Murder and Mendelssohn: A Phryne Fisher Mystery

As always, another fun fast mystery for lovers of the formidable Miss Fisher, lady detective. And her whole crew is there to help her. A great way to spend the weekend 😎

As a long time fan of Miss Fisher’s Mysteries on PBS for years, I was intrigued to find this “prequel” series. What a delight! I felt right at home because most of our beloved and familiar characters are there and even a few more to round out Phryne’s family.The story is actually two stories, interwoven by Phryne’s involvement in both. We learn a lot about her war time experiences which are only mentioned peripherally in the show. There is a good amount of steamy sex involved (of course) but it is done with taste and style.Two caveats: If you have never sung in a choir or don’t appreciated choral music, you may find some of the references boring. (I have sung in many choirs and love choral music, so this was a plus for me.) Second, if you are squirmy about homosexuality, this is not the book for you.For the rest of you who enjoy a good mystery with depth of detail, delightful characters and plummy historical backgrounds, this a a book for you!

The murder of a particularly odious conductor, the request from DI Jack Robinson for Phryne’s help, and the delightfully astounding sight of her old friend John Wilson – now Doctor John Wilson – was pumping Miss Phryne Fisher’s pulse. And she could feel a mystery – maybe several - coming on…With her family at her back – Mr and Mrs Butler, Dot, Jane, Ruth and Tinker, along with Molly and Ember – Phryne attacked the latest atrocities with fervor. The added need to protect John Wilson from someone trying to harm the scientist, Rupert Sheffield and her quota was full. It was her connections from the war days with codes, stealth and deductions which ramped up the danger. And of course, wharfies Cec and Bert assisted in every way they could. The rescuing of a young woman from a notorious pub; causing a rival war between two gangs; and joining the choir which was performing Mendelssohn’s Elijah were all in a day’s work for the illustrious Phryne.Murder and Mendelssohn is the 20th in the Phryne Fisher series by Aussie author Kerry Greenwood and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Light-hearted, fun and entertaining, this series always makes me smile. Highly recommended.

I discovered Phryne Fisher a few months ago via the NPT series, Miss Fisher's Mysteries (similar in flavor to the books, but not faithful to the plots or entirely to the characters). I've liked most of the TV episodes and books quite a lot, but for me this was the best of the bunch. I agree with negative reviewers that the plot (such as it is) is not particularly interesting, and certainly the puzzle isn't hard to solve. There are gaps. At the same time, plot rarely keeps me reading. I like character, dialog, and social context (although go to the earlier 19 books if the conventions and styles of post-WWI Australia intrigue you--they've been previously well established). This strikes me as more sophisticated and more cleanly written than earlier titles. It provides emotional detail and backstory for Phryne not available in anything I've seen before. I'd love some prequels about Phryne's WWI and Parisian artists' model days--I'm surely not the first to say so. I liked the complications of the theme parallel to the mysteries (vocal music and the culture of chorus singers, especially non- or semi-professionals). "Murder and Mendelssohn," a perfect title, reminded me of the best Peter Wimsey novels, including the Jill Paton Walsh series, of which I think the new "The Late Scholar" is the best. Both of these series got better over time, too. In Greenwood's end notes I discovered she'd read Arthur Conan Doyle deconsructively and had written a Holmes pastiche. Her affection shows, particularly in Phyrne's version of the Baker Street Irregulars and her observational deduction. The quote from "Thrones, Dominations" (Walsh) suggests she's been rereading Sayers (or at least Walsh) to good purpose, hence, perhaps, the tighter writing style and the strengthened character writing. If she hasn't read Jacqueline Winspear or Charles Todd, unlikely, it's time. Thank you, Ms. Greenwood.

The final solution was a little disappointing. All in all a good read. There are other in this series I liked better.

I have read quite a few of these Phryne Fisher stories - so obviously I must like them! As the series goes on, the books get longer as they are increasingly packed with background information on the themes of the cases, as well as having longer and longer cast lists of Phryne's growing entourage and the new characters involved in the plot.. Some of this can get in the way of the narrative but it does add much local and historical colour. This story, is , I would say, over-loaded with choral miscellany, including frequent extracts of Elijah and other choral works, a determination to explore the problems of homosexuals and constant references to the dreadfulness of the Great War and how it continues to affect Phryne and other people years afterwards. This latter is particularly surprising as I don't recall Phryne having been affected by the war in earlier tales which were set nearer in date to it. But the real weakness with this book is that so much space is consumed with the contextual stuff that the murders become almost incidental - we learn very little about the murderersAnd what ought to be the central events of the sturdy are despatched, like the victims, in no time at all. A great pity! I could have done with a lot more blood and guts, and Evi deeds. But that's just me.

Not the author's best. I adore her work and I love the Phryne novels, but this book was tricky on a few levels...first, it was pretty blatantly Sherlock/Watson fanfiction, with no real attempt to disguise it. Which is...okay, and well done in some parts for all, but jarring shoehorned into a Miss Fisher book. And second it just seemed that Phryne has finally become too perfect and capable of doing everything better than everyone else, including being the lone exception for an otherwise homosexual man and convincing avowed asexual that they're not so asexual after all (which is frankly insulting, even if it is Sherlock/Watson fanfiction in disguise). Her negative traits are mentioned but not demonstrated, and quickly dismissed as unimportant or entertaining. I ended the book with a desperate desire to see Phryne royally screw up for once and have some of her worshippers rightfully angry with her.I'm a firm believer in what Dorothy Sayers called 'mother wit' and Phryne is the feminist icon I used to dream of, but when you have her out-Sherlocking Sherlock while also singing Mendelssohn and being Mata Hari except better because she never got caught, with no previous mention in the series of her ever having sung in a choir or having worked as a spy, it's gotten a little ridiculous. So, this one disappointed me. I hope there will be more Miss Fisher novels, but I also hope she'll be less omnipotent.

Murder And Mendelssohn is book number twenty in the Phryne Fisher Mysteries.The series began back in 1989 with the first story being Cocaine Blues. This latest story was first published in 2014 by Poisoned Pen Press and finds all the members of Phryne's entourage present and correct including the latest addition Tinker , who we first met in Dead Mans Chest.The book contains 318 pages and begins in St. Kilda in the summer of 1929.The pleasure for me in these stories is the extended family that surrounds our sleuth with Dot her beloved maid always involved in the action and her adopted daughters Jane and Ruth also making valuable contributions.I look forward to further additions to the series.

Mendelssohn's Elijah, an amateur choir and murdered conductors. Partner goes to sing and solve the murders but her main interest is in an old friend from the Great War who is suffering from unrequited love with a fiendishly attractive prig savant whomakes Sherlock Holmes look like a cuddly sweetie. Phryne solves the mystery, unites lovers, sings like an angel and reminds us how hellish was the Great War for all involved. Poignantly you, the reader, suddenly realise the folk depicted are only ten years away from the next descent into Hades. Weep if you will. I did. Bring on more Miss Greenwood. I could quite see Phryne outsourcing fiendish Nazis.

The books can vary up and down between four and five stars, but overall this is a series which reflects the louche, lavish lifestyle of its heroine. The references to Dorothy L Sayers are clever, the double or triple plotline in each book keeps it intricate and interesting, and Miss Fisher's back story is slowly revealed.A great series.

exciting, very well plotted, with more devices and intricacies than she normally uses..rapidly paced, hurtling towards the denouement...full of interesting characters, and packed with useful information about choir singing, and Mendelssohn...enjoyable...i really like this series, and all the folks in it...charming, fun, well written and amusing...recommended..