Phryne Fisher is a sleuth with a difference – this 1920s Australian heroine is sassy, adventurous, promiscuous, and a woman before her time. Although she lacks a university education, she is versed in language, culture and the classics, and able to hold her own in any society. Men fall at her feet and women trust her. She is also brilliant, if unorthodox, in solving mysteries and crime.
In Death Before Wicket she visits Sydney to watch some cricket, attend a ball and visit the University. But Phryne’s plans for a few pleasurable days are interrupted by two mysteries – the disappearance of the sister of her companion, Dot, and the theft of exam papers and other documents from the University.
Phryne finds herself deep in the midst of greed, blackmail and the dangers of black magic, as she weaves some magic of her own to solve the twin mysteries.
Death Before Wicket is the tenth Phryne Fisher adventure from Kerry Greenwood. First published in 1999, it has been rereleased to coincide with the release of the latest installment, The Castlemaine Murders.
Death Before Wicket, by Kerry Greenwood
Allen & Unwin, 2003