Tag: Melbourne

Flying too High

Flying too High by Kerry Greenwood (Penguin, 1990); audiobook read by Stephanie Daniel (Bolinda, 2011) Two fairly straightforward cases (not investigations as such) brought concurrently to heel by the redoubtable Miss Fisher. In prose and plot, this is a simpler novel than Cocaine Blues. Nonetheless it sails along nicely on the strength of its characters and setting.

The Portrait of Molly Dean

The Portrait of Molly Dean by Katherine Kovacic (Bonnier, 2018); audiobook read by Casey Withoos (Wavesound, 2020) What would have been a hardboiled detective story in 1930s Melbourne (the setting of the murder) turns to a more cosy mystery in 1999 (when art dealer Alex Clayton attempts to solve it). Kovacic’s easy narrative style cannot quite bridge the disparity.  …

Cocaine Blues

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.    

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.