Between the Pages

The fifth book in the Phryne Fisher Mystery series starts with Phryne at a jazz club, witnessing a man murdered right in front of her. He appears to have been stabbed in the chest, but there was nobody near enough to him to have done it. Phryne is right on the case, but as well as trying to solve this murder, she also has an adventure in the Australian Alps while searching for a missing young man – and of course she always manages to find time for a romantic dalliance or two!

I remember the TV episode based on this book, and while the episode left a lot of the story out, I actually prefer it. I do enjoy the Phryne Fisher books when I’m after something undemanding, but they do have something of a disjointed feel about them at times, and I think this was my least favourite so far. Without giving too much away, I think my favourite part of the story was when she went into the Alps – perhaps the change of scene worked to the book’s advantage. I would also like to see a bit of of Inspector Jack Robinson – he is a major character in the TV show, and while I realise that the books came first and it’s actually the onscreen version which changed the character, I think he warrants more attention than he receives in the books.

With all that said however, I am still quite early on the series, and I will continue to read more to see if and how the characters develop.