Review: Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher Mysteries) by Kerry Greenwood

• Program Type: Audiobook
• Listening Length: 5 hours and 50 minutes
• Version: Unabridged
• Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd (August 29, 2010)

Phryne (pronounced Fry-knee) Fisher lives a life of wealth and luxury in 1920s England. Bored of this high-society life, she goes to Melbourne, Australia to help a family friend, Lydia Andrews. Lydia’s aristocratic parents are certain someone is trying to murder their daughter for her money and Phryne is determined to get to the bottom of it.  It doesn’t take her long to make herself at home in Melbourne, making arrangements to stay at the best of hotels, obtaining a luxurious wardrobe, hiring a woman’s maid…and becoming involved in tracking down illegal abortionist and putting an end to a cocaine ring.

In her investigations, Phryne is introduced to a whole host of lively and memorable characters including Dot, her assistant (whom she barely managed to stop from killing a wealthy young man out of revenge) and Bert and Cec, two partners in a cab driving company.  What makes this novel stand out to me is Phryne’s character. She’s smart, fearless, funny, and sexy, making for a truly compelling character given the time period.

This is my first sampling of this series, a book series that apparently the basis of a television series, the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries. Television series or not,
this is a highly addictive series that I plan on devouring as quickly as possible. I listened to the audio book production, narrated by Stephanie Daniel.  This is my first experience with Daniel’s narration and I believe she did an outstanding job, differentiating between characters from vastly different cultures with varying accents. I’m pleased to see that Daniel is the narrator for the remaining books in the series. I do plan on continuing this series in audio, versus print, as I enjoyed her narration so strongly.

If you are looking for a new mystery series, set in the 1920s with a strong, dynamic female lead, this is the series for you. Highly, highly recommended.