Phryne (she tells us it rhymes with briny) Fisher is a detective with a difference. Living in 1920s Melbourne she is rich, sassy and classy. She’s not in the business to make money or earn fame, but seems instead to be motivated by a fascination for a good mystery and a desire to help those who are worthy of such assistance. She is not above bending the law when it suits her ends and has friends on both sides of the law, who come together to help out when needed.
In Queen of the Flowers Phryne chases a mystery which becomes increasingly personal. She has been chosen as Queen of the Flowers for the 1928 Flower Parade. When one of her four flower maidens disappears, she is called in to investigate. Has the girl run away or has she been kidnapped?
Phryne has no sooner located the missing girl than one of her own adopted daughters, Ruth, disappears. Ruth has been searching for her birth father and, it seems, has run off for a reunion. In the midst of the Flower Festival festivities Phryne must struggle to reunite her family. She might also be struggling to make it to the festival alive.
This is the fourteenth Phryne Fisher novel and shows all the careful research and excellent story-spinning qualitites of the previous installments. Greenwood’s passion for history and mystery combine in a seductive tale which draws readers in to the life of this saucy detective.
Queen of the Flowers, by Kerry Greenwood
Allen & Unwin, 2004