Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood (McPhee Gribble, 1989); audiobook read by Stephanie Daniel (Bolinda, 2010) Greenwood evinces as no-nonsense an approach to plotting as does the irrepressible Phryne Fisher to solving mysteries and bucking societal norms. The result is a fast-moving romp through 1920s Melbourne, more worldly than Wodehouse but with a similarly delightful turn of phrase.
Tag Archive for Melbourne
St Kilda Blues
St Kilda Blues by Geoffrey McGeachin (Penguin, 2014); audiobook read by David Tredinnick (Playaway, 2014) Though the investigation itself is commonplace, McGeachin immerses his protagonist in the details of history, presenting a time capsule of Australian—in particular, Melburnian—culture in the late 1960s. Stolid ex-WWII bomber pilot Charlie Berlin shows mettle worthy of the character study.
42 Word Review: Macbeth
Macbeth dir. Geoffrey Wright (2006) Well cast and drawing on the gangster film genre’s rich tradition of murder and betrayal, this dark and stylish Australian production — transplanting Shakespeare onto the Melbourne underworld — makes for a disturbingly good introduction to the plot and dialogue of the Scottish Play.