insight into what makes Phryne tick. Phryne has starred in other adventures so that anyone who reads this delightful tale will seek other works starring a wonderful protagonist.
7 of 12 people found this review helpful
Stunningly well read! This book was amazing and I truly felt part of the story, visualizing the streets of Pairs, the cafes of Melbourne and all of the fabulous cars and clothes. A must read
Wonderful! We learn so much about our heroine. Well paced plot, hilarious social insights and a journey into Phryne's origin story in Paris, post WWI. Thoroughly enjoyed. Stephanie Daniels, as always, is perfect.
If you could sum up Murder in Montparnasse in three words, what would they be?
Engaging, clever, fun
What did you like best about this story?
How the different mysteries intertwined in the end. A bit contrived, but fun nonetheless. I like how Kerry Greenwood describes different cultures - often focusing on one or two in each book. This book provided detailed descriptions of France during the war, and the Orkney Islands.
Which character – as performed by Stephanie Daniel – was your favorite?
Phryne, of course! Who wouldn't want to be clever, courageous and beautiful like her?
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
"Family is everything"
Any additional comments?
All the Phryne Fisher books are terrific, and Stephanie Daniel is a superb reader.
I expected a murder in paris. I bought it based on the review and - dont waist your time on this one. It was one of the books audible offered when they do their sales, so for 4 bucks - I didnt loose much.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Dramatic French flair, glimpses of the early C20 Art world, French cookery, fine champagne and stylish clothing, spiced with delicious detective work. Loved all of it!