Saturday, January 18, 2020

Murder on a Midsummer Night

Murder on a Midsummer Night by Kerry Greenwood (©2008, US edition 2009) 257 pages

Smart, sexy, fashionable Phryne Fisher juggles two different mysteries along with a very sweltering Australian summer in 1929, prior to air conditioning. First, a possible murder of Augustine, a junk shop owner whom everybody calls "good" and "honest." His death is currently listed as suicide, greatly upsetting his mother, who made the case that he would never do such a thing. Second, Phryne fields a request to look discreetly for a child who may have been born to a teenager in 1865, prior to a later marriage that produced four children. The woman has recently died, and her family and attorney find that they need this information in order to disperse her estate. Add theft, blackmail, greed, drug use, and excess alcohol into the mix and sprinkle with information about antiquities and some relevant history. Thus the scene is set. Phryne isn't always her cool, collected self in the impossible heat, but along with her usual crew of helpers and a couple retired actors, the knots eventually become untangled. 17th in the series, this book was a great read on a winter day!
 


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