Over all the novel was rather good. [Hopefully no spoilers]LIN CHUNG - First off, I was extremely glad that Lin Chung made a reappearance. Like Phryne I've grown fond of the china man and was sorely disappointing in his less than prominent appearance in the last few books. He does make a grand [and helpful] appearance towards the end of the book.That being said... If he refers to her as the Jade Lady one more time I just might throw my iPod. (I'm listening to the audio book.) I adore the "Silver Lady" nick name. But that's neither here nor there.PLOT - In interesting mix of two cases. I loved the way they started out so distinctly and then had blended and crossed over towards the end. I guessed the murder much quicker than I usually do, the clues being a bit more blatant. However I missed his connection to the youthful gaggle that poor Phryne has to attend with. Once again I must applaud Ms Greenwood's ability to spin a story so that the answer is only reviled at the end. Very Sherlockian in approach and rather hard to accomplish. CHARACTERS - The characters came across well. No one had any real character growth ( I don't consider hiding from your horrible friends a sign of growth ) but Phryne and the others have done quite a lot of growing in other books.AUDIO - I was very sad that the opening tune has been changed. I loved the original song. It was fun to 'doot doot' along with. The new song... not so much. Over all the audio quality is wonderful. Stephanie Daniel has a lovely cadence and her range of vocal characterization has definitely increased over the series. She is simply delightful to listen to. At least there was no singing this time (though she is getting better)... at least I don't remember singing.IN THE END - I absolutely love these book. I also recommend the Australian tv series if you havn't seen it. They take liberties, as producers are wont to do, but the essence of the characters are preserved. Its fun having a real face to put to the words. However I only give 3 stars because it is not one of the books in the series that has me raving with excitement. 17th book in the series.The year 1929 begins with a heatwave, at least in Melbourne. Phryne’s 29th birthday is coming up and she’s starting to plan for it. But then, Phryne’s sister Eliza brings to her a distraught woman, Mrs. Manifold. Her only son has died and the police are saying that it’s a suicide. However, Mrs. Manifold is convinced that someone has murdered her son. Phyrne agrees to investigate and soon plunges into the life of Augustine Manifold. He was an antique dealer and good at his job. He knew just how to find the hidden treasures from any estate or garage sale, and he also hired to capable people; a girl for his shop and a carpenter who is a genius in his job. He was also excited about the future and telling people that soon he can buy his mother a house of her own. Phryne has to get to know his friends and she isn’t impressed; she thinks that they are not only obnoxious but frightful.She’s also investigating another matter. A lawyer brings to her a case where an old, wealthy woman has died and left her fortunes to her children, divided equally between “the issue of her body”. She has four living children but the lawyer suspects that Mrs. Bonnetti had another child before marrying her husband. Phryne agrees to look into it, discreetly. This is not an easy task, because Mrs. Bonnetti was old and her possible child would be quite old, too. Phryne just thinks of this as a challenge.This time Phryne involves some of her friends more than usual. Dot’s knowledge of all things domestic is particularly useful. Phryne’s adoptive daughter Jane wants to become a doctor, which has been established before, but here she works like a forensic pathologist, figuring out if Augustine died at the sea or not. Pretty gruesome work for a 12-year old but she’s just fascinated!We also get small snippets of Cec an Bert’s adventures during the war. However, the purpose of these small scenes doesn’t come clear until the very end.This is a highly enjoyable Phryne mystery with all of the familiar cast running around
Do You like book Murder On A Midsummer Night (2008)?
Another great adventure with the always alluring and adventurous Aussie detective, Phryne Fisher.
—jakki
Another fun mystery with Phryne Fisher and her ever increasing circle of household guests.
—Brittany
Usual pleasant mystery, always fun.
—tanyacastro76
