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Private Notes
The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher disembarks the Orient at Victoria Dock, returning to Melbourne after years abroad. Almost as soon as she checks into the Windsor Hotel, Phryne is embroiled in mystery: poisoned husbands, cocaine smuggling rings and illegal abortionists – not to mention erotic encounters with the handsome Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse. Her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish Bath Palace off Little Lonsdale Street.
The glamorous Phryne Fisher, accompanied by her maid Dot, decides to travel to the country by train to collect her new Hispano-Suiza motor car. The charm of rail travel soon evaporates though, when Phryne unexpectedly has to use her trusty pearl-handled pistol to save a young woman’s life and solve the disappearance of her fellow passenger’s mother. Her train trip derailed by a gruesome murder, Phryne speeds home in her Hispano-Suiza to her new abode in St Kilda where she works through the clues until she discovers her unassuming murderer.
Phryne, gorgeous in her sparkling evening gown, had thought she would dance the night away at the hottest dancehall in town, the Green Mill. That was before death spoiled the evening. In jazz-mad 1920s Melbourne, Phryne finds there are hidden perils lurking in the smoky shadows – like a mystery man from her past – and it takes all her ingenuity, and her rusty flying skills, to unravel the trail of blackmail and murder.
A young man with a blue tattoo lies cradled in Phryne's arms. Sadly, it's not another scene of glorious seduction. This time it's murder. Outraged by this brutal slaughter, Phryne promises to find out who is responsible. But Phryne doesn't yet know how deeply into the mire she'll have to go – bank robbery, anarchists and the kidnap of her beloved maid Dot. Her investigations lead her into the arms of the delicious yet dangerous anarchist, Peter the Painter.
When a young man is found dead in a bookshop at the Eastern Market, Phryne Fisher is plunged into the diverse worlds of Jewish politics, alchemy, and poison. She works her way through the mystery with help from the old faithfuls – Bert, Cec, Dot, Dr Mac and Detective Inspector Jack Robinson. Ultimately, though, it’s her stealth and wit that solve the crime – and all for the price of a song...
At a gala performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore, Phryne Fisher meets the gorgeous Lin Chung who has rescued the theatre’s leading man from some thugs in a dark alley in Chinatown. The evening continues on unexpectedly with a bizarre death onstage. What links can Phryne find between the Chinese community of Little Bourke St, the illicit opium trade and the actors treading the boards of His Majesty’s Theatre? Phryne must solve an old murder, find a new murderer, and banish the theatre's ghost who seems likely to kill again.
As a young woman in Paris after the war, Phryne posed for the famous artist Pierre Sarcelle. Now, 10 years later, Sarcelle’s widow arrives in Melbourne asking for her late husband’s paintings. When she suddenly disappears, Phryne discovers the connection between Mme Sarcelle and the death of an Australian war veteran who witnessed the ‘accidental’ death of Sarcelle at Montparnasse train station. As Phryne delves into this investigation, she remembers her own days in Paris and her first love. The two worlds collide as Phryne tracks down the murderer – but Jack is the man who gives her the courage to confront her past.
Phryne investigates the puzzling death of a magazine columnist and author of fairy stories. To get to the truth, she must unearth the deceptions and rampant rivalries of the magazine’s thoroughly modern working women – and dig into the past of their token male employee. Meanwhile, Phryne rekindles her affair with the sensuous Lin Chung – whose arranged marriage has stalled in a mire of family politics and intrigue.
The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher has been chosen to refine a group of delinquent flower maidens for the annual flower parade. When the body of one of her charges washes up on the beach, though, she begins to question the worth of table manners and dancing lessons. In the midst of her investigation, Jane’s mother unexpectedly resurfaces and Phryne has to face her fears about losing her ward.
Phryne investigates the death of a young female worker in a factory ‘accident’ and soon learns that the woman’s death might not be the misadventure the police think it is. Faced with a wall of secrecy and lies, Phryne sends her trusty maid, Dot, undercover into the factory to investigate. When a second suspicious death occurs, Phryne fights desperately to save one of her closest friends from the gallows.
The carnival is in town. Innocent fun turns to horror when one of the sideshow acts is murdered. Phryne poses as the magician’s assistant, Fern, to investigate. The heady atmosphere of the carnival takes Phryne on a bittersweet trip down memory lane – to the days when she and her sister, Janey, would sneak into the big top, until one night Janey disappeared. Her pain is reignited when she discovers that Murdoch Foyle – the man accused of murdering her sister – was the mastermind behind an elaborate prison escape plan. Any chance of discovering the truth about her sister’s fate is dashed though, when she learns that Foyle has died and been cremated.
Phryne’s cousins and Aunt Prudence’s entire household come under suspicion when a young girl is found drowned in her aunt’s fountain on the eve of a lavish fancy dress party. Phryne and her aunt work together to investigate – until Phryne begins to doubt her own detecting skills. Was Murdoch Foyle really the man responsible for her sister’s death or was it someone much closer to Phryne – someone who was also there the day Janey disappeared from the circus all those years ago? When Foyle finally shows his hand, Phryne recovers her confidence – only to have it replaced by terror when she fears Foyle now has Jane in his sights.
Murdoch Foyle is at large and has been connected with the mysterious death of Albert Monkton, antique dealer. In investigating the murder, Phryne discovers Murdoch Foyle’s involvement in a bizarre reincarnation cult, inspired by Ancient Egypt. Phryne’s hunt for the madman leads her on a disturbing trail of death and despair before she realises her own significance in Foyle’s grand plan. Can she overcome her nemesis and finally solve the mystery regarding the fate of her sister, Janey, or will her own death be the price she has to pay to discover the truth.
