Saturday, May 10, 2014

Murder And Mendelssohn-Kerry Greenwood

Murder And Mendelssohn Kerry Greenwood Poisoned Pen, May 6 2014, $24.95 ISBN: 9781464202469 In 1929 in St. Kilda, Detective Inspector Jack Robinson loathes asking for the help of the Hon. Miss Phryne Fisher with his investigation into the murder of orchestra conductor Hedley Tregennis, but knows he is out of his league when it comes to noticing little things at a musical rehearsal. A fan of Mendelssohn, Phryne agrees to escort the DI to the Scots Church Assembly Hall where the Melbourne Harmony Choir and the Occasional Orchestra will practice. Meanwhile Rupert Sheffield has the city and cops hopping with his attitude, looks and his science of deduction lectures. Phryne's WWI in the trenches friend Dr. John Wilson acts attracted to Rupert who Phryne fears is a person seeking danger to himself and anyone within his circle. Further complicating her inquiry besides Robinson demanding she remain on the sidelines as a consultant and Sheffield’s arrogance is M16. The terrific twentieth Phryne Fisher historical whodunit (see Unnatural Habits and Dead Man’s Chest) is a great entry as the brilliant independent protagonist works the multifarious Mendelssohn murder mystery competing in several ways with Sheffield. Part of the fun is comparisons between the heroine and her conventional companion Dot, with Sheffield and with Robinson. While Mendelssohn plays in the background, Kerry Greenwood’s long running saga remains fresh as one of the best early twenty century detective series on the market. Harriet Klausner

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