Dead Man's Chest: A Phryne Fisher Mystery

I liked especially learning the background of Tinker and seeing him mature. But I enjoyed the venue of Phryne’s family attempting to take a vacation, meeting this whole other group of people, and having her wits tested yet again— but NEVER foiled. Her intuition wins every time!! How does she do it, yet keep such an even keel and such a smart fashion sense?? I enjoy watching Dot and Hugh sink deeper and deeper, and Ruth and Jane learn to become ever more Themselves. Altogether rewarding! 😊

Easy listening, entertaining, we have listened to it multiple times

Dead Man’s Chest is the eighteenth book in the Phryne Fisher series.Dead Man’s Chest is another enjoyable adventure with Phryne Fisher, her two adopted daughters Ruth and Jane and her ever faithful maid and companion, Dot. I love this series and especially the wonderful Phryne Fisher.Phryne thinks that her family, adopted daughters Ruth and Jane, her maid and companion Dot deserve a holiday so they pack up the Hispano-Suiza and head for Queenscliff. Phryne has arranged for the use of a fully stocked house with a housekeeper and her husband, through an acquaintance. But when they arrive at the house, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson aren’t there to greet and the fact they find that the Johnson’s furniture has been removed and the all the food is also gone as well.Phryne, after having a chat with the next-door neighbor, Mrs. Mason, learns that this is very unusual for the Johnson’s as they are very dependable and one could almost set their clocks by their movements. Another neighbor, Mrs. McNaster claims that she saw them leave in a big black car, but could no other information. When the Constable Dawson arrives to investigate the disappearance, Phryne can tell that he would have a hard time finding his way out of a paper sack. It’s time for Phryne to call on her daughters and Dot to search for clues as to what happened with the Johnson’s. But the biggest help comes from a young boy Mrs. Mason had sent over to help Phryne settle in. The young boy, Eddie, who Mrs. Mason said was a bone-idle layabout. But Phryne was able to communicate with him and soon came to call him Tinker. Tinker proves to be fearless and has a detective savvy that Phryne is able to bring out. Soon Tinker and the Johnston’s dog, Gaston, have sniffed out where the Johnson’s furniture has been stored. Hugh, Dot’s fiance, and a detective from Melbourne arrives to work on another case and this case ends up tying in with the Johnson disappearance.Greenwood does a wonderful job of storytelling in her books and in addition to this, you will get to see the development of Ruth and Jane. Ruth has always enjoyed helping cook at their home, but with no staff, Ruth steps up and takes care of the cooking for the household. Whereas we see Jane with her bookish ways is also developing an analytical which Phryne will call on in her sleuthing. I will be looking forward to reading about the further development of Tinker’s character in future books, too.Recipes are also included with the book and a fairly extensive list sites to visit that will provide the reader with information on Australia back in the time the story takes place.I’m looking forward to the future adventures of Phryne and her family.

The arrival in Queenscliff, not far from her home of Melbourne, by Phryne Fisher and her entourage – companion Dot, adopted daughters Jane and Ruth, and Molly the dog – for a holiday, was like a breath of fresh air. But the strange disappearance of the elderly couple who were to look after them in the home they borrowed from an acquaintance was the immediate start to a mystery which needed answers.It seemed the quiet little town of Queenscliff wasn’t so quiet after all with Phryne coming up against three bullying youths; talk of buried treasure that no one was sure even existed; and of course the missing couple – Phryne’s deep sigh of despair at the knowledge that this was unlikely to be as peaceful a holiday as she’d promised everyone alerted them all. But the arrival of young Tinker along with Gaston the dog, lent some excitement to the air. Knowing what happened when the Hon Miss Phryne Fisher was around, Dot and the girls knew something would be up…Dead Man’s Chest by Aussie author Kerry Greenwood is another rollicking tale centred around the inimitable Phryne Fisher. Never one to be concerned about the dangers of the moment, she always comes out on top! An excellent cosy mystery in the Phryne Fisher series which I recommend.

The indefatigable Phyrne Fisher, a private detective who is not only beautiful but wealthy and titled as well, decides to take her companion and daughters to a nice quiet seaside community for a well-earned vacation while builders are renovating her Melbourne home. The place they'll be staying at comes complete with a butler and cook and... well, as with all of Miss Fisher's adventures things don't always turn out quite as expected.When she and her companions arrive, for example, the butler and cook are gone, leaving behind a small, very anxious (and very dirty) dog.Coupled with that, Phryne learns she has some very odd neighbors, including a small band of surrealists who are very much out of place in this little town. The mystery of the disappearing butler and cook is compounded by some very rude boys, a "phantom pigtail snipper" who has terrified the local female population, rum and tobacco smugglers, a possible murder, a locked room full of bones and, just to add a little spice, a film production company shooting a movie on the beach.Oh, and there might be buried pirate treasure somewhere near by.All's well, as the Bard said, that ends well and although it can be trying for her at times, Miss Fisher does manage to emerge from this vacation-turned-adventure reasonably unscathed with a further addition to her growing household - a young man who yearns to be a cop.It's all great fun and a great read.

They are all their Phrayne and the whole crew are living in a house in Queenscliff. It is not the best of Ms Greenwood's books but it is entertaining.

I've read quite a few of the Phryne Fisher mysteries, and I generally like them, but this one in particular is weak in the mystery department, and in case you are wondering (spoilers) there is no dead man.

In this episode of Phryne Fisher’s mysteries, set in 1920s Australia, she has decided to take her assistant Dot and her two adopted daughters, Jane and Ruth, for a quiet seaside holiday in Queenscliff. An acquaintance, Mr Thomas, has lent his substantial house to Miss Fisher, including his staff, Mr and Mrs Johnson, to take care of their domestic needs. However, there is no sign of the couple, their furniture is missing and the back door is wide open.Soon there are other mysteries to solve. Who is the phantom pigtail stealer and why is Mrs Macmaster, who lives next door, with her son-in-law Dr Green, so nasty and so nosy? As usual in these stories, there are many other characters participating in the plot. Their other neighbour has two idle sons, with a particularly nasty friend, called Fraser staying with them. A film company is producing a silent movie on the beach and soon Phryne’s hopeless kitchen maid, Lily is starring in the film.Kelly Greenwood spices her stories with rich description of the clothes worn by Phryne and Dot and the delicious food they eat. She also indulges herself with the pleasure of including aspects of 1920s life which she has researched. On this occasion she describes a party at the house of Madame Sélary, where the local surrealist club act as one might expect or perhaps as you might not expect.A delightful new addition to Phryne’s household is poor young lad, Tinker. Hero worshipping Miss Fisher, he becomes a gem, assisted by stray dog, Gaston, in carrying out her orders and acting undercover to solve the mysteries in the style of Sexton Blake.As always, this book is a pleasure to read and great escapism.

Phryne Fisher has promised her family a holiday at Queenscliff where she is renting a house from an acquaintance. She has promised there will be no mysteries to investigate but when they arrive at the house and the housekeeper and her husband are not there to welcome them it seems as though her promise might not be fulfilled.Pirates, buried treasure, locked rooms, missing people, a gang of louts and a mystery pig tail snipper not to speak of an elderly lady who sits at her window and watches the world go by and a house full of Surrealists make for a crowded and fast paces plot. This is a light hearted story with plenty to keep the reader interested. There are many amusing touches and I particularly enjoyed the evening Phryne spends with the Surrealists - her temporary next door neighbours.I liked reading about Jane and Ruth, Phryne's adopted daughters and Dot also plays a bigger part in this story than she does in some of the books in the series. Her fiancé, Hugh Collins comes to visit on what turns out to be a busman's holiday for him. This is an enjoyable read which could be read as a standalone story though it is preferable to read the whole series in the right order to see how the characters develop. The first one in the series is  Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher Mysteries)Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher Mysteries)

I enjoyed this story very much. For those of you who like to try a different recipe, try the Impossible Pie it is delicious eaten warm with ice cream. Don't pick too deep a dish to cook it in though. If you like vanilla put a good dollup in. I used just a teaspoon and couldn't taste it. You will find the recipe at the end of the book also the recipe for Potato Scones.As for the story well it introduces another of Phryne's strays, this one is called Tinker, he wants to be a copper when he is old enough and loves Sexton Blake novels, his actual name is Eddie but Phryne christens him Tinker after the character in the books. Dot is her usual inimitable self, keeping the whole household under control. If you think your holiday in a self catering cottage was a disaster then you will be in complete sympathy with the Fisher entourage.

Phryne goes on a relaxing holiday with maid and family, not forgetting the dog.The idyllic resort chosen isn't so idyllic when murder and mystery come knocking at her door!Another great Phryne Fisher novel, long may they be written.Very highly recommended.I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review which I am very happy to do.

Yet again, the characterisation is superb and you really feel you know them all - non of them are boring - they are quite quirky and as usual Phryne Fish is as outrageous as usual. I have seen the TV series which is so well cast that I can evisage them all. Even if you have seen the TV series, it does not detract from the books as the story line is slightly different. The books are very easy to read, great fun and I cannot wait until the next one.