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)

Too blue to be enjoyable. Detracted from mystery.

I'm a HUGE Phryne Fisher fan & have thoroughly enjoyed the Kerry Greenwood books after being introduced to Phryne via the TV series. Regretfully I did not enjoy this book at all. It is a bit light on the mystery, but that usually does not detract much as Kerry's descriptions and Australian history makes the Phyrne books so enjoyable. However this book depended largely on an ongoing orgy-light to carry parts of the plot along and the descriptions of same were just too squirm-inducing for me to enjoy. I'm no prude, but I felt the sexual situations (much more content than a usual Phryne story) were really too graphic and constant to make this book enjoyable. This one is being returned.
Oh, and there's LOTS of singing in this one.

Charming but not a mystery

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I wouldn't. I think it was very well-written, but it certainly wasn't a mystery. It is SO character-driven. The whole plot revolves around developing the main character, who I found irritating. It moved well, and there were moments of excitement. But not suspense and certainly not mystery.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I liked the period setting.

Any additional comments?

It's such a petty thing, but there was a lot of singing done by the (excellent) narrator. But the singing was atrocious, and often. It began to drive me out of my mind early in the narrative, and I found myself lurching up to turn the volume down, for fear that the neighbors could hear it. Maybe a small thing, but it really was a crazy-making deterrent in my mind.

Rather more risqué than usual, but a great mystery!

Wonderful narration-as always!
This one was a very clever mystery with extremely unusual characters. Much more risqué than many previous ones. But I like it that Phryne expresses that her morals are her morals and the books can still be enjoyed without one being made to feel that it is necessary to agree with her lifestyle choices. There is always the sense that Phryne is Phryne and lives by her own code, but the reader does not have to identify with her in every aspect. For instance, I identify with her ethics but not with her morals. And Phryne does not subscribe to Dot's lifestyle, yet profoundly respects Dot. I like this about these books.
If you are even a bit knowledgeable about the ancient Greeks and Romans and have familiarity with classical literature and music, you will especially enjoy this selection.
Lots of very interesting characters!

Love this crazy story.

Would you listen to Murder in the Dark again? Why?

I wouldn't listen again as I found the pace of the narration and the character accents not to my taste. I'm very familiar with the book and enjoy the tv series too so I found a disconnect between those and this reader.

How could the performance have been better?

More variety in the pace and if someone is going to sing lyrics I'd prefer them to be more polished. I realise from other reviews that this is a popular reader so I'm in the minority but I will stick to reading the books I think as I have to work quite hard to prevent the reader spoiling my enjoyment of the story.

Exceptional with some exceptions

The author always delivers a good story and Phryne Fisher is an amusing and strong character; but I could do without the occasional too-much-information sex scene that annoyingly interrupts a good plot.
The narrator - Stephanie Daniel - is very good at conveying the different characters with nimble changes of accent or tone of voice; but I really wish she would not sing when song lyrics are quoted: this is not where her talent lies!

Felt like homework to finish

We feel in love with Phryne from the TV show. So naturally we were excited to hear there were books! Unfortunately we were disappointed. We dug in or heels and struggled to finish. There were way too many off-topic fillers, about 40% of the book. Also the narrator reads straight through without adding appropriate pauses, many times it was hard to tell when scenes ended and started.

Too much of a good thing

There is such thing as too much verse, too much singing in an off-key voice, too much masquerade and too much of exotic reptiles and no less exotic killers.
I love Phryne Fisher series, but this one is in poor taste - everything is over the top and by the middle the book turns ridiculously absurd and finally boring.
And I wish Stephanie Daniel would stop singing - she is a wonderful narrator, but musical ear she does not have. She is constantly off-key and it is very irritating.

Phryne is great company

What made the experience of listening to Murder in the Dark the most enjoyable?

I listened to this on a long road trip and it made the boring driving trip pass quickly and almost painlessly - the pain came from the singing - as stated by another reviewer I couldn't turn the volume down quickly enough to ease my pain. I cannot state enough how much I hated the singing.

What other book might you compare Murder in the Dark to and why?

I love all of the Phryne Fisher books - they are great fun - and prove to be a good listen too.

Which character – as performed by Stephanie Daniel – was your favorite?

Stephanie generally does a good job at voicing the characters, as I have already stated I'd be happier without the singing.

Singing is awful.....

I love these books and the narrator....except when she sings. Sorry, Stephanie but your singing ruins the whole book. I would have given this book four stars except for that. I'm listening to Ruddy Gore right now and it will be the same thing. Please don't sing in the future. Your narration is wonderful but not the singing. Thank you......

Please stop singing!!!

I love these stories but the performer’s total inability to song on key is so painful it causes me severe anxiety and I have to skip past the songs and so miss a good deal. Please get someone else to sing. She is exceptional at everything else.