Murder in the Dark

A Phryne Fisher Mystery

By: Kerry Greenwood

Narrated by: Stephanie Daniel

Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

The delectable Phryne Fisher has been invited to the Last Best party of 1928. When three of the guests are kidnapped, Phryne finds she must puzzle her way through the scavenger hunt clues to retrieve the hostages. This is another sparkling mystery from Australia's Queen of Crime, Kerry Greenwood.

©2006 Kerry Greenwood (P)2007 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd.

Critic reviews

"Brimming with glamour, high life, and a hint of debauchery, Greenwood's series delivers a literary glass of champagne, lifting readers' spirits while tickling their fancies." ( Booklist US)

OK and Good in Parts

I should have reviewed this right after I read it as I usually do. My best recollection is I missed the Luscious Lin Chung who did not accompany Phryne to the "Last Best Party of 1928." (Some bigoted thug employees of the hosts threw Lin's non-swimming scholar cousin in the water, nearly killing him, because of his race). Even without that tidbit preceding their appearance, I found it hard to be sympathetic toward the Templars, brother and sister wastrel hosts -- apparently they ran thru their massive fortune and still are splurging away what's left on the best food, drink, and entertainments... including, Tarquin, a little boy running errands & dressed in a costume including gold hose & shoes with wings -- "Eros or Hermes?" Phryne ponders. Gerald informs Phryne he's been getting death threats. The kitchen staff are afraid of a ghost -- haunted shed. When the kid disappears, the brother at least seems to care. It's hard for me to care about death threats toward such a dissolute pair, but the disappearance of the children is another matter... It was OK but some of the books in the series are much better.

Great book!!!!!

I love this series! I listen to these books over and over again, havent completed the whole series but I will!

Delightful

Stephanie Daniel, as always, catches the essence of Miss Phryne. An enjoyable listen. Ms. Greenwood added pre & post info to this story that was enlightening as well as entertaining. A very good read.

What fun!

As usual, this series is a delight to read. The mystery is entertaining. However, my absolute favorite aspects of the series are the characters and historical descriptions. It is such fun to immerse yourself into another time. The performance was spot on, and I hope to listen to many more books read by this fabulous performer.

Always Wonderful but...

I love these audio books and Stephanie Daniel is absolutely AMAZING. What a talent...however: in every single book she does this thing where she “sings” music that appears in the story line. It is truly appalling and I wish she would find another way. I have actually begun to quickly jump forward! But otherwise a small price to pay I suppose to enjoy these wonderful books with otherwise stellar narration.

Decident and thrilling Phryne Fisher mystery!

I first found out about Miss Fisher through the ABC television series. I've read a couple of the books afterwards. Murder in the Dark is by far my favorite! Luscious holiday parties, intrigue, the perfect amount of scandle and sex and of course murder! I find my mind wondering thru some audio books, but not this one! Stephanie Daniel's voice is like butter flowing over your ears. It is aWonderful read! Well in this case- a wonderful "listen."

love!

Brilliant as always, it's always a pleasure to read these books. probably one of my favorite yet

The Last Best Party of 1928

In this her 16th adventure, Phryne attends the party named above. All 15 of the previous Phryne Fisher books take place earlier in 1928, and the Party is being held for six days from Dec. 26th to New Year's Day 1929. Most of the action takes place at the party with hundreds of guest staying in the Manor House or in fancy tents on the grounds. The Party serves to show the absolute excesses of the rich immediately before the Crash of 1929.

Phryne's attendance is partially for fun, but primarily to investigate death threats against the party's host, who with his twin sister inherited a fabulous fortune and they have for years been going about spending it. Over the years they have gathered a group of followers from around the globe. Now they are throwing an extravaganza with incredible food, live jazz and other music, a polo match, and a number of opportunities to engage in tantric sex and other behaviors that many in that day might deem degenerate or perverted. All with great panache, of course!

Phryne attends the party and solves the mystery of the threats in her usual light -hearted manner, displaying supreme confidence and style. Meanwhile, at her house on Christmas Day, we meet Phryne' s sister, Eliza, and Eliza's lover Lady Alice, and Jane and Ruthie have their first wonderful Christmas ever. All great fun.

As usual, Stephanie Daniel's performance was excellent.

I read this book out of order. Ordinarily I try to read books in a series in chronological order in order to keep evolving characters and relationships straight. But I bought this one on sale and just dived in. Even without the continuity, I enjoyed it a great deal. It might not, however, be the best one of the Phryne Fisher books for a newcomer to read first.

Phryne is as entertaining as ever.

If you could sum up Murder in the Dark in three words, what would they be?

Fun, sexy, intriguing

Who was your favorite character and why?

Phryne - who wouldn't want to be her?

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

NOT try to sing!!!! Whenever the book referenced songs of the time, the narrator felt the need to sing them. She is great as a narrator, but she is NOT a singer. Her attempt to perform Jazz with a New Orleans drawl was especially painful to listen to. If I could fast forward through those spots I would have.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely!

Captures the 'eccentricity' of the time

Well I liked Stephanie's singing !

The ditties are reflective of many a home of the late 20's ( in Australia) and not everyone had the best melodious voice. Most people did sing. While later generations may like to think they discovered feminism and sexual freedom they are wrong. While this is light listening it does attempt to describe what some people did do for fun and pleasure.

The people concerned may have been rich and infamous as in this story, and even to this day there are the odd references to similar events.
These days the 3 or 4 day festivals are annual events, and some people in the 'olden days' also had their fun over a few days. The story is about a time before The Great Depression and set between Christmas and New Year.

This is not my favourite Kerry Greenwood story even though I thought Stephanie Daniel did a great job reading it.